About a Brand
by Jen Wright
I’m going to take a poke at this thing called personal branding.
We hear it all the time now. You are a brand. I am a brand. But what does that mean? I wanted to go to a reputable source to see exactly how it’s described. Dan Schwabel, an author and blogger who has branded himself with his knowledge of self-branding (that was a mouthful), posted Personal Branding 101 on Mashable’s site. These are excerpts, merely lines apart from each other, in his article. Read them, and think about them for a second, both as separate ideas, and then as they work together, or more importantly, if they can work together.
There is no hiding anymore and transparency and authenticity are the only means to survive and thrive in this new digital kingdom.
Today, I want to share the personal branding process, so you can start to think about what face you want to show to the world and how you want to position yourself for success!
(All emphasis via italics added by me, and not the author.)
I guess I could be a shit and just stop here, as Schwabel pretty much makes the case for me. But it’s not my goal to pick on anyone, especially someone who’s out there doing their thing with all they have, as he appears to be. Step outside of your marketing minds for just a minute and ask yourself this: Isn’t the very crux of authenticity a lack of constructing a facade of self?
I always ask myself if things make sense on a human level, because if they do, the odds are, they’ll be compelling for a brand. In real life, actions speak louder than words. In real life, people who spend a lot of time telling stories that posture them as this or that, are annoying and everyone can’t wait to see them prove themselves wrong. They’ll even gladly volunteer to help prove them wrong. In real life, people who follow their passions and just get their shit done, attract the most attention. And in real life, especially since social media, your brand is not what you say it is, it’s the sum of what the world says about you, measured against your actions.
Here’s my fear:
Arguably, I may have the whole concept of self-branding wrong. Maybe, in its purest execution, a person could brand himself and remain free of the constraints placed by the one snapshot of his face he has decided will represent him. But I fear people don’t work that way. We have limited vision. We can’t look in two places at one time. And I believe our energy moves in the direction of our gaze. If we’re told that personal success requires that we look at ourselves, every minute, and focus on the brand message we’re sending out, well, you’ve read about Narcissus, right?
I’ll end with this. Alex Bogusky is one of my heroes in this business. You’ve probably heard of him. Why? Because he’s got a hellofa story. Read his Twitter bio to see how he describes himself in one sentence.
Does it sound like he’s anxious to have a concrete, personal brand?
Or check out CP+B’s new-ish beta site to see how they brilliantly implemented the “you are the sum of what your work does in the world” concept. It rocks. And just think of how much more time and money they have to do more cool work because they’re not policing their brand. Everything people say about them shows up. Listen to Bogusky: “The good, the bad and the mildly unnerving.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- | Leather + Lace [Branding?] pingbacked Posted October 20, 2009, 6:59 am
- Personal Branding: Does it Limit Us? « iPlayBIG pingbacked Posted October 20, 2009, 4:18 pm
- | Show Me; Don’t Sell Me pingbacked Posted November 1, 2009, 9:44 pm
- UnMarketing » Blog Archive » Writing the UnBook: The 5 Things I’m Scared About pingbacked Posted December 21, 2009, 3:39 pm
Awesome post Jen,
It’s true, the personal branding sphere has alot of dimensions.
If you ask me, not that I’m an expert or anything, I agree with you. Authenticity AND transparency don’t match with “promote the you that you want to promote”
I recently read a tweet that it might be more important to be Authentic than it is to be transparent. I interpreted that to mean that it’s okay to not have one definition for yourself, but that whatever it is you do, make it REAL.
The thing about personal branding is that it’s more likely for the people who AREN’T go-out-there-and-get-er-done’ers. You mentioned those, and alot of twitter’s professional users are those types of people. They’ll get their street cred, their props, and their reputation based on results
But Personal Branding is out there to help the other folks,the ones who don’t get their hands dirty as much as they should or could. Personal Branding helps people looking for traditional jobs but are up against traditional competition. The Leg-Up in those circumstances is huge.
For those people, it becomes a bit more clear that it might be wise to protray yourself for the purpose of being hired by a particular type of company. These folks aren’t using twitter and stuff to be more human (like the majority of us), they’re using it to be more professional and more accessible.
Isn’t this the beauty of social media? It can be exactly what you need it to be for your purposes. And that’s why personal branding, even though those excerpts come from an expert like Dan Schwabel, can’t be generalized for each individual. There’ll be a different definition for each person.
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
@Japman_Bajaj,
Thanks so much for reading, and being brave enough to comment first. You raise a good point about the people most likely to be attracted to personal branding.
