When introducing yourself to someone new, usually the first thing you say after greeting them is your name. Your name is powerful because it defines you and connects your identity to your physical body. Names are not just another assortment of letters creating a filler word, but an identifying sound that stands out against everything else that is spoken out loud. The importance of your name is not just significant in your personal life, but in your personal brand as well. Down below are three reasons you should be using your personal name with your personal brand.
1. Names are attention grabbing
A name has something that a regular word doesn’t; uniqueness. The word ‘blue’ blends in with its surrounding sentence, but the name ‘Sasha’ for example, stands out. When you build a personal brand, you want people to pay attention when they hear about it. Using your name will make your brand more recognizable against competitors.
2. Names are easy to remember
Let’s say you meet someone at a networking event and you follow each other on Instagram, but you have a username and/or brand name that does not include your name in it. Once you part ways with your new connection, they might want to recommend or refer you to someone else, but they might not remember how to find you because they can’t remember your brand name! This is made worse especially if your social media bio does not include your personal name at all, so even if your connection remembers you, they won’t remember your brand or how to find you. Being immersed in the personal branding world myself, I’ve come across many of these exact situations where valuable connections were lost simply because the name of someone’s brand was difficult to remember or find. This is easy to fix by making sure your brand name includes your name, or at the very least, your business bio includes your full name.
3. People connect with faces and names more than brand titles
There’s a reason why personal brands are so successful, and that’s largely due to the fact that they come across as more trustworthy than a company without a face or name attached to it. When a potential client or prospect is speaking to you, they feel more comfortable when they know your name and what you look like. Calling or messaging a business and not knowing who you’re talking to is a big turn-off for many people who need your service. In order to establish a better connection with people, use your name!
In the end, the choice is yours on what you want to name your personal brand, but the reasons above should help you weigh your options better. In today’s day and age, everything from social media to the business world is saturated with people wanting to get big. It’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out, but sometimes you don’t need to be fancy to do that; sometimes you just need to be you.
To learn more or work with Jay Jay and Ace of Spades, follow him on Instagram and check out his website to grow your brand and business.