Did you ever think about the relationship between personal branding in your business life and personal branding in your social/dating life?

Your personal brand is all about:

(a) how you present yourself to the world, and

(b) how others perceive you.

Those 2 things will have oh so much impact on your social/dating life and the types of people you attract. Your own personal brand will be obvious to others in how you act, communicate, and behave, whether consciously or subconsciously.

But even before you have the opportunity to interact with someone you don't already know, your social media and dating profiles, including the PHOTOGRAPHS you choose to place in your profiles, are already communicating your personal brand. Not getting the results you'd been hoping for? Melanie Schilling, dating coach and psychologist, suggests that you take the time to DEFINE YOUR BRAND and then COMMUNICATE YOUR BRAND.

DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Choose three words to capture the essence of your personal brand:

Word #1 - your greatest value (the thing that, if missing, would make life meaningless; the thing that guides your actions; the thing that defines you; the thing that matters most to you in the world)

Word #2 - your lifestyle preference (How do you like to live? Do you prefer to sit at home or travel the world? Do you work hard, play hard, or both? Do you lead a healthy living lifestyle, a religious lifestyle, an adventurous lifestyle, or some other kind of lifestyle?)

Word #3 - your personality style (introverted, extroverted, comic, friendly? Pick a word that is a strength as opposed to a weakness.)

COMMUNICATE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Written - Weave your 3 words throughout the text of your social media and/or dating profiles. Make sure that all your written communication - e-mails, text messages, instant messages - are all consistent with your brand.

Visual - Remove photographs from your social media and/or dating profiles that don't reflect your personal brand. Get new photographs that DO communicate your personal brand.

Verbal - When you speak with people - whether prospective dates, work colleagues, or friends - make sure that what you SAY is consistent with your personal brand. Even better, think of a story from your life that depicts your three brand words in action, and tell these stories on your first date.

Non-Verbal - I think this one is the hardest. 90% of communication is non-verbal so make sure that your body language aligns with your personal brand. Check out Vanessa Van Edwards - the body language expert - for more on body language.

CASE STUDY - VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Lynn (pictured below) values creativity. She likes to frequent art galleries and artistic venues and enjoys independent films and documentaries. I knew she would love the creativity and uniqueness of the dating portrait below.