But I firmly believe, ironically, the people who need that extra leg up will be most stunted by personal branding, because it turns your mind’s eye on yourself, and we all know what sort of insecurities arise when we stare at ourselves.
When you turn your mind’s eye out, onto your passions, those neurosis tend to fall away.
Thanks again for your thoughts,
Jen
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Wow, this is some food for thought. I agree with Japman_Bajaj I don’t think transparency and authenticity go together at all. I think we are all out there creating our own personal brand for different reasons and the bottom line, is we need to be ourselves. Be authentic. Create your own voice in your own way. How we want to use that personal brand in the real world and the social media world is up us. You are right though, it can be an avenue that can lead in all diifferent directions- personal or professional. Very interesting. Thanks for making me think!
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Thanks, Kim. Speaking of being yourself, your Girl Sanctuary post was definitely the real thing. Very inspiring.
J
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THANK YOU for writing this.
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Thank You!
“Isn’t this the beauty of social media? It can be exactly what you need it to be for your purposes. And that’s why personal branding, even though those excerpts come from an expert like Dan Schwabel, can’t be generalized for each individual. There’ll be a different definition for each person.”
Rarely do we have the opportunity to shape our own circumstances. This is one such chance. I encourage my colleagues to innovate and make this whatever they want. Alas, not everyone is a pioneer or what we now call an early adopter.
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
“Alas, not everyone is a pioneer or what we now call an early adopter.”
Very true. And if everyone was, good GAWD, what a messy picture.
Thanks for your thoughts, SabSavvy.
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This is so true. thanks for writing this.
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Len Kendall and Simon,
Thanks so much for your support and for reading.
Jen
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Thanks for the post. I agree with the sentiment, but doesn’t this interpretation, and the general thrust of the responses, reinforce more about our feeling toward the inauthentic nature of our industry and the work we do, than it does about the concept of ‘personal branding’?
I think what Dan Shwabel’s suggesting is pretty legitimate. Why can’t the face we want to show the world be authentic? Don’t we all do exactly that? We naturally focus on the personal traits we feel most positive about, hoping that others will feel positive about them too. It’s just playing to your strengths.
I follow three advertising people on Twitter. My sense of each of them is driven by a couple of dominant characteristics. Alex Bogusky strikes me as unpretentious and endlessly positive, Dave Trott as down-to-earth and insightful, and Rory Sutherland as charming and erudite. I’d bet they are genuinely so, but I’d also bet that they’ve actively promoted these traits, focusing on them, choosing to show them to the world.
I worry that it’s our experience in the industry that drives our interpretation. We’re too used to organisations that feel they can construct a ‘brand’ from smoke and mirrors (or that we should be able to do it on their behalf). We know there’s seldom any substance to the promise and that ultimately this will be exposed. This fraudulence has unfortunately become our expectation.
But I’m not sure that being authentic and choosing the face we want to show the world are mutually exclusive. For most people it’s nothing more than putting your best foot forward.
I’m not refuting your argument. We all know our share of charlatans. They’re easy to recognise because they’re the very people who proudly talk about having a personal brand.
But as more people think about the concept of creating a personal brand, I guess I just don’t want to assume that the face that those people will want to show the world will necessarily be inauthentic. Maybe I’m being both simplistic and optimistic but I don’t think most people want the world to see a contrived façade. I think most people would just really like the world to see the best them on their best day.
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Philip,
I definitely think it’s possible to put one, authentic face forward. But holding it, as your consistent “storefront,” in my opinion is mutually exclusive from overall authenticity.
When you say, “We naturally focus on the personal traits we feel most positive about, hoping that others will feel positive about them too,” the part that worries me about personal branding is specifically the second part of your sentence.
Not to get too theoretical, but whenever the object (an individual) views himself, and adjusts himself according to *imagined* reactions of others, he becomes his own subject. (See Foucault’s Panopticon)
Put simply, being authentic means putting your whole, real, contradictory self out there, not choosing a static versions of that to “represent you.”
It’s not that you can’t put a “real” part of you out front to represent the whole “you,” it’s that fragmenting yourself at all is the very essence of contriving.
I’m babbling. Thanks for pushing on this post and making me think.
Jen
P.S. I also love Rory. His TEDtalk rocks.
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Hi Jen,
I did what I usually do with stuff that provokes my thought, I broke the concepts down:
Brand:
- Trade name: a name given to a product or service.
- A recognizable kind; “there’s a new brand of hero in the movies now”; “what make of car is that?”
