My friend Geoff Livingston has penned what I think is a brilliant post today about personal branding. He rails against the fact that people are using “personal branding” as a substitute for contributing value to the business community.
There’s a big difference – albeit semantically a subtle one – between reputation and personal branding. To me, the former is substantive and earned based on your valuable contributions to business. And it comes only after you’ve added said value. The latter is a facade; scaffolding built to shore up what would otherwise be a very weak structure. It’s built deliberately as a marketing or promotional effort (versus the part of your individuality that’s inherently you).
You can argue the definitions of the words all you want, but the truth is that if you’re defining your “personal brand” in terms of your popularity instead of building a reputation built on making a difference to people and businesses, you’re letting everyone down – most notably yourself.
So go here and read Geoff’s post today. I’m trying to ensure that for all of you, the contributions I make to the community and your businesses comes first. Let me know how I’m doing.
Well, I’m clearly bias, although I still posted my views on Geoff’s blog, as well as Mitch’s. I think people just have different definitions and perceptions of what personal branding actually is. It is how we market ourselves to others. There is really no escape to personal branding because of two main points (1) we are being judged online and offline nonstop (2) we have to sell ourselves to various stakeholders nonstop.
We can either accept or reject the inevitable. Those who take advantage of their brand will soar far above everyone else. This I promise you!
Dan Schawbels last blog post..Brand Matchup: Barak Obama and Car Brands
Well, I’m clearly bias, although I still posted my views on Geoff’s blog, as well as Mitch’s. I think people just have different definitions and perceptions of what personal branding actually is. It is how we market ourselves to others. There is really no escape to personal branding because of two main points (1) we are being judged online and offline nonstop (2) we have to sell ourselves to various stakeholders nonstop.
We can either accept or reject the inevitable. Those who take advantage of their brand will soar far above everyone else. This I promise you!
Dan Schawbels last blog post..Brand Matchup: Barak Obama and Car Brands
For some reason I can’t let go of the notion that my reputation may or may not be tied to my personal brand. i.e. “your reputation precedes you”, or i.e. “ahhhh I’ve heard about you.” Both statements predicated on you, your personal brand.
Isn’t me, managing my personal brand the same as managing my reputation? I also don’t look at a personal brand as a facade either. We all have a personal brand, which in turn would mean we all walk around with a facade, and that would mean…ok i might be micro-analyzing too much but my point is this.
I don’t think authentic people define their “personal brand” in terms of their popularity, but I do think that it can be defined by them building a reputation built on making a difference to people and businesses. Thus the linkeage. Does that make sense?
Marc Meyers last blog post..Are you in for the Long Haul?
For some reason I can’t let go of the notion that my reputation may or may not be tied to my personal brand. i.e. “your reputation precedes you”, or i.e. “ahhhh I’ve heard about you.” Both statements predicated on you, your personal brand.
Isn’t me, managing my personal brand the same as managing my reputation? I also don’t look at a personal brand as a facade either. We all have a personal brand, which in turn would mean we all walk around with a facade, and that would mean…ok i might be micro-analyzing too much but my point is this.
I don’t think authentic people define their “personal brand” in terms of their popularity, but I do think that it can be defined by them building a reputation built on making a difference to people and businesses. Thus the linkeage. Does that make sense?
Marc Meyers last blog post..Are you in for the Long Haul?
Like Dan i commented on both blogs and I would agree its more about different interpretations and definitions of what personal branding is verus whether personal brand is fluff or not. I had some further thoughts on my blog
Like Dan i commented on both blogs and I would agree its more about different interpretations and definitions of what personal branding is verus whether personal brand is fluff or not. I had some further thoughts on my blog
Personal branding isnt for everyone. If you are going to brand yourself, then you are setting a goal to create a reputation on and offline that will hopefully precede you if done correctly. Sometimes this can be misconstrued as someone just trying to create fame and popularity online for their moment in the “spotlight” while others are trying to do the opposite with quality of their connections rather than quantity.
