I stumbled upon a debate about personal branding started by Geoff Livingston of The Buzz Bin a few days ago with his blog post: I Don’t Care About Your Personal Brand. While I disagree with the overall message, he does bring up some interesting points.
(Mitch Joel at Twist Image responded with a post: Why You Need To Care More About Your Personal Brand. I encourage you to read both posts, the comments, and come to your own conclusion).
To touch upon a few of the key points:
“Personal branding is NOT for everyone.” Personal branding is for everyone who wants to live a happier and more successful life – if you have the drive to follow through with it. Half-assing it won’t achieve much, and might actually water down your brand if you aren’t consistent. A commitment to personal branding is required if you want to see results. Thus, personal branding is not for you if you’re unwilling to commit to it.
“Don’t use personal branding as a means of ’self promotion.’” Don’t waste your personal brand on a fake image just to try and get your few moments of fame. This will only hurt you in the long run. Authenticity is the name of the game. As we said in a previous post: “Your personal brand emerges from your search for your identity. It powerfully and clearly states what you want based on your values, vision and strengths. It promotes yourself based on who you are, what you stand for, what makes you unique, what your purpose is, and what value you offer to your specific audience. It is a path to self-awareness, joy and self-esteem. It is NOT creating and marketing a made up image – that’s the exact opposite of personal branding. Personal branding is 100% authentically YOU.” So don’t spend time on personal branding until your efforts stem from your genuine source of career energy.
“Ask yourself: does your personal brand offer any VALUE?” You can join every social network and have as many friends as you want, but if you don’t add any value, you’re wasting your time. Make legitimate connections with everyone you meet, not just “Thanks for accepting my friend request.” Engage people in thoughtful discussion. Your personal brand defines why you’re the best solution to a certain audience’s problems, so what value to you provide them? In short, don’t try to strengthen your personal brand without constantly creating content and value.
Consider these three points (the commitment required, the need to align your brand with your authentic self, and the value you provide) before starting your personal branding efforts.
Please feel free to leave comments here on how you feel about personal branding. For a breakdown of what personal branding is, see our post: Everything You Need to Start Building Your Personal Brand Right Now.
- Author: Trace Cohen
Defining and expressing your personal brand is one of the most effective ways to take your career efforts to the next level. Here are 5 quick tips to get started:
1. Craft an effective email signature
Time to complete: 5 minutes
Set your email program to automatically include your full name, what you do, how to reach you, and a link to your website at the end of every email. Here’s how to set a signature in various email programs.
An example of a brand-building email signature:
- Johnny Kuidzu
Sushi chef extraordinaire and caterer of fine Asian cuisine
http://www.JohnnyKuidzu.comemail: johnny@JohnnyKuidzu.com
cell: (315) 392 1234
Strangers will immediately understand what you’re all about, know how to reach you, and you’ll strengthen your brand awareness.
2. Create a catchy slogan or tagline that sums up your value
Time to complete: 10 minutes
Slogans are short, catchy, and easily remembered. Make one that sums up your passions, strengths and goals. For example: “Johnny Kuidzu – Sushi chef extraordinaire and caterer of fine Asian cuisine.”
Use your tagline in all communications (emails, blog comments, your website etc). Make sure it captures who you are for people who haven’t met you before. Be bold and specific.
3. Create a profile on multiple directories
Time to complete: 5 minutes per directory
Set up a profile on the following directories:
Make sure each profile includes
- Basic information about yourself
- Your tagline
- A link to your website
This will greatly increase the number of relevant search results when people Google you, leading them back to your personal site. Each link to your site will also increase its PageRank. The higher your Page Rank, the higher your site’s position in Google searches.
4. Upload a professional photo that exudes your brand
Time to complete: 3 minutes
A clean-cut, smiling face connects with viewers on an emotional level, leaving a longer-lasting impression. Post your photo on your “About Me” page. You want to be more than text to your readers – be a real person. Remember: if you don’t include a photo, you’re only branding your name – which thousands of other people share!
5. Comment on blogs relevant to your niche
Time to complete: 10 minutes per comment
Provide a personal experience or insight that adds value to someone else’s blog entry. For instance, if you’re into gadgets, comment on Gizmodo blog posts. Proofread before submitting comments – you can’t go back and edit them.
Conclude using your full name, what you do, and a link back to your website. Your comments will increase your visibility within your field and come up in Google searches for your name. The link back to your website will strengthen your PageRank by increasing inbound links.
These five things are easy to do and have a huge payoff. If you have time, I suggest doing them right now:
- Craft an effective email signature
- Create a catchy tagline that sums up your value
- Create a profile on multiple directories
- Upload a professional photo that exudes your brand
- Comment on blogs relevant to your niche
Until next time, this is Pete Kistler wishing you success!
