If you are thinking about developing a personal brand, how will you go about doing that?
1. Who will you ask?
2. What will you ask them?
3. How can you tell if someone’s personal brand is truly effective and authentic?
Perhaps you’ll try to find someone to help you develop
your Authentic Personal Brand through a Google search? If you do, “personal brand” will deliver 391,000,000 + results.
You’ll get links to lots and lots (and lots!)
of information on personal branding.
You’ll find that people are talking about personal branding on every available platform: blogs, websites, audio and video.
And while all that talk will give you some information on personal branding, what you learn won’t give you the insight you need to develop your own Authentic Personal Brand.
But all of this information won’t give you the insight you need to develop your own Authentic Personal Brand
When you come to this conclusion, what’s your next step?
If your next step is to search for “personal branding experts,” you will get more links to sites, articles and posts promoting people who call themselves personal brand experts by talking about personal branding.
The same holds true of searches for “personal branding products.” You’ll get a lot of information, and the option to possibly buy some products, but little or no support.
And ironically, when you key in “personal branding support” you’ll get even more talk, but little support.
Do you believe that someone who writes or speaks extensively on the topic of personal branding can build a personal brand?
I think most people do!
So it’s astonishing to see how many of the people writing and speaking on the topic of personal branding have NEVER actually developed a personal brand. Not even their own!
Many of those writing and speaking about personal branding
have NEVER developed a personal brand. Not even their own!
I’ve been shocked to find that many of these self proclaimed personal branding experts are themselves in dire need of personal branding. The following example was provided by someone who recently wrote a personal branding post for a branding blog.
- “I often function as a [1] brand [and] [2] social media expert… I also function as a [3] public relations consultant…a [4] trainer… a [5] columnist and writer…a [6] Public speaker…as a [7] social crusader…”
Just as this combination of apple/lemon/orange/pear creates an unrecognizable fruit, a brand expert/social media expert/pr consultant/trainer/writer/public speaker/social crusader is an unrecognizable entity.
Based on how he presents himself, I don’t think he’ll need to worry that you’ll be asking him to find time to brand YOU!
What searches deliver better results?
- “Personal Branding Services”
- “Personal Branding Programs”
These search terms are a little closer to the mark.
But you’ll still have to do a lot of sifting and sorting of the results. Why?
Because most Advertising “leaves out” a method for you
to use to make a good buying decision.
- Is the personal branding expert you find relying on flashy
or funny stories that are repeated over and over again? - Or are they giving you a methodology that you can use to
choose a qualified and experienced personal brand strategist?
Whether you find a likely personal branding expert on-line or through a referral, there are a number of key questions you need to ask to separate the “pros” from the “pontificators.”
Separating the “Pros” from the “Pontificators”
Read 11 Steps That Make the Difference Between Successful Authentic Personal Branding and Sure Failure.
Use this checklist to find the personal brand strategist who will help you develop the effective Authentic Personal Brand that delivers an excellent return on your personal brand investment (ROI).
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I like this article a lot! My favorite part was the “combination of apple/lemon/orange/pear creates an unrecognizable fruit, a brand expert/social media expert/pr consultant/trainer/writer/public speaker/social crusader is an unrecognizable entity”. I mean of course there are some professions that can be lumped in together . Like “[1] brand [and] [2] social media expert and you can throw in “I also function as a [3] public relations consultant” but moving beyond those would be a stretch! This really hit home for me; as after recently hosting a social mobile media marketing seminar at the local chamber. One of the attendees asked if I would become their personal branding coach and I replied well that depends will you be using social media and mobile marketing to grow your brand? She looked at me with a blank stare. So I began to explain to her that my expertise is engaging people on the go via social media and mobile applications so if her final objective were to meet and cultivate relationships with her fans in both the virtual and real world I could assist her with that but since she had just recently joined an MLM program she needed to look for a MLM coach because those types of companies generally have a defined brand. She said she was shocked that I refused to coach her but pleases with my own ability to stay true to “My Brand” Social mobile Media Marketing!