When I think of buying a phone, Apple's iPhone is among the first options that come to mind. When I think of listening to music online, Spotify comes to mind. Netflix for streaming shows. Amazon for buying something online. And so on.

This is one way of building a brand.

Have such a compelling value proposition and exceed expectations in delivering that value to users that they keep coming back every time they have a need for that use case again. The value can be anything - cheapest, most elegant, most convenient, largest choice of options, so on.

It doesn't matter what value you choose to focus on. If you can find an audience that appreciates that value, and you exceed their expectations when they interact with you for that value, then they will keep coming back. Your brand will be etched in their minds.

On the other hand, Coke, Pepsi and the like have to trick you into thinking that happiness is associated with a can of fizzy soft drink, through all those ads that they put out. Which isn't really true.

This is the other way of building a brand.

By constantly associating yourself with other things that the audience values and hoping that they come back to you as a result. By telling them lies to draw them in in the hope of making a sale.

Both kinds work. One works as long as you can continue to provide value to an audience and the other works as long as you find an audience that is gullible enough.

Building a personal brand is much the same.

Your personal brand is the work that you do and the value that you create for other people and your organization as a result. Or you can make it the stories you tell those around you about what it is that you do.

It was harder to follow the second path in the older days, but in the age of curated social feeds, filters and photoshop, it is getting easier by the day.

But that is what makes the first way of building a personal brand all the more valuable. When things get easier, a lot of people start taking the easier route, until they realise it no longer works and starts to get hard again.

While the value you create stands out over time.

Want to build your personal brand? Strive to ship work that creates value and makes a difference. That's the surefire way.