- Mark with a brand or trademark;
– A brand is a Belgian rock group featuring Dag Taeldeman. Their hits include “Riding Your Ghost” (2004), “Hammerhead” (2006), “Beauty Booty Killerqueen” (2006) and “Time” (2008).
(hmm, last one might not be relevant here, but I’ll leave it in just in case).
Authenticity:
- Undisputed credibility
- Not counterfeit or copied; “an authentic signature”; “a bona fide manuscript”; “an unquestionable antique”
- Generally, the condition of that which is reliable, trustworthy, real, original, unique.
- Authentic is the fourth album from Joey Pearson.
(hmm, maybe that Belgian rock thing IS relevant)
So looking first at brands and branding; its something active, a conscious effort. A set of values is consciously applied to a product or service. Obviously the one creating the brand hopes to engender a reputation for specific qualities for that brand. They are attempting to create an association in the minds of their customers that this brand guarantees something about the product itself. This is key to something I’ll get to later.
Authenticity is a certainty of genuineness. It’s not a reproduction, its not counterfeit, it is exactly as represented. It is credible, and stands up to investigation.
On the surface I can see how a possible conflict can occur. How do you create a brand and endow it (as an artificial construction) with a sense of authenticity? Is it possible to create (particularly in social media) a personality as a brand? How can that persona be genuine if its a deliberate creation?
On the other hand, why should a brand be anything other than genuine and credible? If you’re creating a brand with the intention of deceiving, then over the long term, you’re doomed to failure. Purchasers of your product will notice the disparity between the advertised values and the ones they’ve received and will desert in droves. If I can cite a link external (which I picked up from @unmarketing – I’m sorry!) – http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2NkTPY/www.randygage.com/artman/publish/article_178.shtml/ . It touches on the difference between intended and perceived brand.
This brings me to a point I abutted earlier. Brands, whilst conceived by the author are created and endure in the mind of the customer. No matter what you envision for your brand, no matter what you try to achieve it may well end up the opposite if you don’t follow through on your promises. I suppose that ties in to authenticity nicely. If you’re creating a brand, the qualities you desire have to be the ones you deliver, otherwise you’re dooming it to failure.
Finally, since brands are created in the mind of the customer (and I’ve said this before) then even trying to *not* pin a brand down yourself, or an attempt to be deliberately flexible or agile may end up BEING your brand, even if that’s not what you intended. No matter how much you may not intend it, you may end up with a concrete personal brand.
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
John,
Could not agree more. Everyone DOES have a brand, regardless of whether they play an active role in contriving it. So why waste your time trying to steer that ship, right?!
When I lived downtown near the bus station, there was this older lady who sat out on the public bench with no bra and her shirt unbuttoned all the way.
Just . . . Taking . . . In . . . The . . . Sun.
There was always some car dealer’s face plastered on the bench, staring up and smiling at her with capped teeth. Quite a juxtaposition, lemme tell you.
But I’ve never forgotten that image (unfortunately), and I have a crazy feeling she didn’t consciously created that “brand,” but I bet she sold more cars for those capped-teeth dudes than anyone who was actually trying, just by drawing eyeballs to their ads. Now THAT’S a brand.
Ya know?
Thanks, as always, for your thoughts.
J
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Hi Jen,
This post got me thinking. I’ve never felt quite right with the whole personal brand thing and you helped me put my finger on some of the reasons why. I just blogged some of my thoughts (with a link back here) and came up with more questions than answers. I’m eager to read more of the comments here and on my blog too. I don’t have a made up mind on this one. Thanks for starting the conversation!
Amy
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Amy,
I just read your post and commented at your site. I hope everyone stops over to read it at
http://iplaybig.com
I love that you call it a conversation. It’s certainly not a cut and dry issue, though I sometimes tend to write them as though they are. Maybe that’s my brand?! I kid.
Thanks so much for jumping in with both feet.
J
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Thanks for the great blog Jen.
“Isn’t the very crux of authenticity a lack of constructing a facade of self?”
Absolutely, hands down! And this is why I follow you with glee. You are real and not a cardboard cutout of “rules”. I don’t mean to be rude and I certainly don’t poll in the big $$ bucks that these talking heads do, but I also have no interest in blowing branding up the unsuspecting butts of everyone I come in contact with. Listen, most of the people who go on&on about what one ’should do’ on Twitter are seeking something I have very little interest in. So ‘that’s me’ however I understand that other people need their facades in order to sell sell sale sale whatever it is they are selling. ALTHOUGH I BET FEW in their follow list cares or even notices. Why? Because they are boring and rarely engage on any human level. More than likely I haven’t bought anything they are selling. Sure I am not their main target and I do mean ‘target’ because shooting us all is what most (not all) do. Not all. Many, they have a PR gun that blasts/broadcasts boredom to the masses. I wish CSI could forensics the individual bullets and prosecute them for
horrible homicide of social media.
