Personal Branding on the Web
Personal branding has become a hot issue lately. I think it warrants some attention because most people think they “get it” but haven’t really thought about what it means or they should actively engage in it. The biggest question that stands out in my mind is “do you create your personal brand beyond what comes naturally, or is it just a byproduct of who you already are?”
I think personal branding was previously a byproduct of what you did and the reputation you cultivated. Like how Oprah is seen as the queen of daytime TV or Jack Welch as a business guru. These associations are still what personal branding is all about, but it seems nowadays that people are considering more of a branding process for creating the image they desire, rather than simply letting it happen by itself.
If you go to this blog on personal brands, you’ll see that they are actually giving out awards for who has cultivated the most valuable personal brand. This means there must be some type of branding process out there, and a seriously premeditated way to design what people associate with your image.
I’ve noticed that people are starting to have personal logos and more catchy nicknames. I recently went to an SEO meet up group that was hosted by a gentleman going by the name “Radar Roy” – get it? He calls himself Radar Roy because he knows where the people go online and how to get them to your website. It seems simple, but if you compare the catchy name of Radar Roy to some other SEO guy, Radar Roy has a better chance of standing out - if he is any good – an Radar Roy was great.
You also have the mega bloggers out there like Chris Brogan with a personal online branding strategy. If you check out Chris’ name on the main page, you see he actually has his own logo for his name – a B with a circle around it.
A personal brand requires consistency, just like any other brand. That means that you need to have the same persona on your Linkedin page as you do on your Twitter and Facebook accounts. For me, I still feel as though my personal brand should be left to fate.
Do you think that a personal branding strategy results in something more effective than just being natural? How do you find yourself “polishing” your personal brand?
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