Dealing with the creepiness of personal branding

Dealing with the creepiness of personal branding

I do a lot of executive coaching and one of the big discussion topics is accepting the creepiness of personal branding -- the fact that talking about yourself in public is part of business life these days. In fact, this topic leads to an entire existential discussion about sharing, over-sharing, privacy, and "it's nobody's damn business!"

If you've followed me for a while, you probably know that I think developing a personal brand is important. It's the only sustainable competitive advantage we have as professionals. It opens the doors of opportunity!

But beyond the individual, encouraging the people around you in your company to make a mindful effort in this direction is important because increasingly, the personal brand IS the brand!

I feel so strongly about this that I believe marketing departments should?devote at least part of their resources to supporting executive branding.?

But this does not address the central issue of today. It can still feel creepy to put your self out there.

Putting creepy in perspective

No alt text provided for this image

I recently responded to a LinkedIn post from?Ashley Sumner, the founder of the?Quilt social network.

Ashley is doing a great job presenting her personality to the world. One of her posts described why she felt misunderstood. And yet, she is struggling with this idea of a personal brand. She posted:

Anyone else sick of figuring out the best way to “brand” themselves? It feels inauthentic and painfully limiting. Thoughts?

Here was my response:

In your question, you are providing your own answer.

Your question is honest and vulnerable. And that's how you "brand yourself." Just keep doing that. Your content and thoughts will attract the right audience, an audience that will want to work for you, buy your products, and invest in you.

While it may seem a little creepy, putting yourself out there consistently is the single most important thing you can do as a founder. Nobody believes in marketing messaging (speaking as a marketing professional!). We believe each other -- Our friends, our family, and even company founders.

You can't fake authenticity!

My advice to her was simple ... and difficult, too!

Creating a personal brand doesn't mean you over-share. It doesn't mean you have to pretend. It doesn't mean a compromise. The personal brand just offers more of you at your best.

It takes some courage to put yourself out there, but if you want to earn attention in this world, you don't have a choice.

To stand out, you need to be original. To be original, you have to share your story. At least part of it.

Even if it might feel a little creepy!

I appreciate you and the time you took out of your day to read this! You can find more articles like this from me on the top-rated?{grow} blog?and while you’re there, take a look at my?Marketing Companion podcast?and my?keynote speaking page. For news and insights find me on Twitter at?@markwschaefer, to see what I do when I’m not working, follow me on?Instagram, and to discover my?$RISE creator community here.

Howard Tiersky

WSJ Best Selling author & founder of QCard, a SaaS platform designed to empower professionals to showcase their expertise, grow their reach, and lead their markets.

2 年

Great points discussed here, Mark. I agree – one of the primary aspects of putting your business out in the market is the image you create for yourself. This idea can be daunting or creepy, but customers tend to be more trusting when they know the person behind the business.

回复
Dorothy Villeneuve, ACC

I help coaches and experts with online businesses to achieve $10k+ months using my Workshop to Wealth Method? | Consultant | Red Team Coach

2 年

Being our own unique selves is definitely a huge differentiating factor no one can take away! No one has your unique lived experience and from that comes such great perspective.

Bea Pole-Bokor

Social Media & Visibility Coach ?? Become more visible in biz & show up more genuinely in life. ?? ThetaHealing?? Instructor | A Social Butterfly keeping it real ??

2 年

Spot on article again Mark Schaefer - so well summarised!! ?? And such a big struggle for many people in high profile roles, too. Personal branding - it’s in the word, got to be personal, and people love personal - but it doesn’t have to be private. That’s such an important distinction in my experience, and can take a big weight with several fears and blockages off people’s shoulders. It definitely helped me show up with ease when I decided to “put myself out there”. ??

Alex Chikovani

Devoted strategic branding professional - brand strategist, dedicated to ensure long lives of the brands. Proponent of Human Factor in brand building

2 年

Be at list little bit known :)

要查看或添加评论,请登录

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了