TWITTER is many things to many people, it just so happens that the marketers are the ones that Twitter itself caters to. It’s also the marketers who flocked to Twitter in the first place. Eventually regular peeps simply interested in a way to talk out loud joined and then discovered it could be more than narcissism, it can be a real dialogue of real people really connecting via humor, via information, via shared frame of reference, causes and what have you.
That in no way has anything to do with the SEO of ’send everything out’ for purchase. And ‘Secure Everything Online’ in your personal branding.
I do believe in keeping a logo/avatar/slogan whatever the case may be to get recognized for your company or even your you that may someday be a company of sorts, but I get tired of the preaching. NOTHING works the same for everyone! If it did then everyone practicing these rules would be just as successful as everyone else and yet COMMUNISM and SOCIALISM are taboo in America.
I get shit for being me. I’ve gotten used to it. I can’t change because why should I…and if I do change up and do some acting because I run out of freelance work then I’ll be just as phony as the rest. If I become destitute that is what I’ll do, join the herd. I’ll have to. Thing is, the most prosperous and innovative brands didn’t join the herd, they went their own way and in so doing sparked new revolutions… I’d rather try at that or even fail at that. I feel enough value in myself that going that route is better, keeps my dignity in tact. My self honor matters to me. Otherwise I’d be selling my naughties on a street corner and BTW that’s very easy to BRAND.
I’m babbling like mad, but your blog is one of the first that really GRABBED me on this subject. All Hail Jenn! You didn’t PANDER to conventional gobbledeegook.
I hope I don’t have too many typos, because that will HURT my brand!
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Jen Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Tina! Holy camoly, girl!
And right back atcha on being true to yourself.
“Thing is, the most prosperous and innovative brands didn’t join the herd, they went their own way and in so doing sparked new revolutions… I’d rather try at that or even fail at that. ”
I loved this. And don’t you also find that your gut will tell you if they’re just zigging away from the zag? There’s just something that you can smell, even on Twitter, when someone is truly just on their own path.
Mine is generally all over the map, especially after Scotch.
I so appreciate you coming over and letting it all out. Really.
J
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I like the way David Byrne of The Talking Hands secured his brand. Aside from the chaotic, deep, bizarre musical stylings of the band, what he did was wear the EXACT same outfit everyday, everywhere he went for quite a long time. This is similar to what Einstein did, although they did it for different reasons.
Byrne did it so that people would instantly recognize him, remember “Oh that’s the guy who is all arty and weird making that freaky awesome music.” And it worked.
Sure at first they figure he must be poor with no clothes, but that thought passed quickly and got back to the “Oh that’s the guy who MAKES [...]”
Einstein of course did it because he thought looking for what clothes to wear was idiotic. Clearly he was not a girl, we rock the freedom of threads choice.
Either way, Byrne had a plan, a unique MARKETING plan and it worked for him.
Finding what works for you individually and using/harnassing your own particular quirks as an advantage will get you further than joining the herd and uttering the same old MOO.
And you ma’dear know that. Love it!
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Jen, Enjoyed reading the various perspectives, your post has generated some great discussion. Without wanting to appear self serving as I do this for a living.
But most people that I work with have little or no social media presence, beyond personal ones in the likes of Facebook. Their personal brands are what they do every day, most of the time they are doing this sub-consciously because they are just being who they are. But on occasion they want to have a little more awareness of how they are perceived and how they impact those they come in to contact with.
That is where a personal branding process can be useful – not to create a personal brand with a false social media image but to clearly define and communicate one that is already there. And usually they are doing this not just for themselves but for the benefits of others and their communities at large – that to me is real personal branding.
Just my toonies worth.
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Jen,
I am equally impressed by your thoughts AND the conversation you have generated.
I had NO idea when I hopped online tonight to see what you were up to in the clubhouse that I would spend nearly 30 minutes reading all sides of the personal branding/authenticity discussion. KILLER comments people. Wow. I’m not going to add any new, deep or profound on this one… i’m just going to keep my mouth shut, clap my hands and stomp my feet for all ya’ll that did.
RIGHT ON.
*Muah* to you on this one Jen… ever and always the real-deal.
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Jen, I do a lot of public speaking about social media and (among many other things) job hunting. I talk about managing one’s digital assets and digital footprint.
