Leveraging Technology To Scale Personal Branding Efforts Globally

Denis Sinelnikov is the CEO of Media Components and Curis Digital, an award-winning, full-service digital marketing agency.

I've talked about leveraging AI for personal branding on my blog before, and now I want to talk about using technology more broadly for personal branding. The techniques I've outlined below will work on a global scale, but when we're talking about growing your personal brand, you shouldn't think about it on that scale. I recommend keeping this mantra in mind: Build global but think local.

Thinking 'Local'

This "thinking local" sentiment can be dangerous if misconstrued because when we think about brand-building on a global scale, it's important to understand the cultural context of places we move our brands into (see the long list of branding and advertising fails over the years as companies expanded markets from one country to another).

What I'm talking about with "thinking local" is the demeanor you must take as you grow your global brand. Build your global brand with the same demeanor and personal attention you would use for your local branding efforts. That means remaining authentic, infusing a personal touch and not letting your brand messaging become too detached from the personality you want to project to your audience.

Key Technologies To Leverage

Once you've committed to keeping a personal approach to your global brand building, let's look at some of the technologies that would help you do just that:

• Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR & VR)

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Emerging Platforms

The Role Of AR & VR In Branding

What are the worst parts of large international conventions? Long lines? Long walks from the hotel to the convention center? Huge, stuffy crowds (that can also lead to colds later)? The answer, when you've attended enough of these conventions, is all of the above. However, as both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) improve and gain prominence, we're likely to see shifts in international conventions—away from large, in-person crowds and into more discreet webinars and virtual networking events.

We've seen this shift already, due in large part to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of the organizations that adopted online forums for the pandemic haven't abandoned them, and as technology makes virtual networking more personal, I believe we're going to see more of these events across more and more industries.

Just as you would want to stand out and put your best image forward at live networking events, it's important to do the same with virtual events, especially as we move into AR and VR technology. Ensure that you establish your profile with your branding colors and an avatar that presents you and your brand professionally.

You should create (or re-create) these branding items with an eye toward moving them into virtual and augmented spaces in the near future so that as technology improves, you remain recognizable.

AI And Branding

AI is an amazing technology, and in the future, its generative capabilities will only improve. Right now, however, AI's top strength is in data analysis. One of the biggest roles AI can serve in the present is helping brand leaders analyze data about new markets and cultural trends to help determine the best way to introduce their brand. AI tools can also help you keep track of the varied laws and regulations around content, privacy and data protection.

Emerging Platforms

As technology improves around AI, AR and VR, I believe we will see new and improved platforms that more prominently utilize these technologies. We will likely see existing platforms improve their offerings to keep up with the crowds as well.

This means ensuring that you have good personal branding on existing platforms and keeping your branding consistent between them. The same "dress to impress" attitude around your presentation and branding that you use for virtual events should carry over to these platforms as well.

Importantly, don't be afraid to try out new platforms as they emerge. While statistically most will fail, your willingness to try each will give you an edge on the platforms that do succeed and catch on. Early adopters are often the ones who see the most growth and are able to build their brand easily on new platforms.

Adaptability Is Most Important

The most important thing you need to develop in your global brand building is you. Your ability to learn new technologies and adapt to cultural and technological changes is what will determine your ability to grow and succeed. I can tell you about AR, AI and a host of other technologies that I see coming in the future. You, however, are the one who has to know how to best adopt them for your unique brand—and be willing to adapt to them.