Personal branding is a narcissistic endeavor.
Ryan Rhoten
Messaging Strategist for Leadership Development Consultants | Distill Your Expertise into Memorable Messaging and Offers that Attract Leads with Less Effort | Founder of The Distilled Brand?
I got this challenge this week in my inbox about personal branding. ??
"So dude, I'm challenging you to defend (personal) branding as not a totally narcissistic self-aggrandizing endeavor."
It's a great question. Many people think the same thing, myself included at one point. But after a lot of research and interviewing numerous experts on personal branding, I now know:
?? Personal branding has nothing to do with ego.
?? Personal branding is the key to unlocking opportunities.
To understand why, let's look at the two parts of "personal branding."
A Personal Brand
First, what is a brand??
In his book The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier defines a brand this way.
A BRAND IS A PERSON'S GUT FEELING ABOUT A PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR ORGANIZATION.??
A brand is a person's gut feeling. Let's test this out.?
What do you think when you read the following?
As you read those names, you probably felt something for one or more of them - happiness, anger, ambivalence, etc.?
Those 'feels' you got represent, for you, that company or person's brand.?
Let's try one more.
??
The challenge with this one is you may have a feeling about yourself, but...
…does that feeling match what others feel when they see your name;?
Here's a truth many brush off - Whether you recognize it or not, you have a brand.
It's the gut feeling others, coworkers, bosses, clients, or customers have about you and the service you provide, whether as a founder or an employee.?
Your personal brand is how those around you see you, view you, and categorize you.?
Do you know how others view you??
How do they feel about you??
The mismatch between your view and their view of your brand can lead to problems for your business or career.?
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I was let go from my corporate job because of this mismatch.
Once you realize there's a mismatch, the question becomes how can you control others' "feelings"?about you.
Most will want to:
But it won't work.?
The hard truth is that you can't control others' feelings, but you can shape perceptions by engaging in personal branding.
Personal Branding
What is personal branding??
I define it as the intentional act of telling the world who you are and how you add value.?
Is it narcissistic to tell people about the value you provide??
I mean, if you don't, who will?
In the book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, the authors define positioning as the act of claiming a category in someone's mind.
There's that "someone else's mind"?thing again. ?
Combining my definition with Mr. Neumeier and the authors of Positioning, personal branding becomes:
The intentional act of strategically positioning who you are and how you add value in someone's mind and feelings.
Personal branding, like business branding, involves strategically shaping others' perceptions of you so that when they are ready to make a choice about things like...
…YOU are the person they think about. You become that gut feeling that owns a category in their mind, the feeling that pushes you up and your competitors away.?
Personal branding shapes those moments when others think of a brand or a person (you?) as the solution to a problem.?
Without personal branding, it's easy to become just another person sitting in a cubicle. Or, in my case, another headcount my boss felt he could do without.?
So, is personal branding a?narcissistic, self-aggrandizing endeavor??
The answer to that question depends on you. After all, it is personal.
As for me, I'd much rather have others know who I am and how I add value so they think of me when they need help with branding, messaging, or personal branding rather than have them think about my competitors. ?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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Strategic Fractional CMO | Reputation Management Specialist | Driving Business Growth Through Marketing Leadership & Brand Strategy | Expert in Customer Acquisition & Digital Presence Optimization | Gunslinger
9 个月Ryan, thanks for sharing!
Intriguing perspective. Consider leveraging sequential storytelling across platforms to amplify personal brand reach, breaking beyond traditional boundaries by experimenting with A/B/C/D/E/F/G testing to identify unique audience engagement strategies.
?? Teaching Personal Branding & "Level Up Your LinkedIn" for Career Professionals ?? Digital & Social Media Marketing Professor ?? AI Prompt Collector ?? ?????? #RockNRollYourCareer ?? on TikTok ??
10 个月I agree with your definitions. I tell students that your personal brand is your personal reputation and personal branding is the management and marketing of your personal reputation.
Freelance Writer & B2B Copywriter | Storyteller | Crafting enticing, engaging, and inspiring words for tech startups, global enterprises, and publications
10 个月Spot-on, Ryan. The truth is, we all have a personal brand already. If we don’t intentionally define/refine it, others will certainly do it for us!
Messaging Strategist for Leadership Development Consultants | Distill Your Expertise into Memorable Messaging and Offers that Attract Leads with Less Effort | Founder of The Distilled Brand?
10 个月Thought I try publishing an article for a change. What do you think David J.P. Fisher, Warwick Brown, MICHELLE B GRIFFIN, Denny McCorkle, Kathleen Crandall