Like Dan said, “Those who take advantage of their brand will soar far above everyone else,” but I feel that this only applies to people whose careers actually depends on the brand image they project. On the other hand though, students especially should brand themselves now to stand out amongst the vast amount of competition out there in our slowing economy. Employers CAN and WILL search for potential employees online to help them in their decision process, so be careful!
Personal branding isnt for everyone. If you are going to brand yourself, then you are setting a goal to create a reputation on and offline that will hopefully precede you if done correctly. Sometimes this can be misconstrued as someone just trying to create fame and popularity online for their moment in the “spotlight” while others are trying to do the opposite with quality of their connections rather than quantity.
Like Dan said, “Those who take advantage of their brand will soar far above everyone else,” but I feel that this only applies to people whose careers actually depends on the brand image they project. On the other hand though, students especially should brand themselves now to stand out amongst the vast amount of competition out there in our slowing economy. Employers CAN and WILL search for potential employees online to help them in their decision process, so be careful!
Amber, forgive me for being late to the party but I just updated my feed for your blog this morning!
And forgive me for my opinion in contrast to yours on this question! I think personal brands are absolutely relevant. I think you have one (smart, sassy, deeply caring, marketing focused), and the ironic thing is that Geoff has one that he cultivates every day!
Why else post pictures of yourself on your blog bestride a Ducati? Modeling tattoos? Whether he admits it or not, he’s flogging his personal brand!
I think that “personal branding” is an inevitable by-product of the social media phenomenon and the disintermediation of the marketing business. I believe, like any attempt to manage a reputation, either corporate or personal, there are going to be examples of businesses and people that are more hype than substance. That does not mean that the effort is futile, or irrelevant. It just means that we have to take care to ensure that, for both corporate and personal brands, the walk matches the talk.
As long as “brands” are a significant factor in the purchase decision, companies and people will attempt to influence perceptions of what that brand means. This is what marketing is!
To me, personal branding does not come to a stop where reputation begins to take hold. It encompasses reputation. The brands for which little is known of reputation would be the weak brands, and the brands for which much is known and respected would be the strong brands. But they are brands nevertheless.
And I care about the personal brands because I think the way people *want* to be viewed is relevant to what they *really* are. And I also think it’s relevant (and bad) if there are inconsistencies between they way they present themselves and the reality that I see.
Thanks for the opportunity to present my points! I know that YOU know what high regard I have for you, and that I think your personal brand is one of the best! 😉
Frank Martins last blog post..What is Marketing?
Amber, forgive me for being late to the party but I just updated my feed for your blog this morning!
And forgive me for my opinion in contrast to yours on this question! I think personal brands are absolutely relevant. I think you have one (smart, sassy, deeply caring, marketing focused), and the ironic thing is that Geoff has one that he cultivates every day!
Why else post pictures of yourself on your blog bestride a Ducati? Modeling tattoos? Whether he admits it or not, he’s flogging his personal brand!
I think that “personal branding” is an inevitable by-product of the social media phenomenon and the disintermediation of the marketing business. I believe, like any attempt to manage a reputation, either corporate or personal, there are going to be examples of businesses and people that are more hype than substance. That does not mean that the effort is futile, or irrelevant. It just means that we have to take care to ensure that, for both corporate and personal brands, the walk matches the talk.
As long as “brands” are a significant factor in the purchase decision, companies and people will attempt to influence perceptions of what that brand means. This is what marketing is!
To me, personal branding does not come to a stop where reputation begins to take hold. It encompasses reputation. The brands for which little is known of reputation would be the weak brands, and the brands for which much is known and respected would be the strong brands. But they are brands nevertheless.
And I care about the personal brands because I think the way people *want* to be viewed is relevant to what they *really* are. And I also think it’s relevant (and bad) if there are inconsistencies between they way they present themselves and the reality that I see.
Thanks for the opportunity to present my points! I know that YOU know what high regard I have for you, and that I think your personal brand is one of the best! 😉
Frank Martins last blog post..What is Marketing?