Pictured above is me every couple months. It's like clockwork. Every so often I'm in this huddle above contemplating everything I do, every post on my platforms, and get ready for a....wait for it....rebrand!
I just caught myself in the shower thinking about this and I laughed to myself and asked...how many freaking times can I rebrand myself? Today I want to chat about my experience as a blogger/content creator but also about "rebranding" my personal life - because we all have a personal brand as well.
Let's dive into this some more. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and let's chat.
What is rebranding?
When I am in a season of "rebranding" for me, it really is a season of refocusing. In life, we get used to the day to day, we start to slip on our good habits and fall into the bad habits. Every couple months I find myself pausing and reassessing every minute detail of my life and weather or not it is making me happy. Is it serving me?
I'm in one of those seasons right now. Summer ended and I started my clinical year and my goal was to adjust to 2nd year and build the habits needed to not just survive but thrive through this year. I removed distractions and used that excess energy to pour into myself. I've been going to the gym almost every day and the time at the gym is so refreshing for me because I shut everything out and do something good for my body. And you know I have my soca playing while I workout so I be having a whole fete...its a great time.
I think in our era of social media, it is easy for me to think that the "niche" environment we see online has to be our reality. You're either a "pilates and clean makeup girl" or you're a "baddie and glam face girl", or you're the "fitness girl" or "chef girl" or "artsy girl"....then I start to question...
This is where this idea of "brand" and "real life" I think start to collide for me. As someone who has created content for many years, my content has always been lifestyle and fashion. But my lifestyle fashion is just...my life, my journey. Some days I want to post my singing, others a day in the life, other times a get ready with me and show my outfit. But sometimes I feel this pressure to rebrand and make my content more uniformed and organized because thats the way to grow. It is why when I say who's your favorite creator for dating advice - someone probably popped to mind. Or when I say who's your favorite fashion page - a few accounts popped up. We naturally organize people into categories.
In addition, having a social media platform is like having a business - and what is one of those rules of business...know your audience! Being able to have this specific audience that you target helps you perform better. But when I don't stick to one niche I wondered who is my audience?
My platforms before and after my rebrands
I can admit that I do compare myself sometimes. I wonder what my platforms would look like if I started posting regularly with one set of content. What my platform would look like if I *actually* embraced the label of "med-influencer" and stuck to medicine and pre-med advice.
Y'all I have been back and forth with myself soooo many times. I have had moments where I wanted to completely shift and only post OOTDs/fashion content and not share about my medical journey at all because I want to separate Kyeisha the blogger from Kyeisha the student doctor. There are days when I want to stop posting. Other days where I want to dive even more energy into my content.
But it seems like no matter how many times I have these struggles, I haven't really had a major rebrand (yet). I continue to post without planning my posts and share what feels right. Maybe my transparent and multi-dimentinal content is a "niche" of it's own. Whatever it is, it is what has continued to feel right for me. It has kept content creating fun and stress free while still allowing me to have purpose behind my posts and platforms.
Even if I do one day focus my social media content into one category, that does not mean my life has become that one category. I'm sure as I get older and as I assume the role of being a doctor I will shift my social media presence, I've already been getting more and more private and more selective with what I share online and I plan to continue that as I grow older and into my career. But I hope as I grow and change, that my content will still have that realistic and authentic "just a girl from the islands sharing my journey" feel to it.
So rebrands? Are they needed? Obviously, I don't have the answers. And I am still trying to figure this out for myself. But I think my final thoughts would be:
Rebranding is not a bad thing - but it not always a necessary thing. We all have a personal brand and I think it is healthy to sit back and reassess that personal brand from time to time.
Your brand does not have to be a niche - I think this will be a new affirmation for myself when I have these struggles about the directions of my platforms. You don't have to fit into a box - no matter how much people may try to force you into one.
We are allowed to change and evolve and still stay true to who we are. Because if there is a moment when you are NOT changing, then there is an issue because sis- why are you staying the exact same as you were before. Change is part of life.
You are more than your brand. Branding is all about perception, and at the end of the day you are more than how others percieve you. You know who you are and that is what matter's most.
Let me know if you have thought about rebranding - either personally or for your business/platform. I'd love to chat further about this!
Love,
Kye