Beyond that, I don’t talk about personal branding because it seems phony. Be who you are, put your best foot forward, but be real. It’s a johari window thing- you can pretend to be something other than who you are… but before long, everyone else sees it, even if you don’t.
thanks for giving voice to this. it’s been on my mind. Brogan says it best, be an agent of trust….
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Nothing quite like chiming in after all of these amazing comments.
For me, branding has never been about creating a facade. Those who approach it in such a way lose my interest completely. In fact, the word “brand” and the word “expert” are quickly becoming banished from my vocabulary.
Brands (ugh, I said it) find their foundation in self-awareness, not a carefully crafted logo, font, or wardrobe. As @CTK1 so eloquently said, “Otherwise I’d be selling my naughties on a street corner and BTW that’s very easy to BRAND.”
Explaining this fact to the textbook audience seems to be a challenge, as they don’t seem to understand that this is an organic process. Not a linear one.
I make the comparison to musicians. Musicians express themselves (their brand) through their music, with the hopes of capturing the attention of their natural audience. An audience that is naturally drawn to the “self” of the musician.
In the process of writing my own tunes,
Chris
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Hi Jen,
Such a great conversation that you’ve started – well done!
reading through the comments above, I can’t help think that a few peeps have missed the point as to what personal branding is and what it isn’t.
For a start, it’s something we all have, whether we like it or not. Your personal brand is what people say and think about you. The difference is that some people choose to manage theirs.
Secondly, the idea that people create their personal brand is an interesting one. Yes, we create our brands daily through our thoughts and actions. But, to create a personal brand that is NOT you, is going to be rumbled very quickly – inauthentic and lacking in transparency.
It may be easier to think about the control one may have over their personal brand in relation to flying a kite. Sure, you set the kite into the air (launch yourself, put yourself into a certain space), you can pull and tug (take actions), but ulitmately the wind will determine where the kite goes. Similarly, your thoughts and actions will be interpreted by others, and this is where you lose control. You do not know how others will interpret your actions and words. But, that is what your brand is.
Managing your personal brand takes enormours self awareness and understanding of who you really are. Many people when asked, don’t even know their own strengths, let alone their values, or their goals. Without awareness of these, your brand will lack direction and substance.
Understanding what your brand is and then refining it a fascinating process. I work with many people who start out thinking their brand is X when in fact it’s Y. The main error they were making is that they were only asking themselves, and that’s only one of places to look. You must also go to your market – the target of your efforts.
Alexia
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Jen,
First, my disclaimer– I don’t know anything at all about branding, from a marketing standpoint. Nada.
I have to say, though, that this conversation about self and the construction of the self that is presented to the world reminds me of Frederick Douglass and his obsession with his self-image– he wrote three autobiographies, demonstrating that the creation of a self (or a determination of what aspect of self to present to the world) was constantly under revision.
I’m thinking, too, of Douglass’s conflict with Garrison, which was at root an assertion of his right to revise himself– to grow and change and especially to play an active role in his own self-creation. Remember– Garrison wanted Douglass to keep a little of that “plantation speech” and to show off the scars on his back– it was crucial that Douglass was believed to be an “authentic” ex-slave. But to remain defined by the scars of slavery is bondage of a different sort. (Back to Foucault?) Those scars were almost a literal branding that Douglass underwent twice– first when he was whipped, and then when his scars were shown to crowds. In response, Douglass told and retold his own story, of himself as the quintessential self-made man.
I’m not sure what kind of addition this makes to the conversation, but Douglass certainly seems like a relevant (or at least interesting?) figure to consider– he’s such a complicated case.
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Good comments.
Since people are all unique as human beings, branding is a way to separate each person from the herd.
The new reality these days is perception. As a utility, branding allows an employed or unemployed professional to create a version of their truth/transparency that works.
Acquired skills become obsolete. Natural talent never does. The challenge is being able to apply the same talents in an ever changing global economy.
Learning never stops.
Randy
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A couple random thoughts.
I’d like to think that my blog and twitter feed is a one-way representation of myself, a self-monitored and censored presentation of life as how I’d prefer the world to see me.
I try my best not to define myself by what the rest of the social media collective believes me to be. I guess I can’t help but be influenced by comments and input, but maybe because my e-presence is low-key, it gives me more leeway to put on whatever mask I deem appropriate.
For me, authentic or authenticity means being true to what I represent. I like my blog. I like writing about dropping my cell phone in the toilet and buying stocks that go bankrupt. I like blogging about me burning cakes and being an overall man-child.
Sure, that personal brand might not be an authentic representation of who I am as a multilayered person…but that’s okay. I don’t want everyone to know everything about me. Just little pieces.
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