We’re Living in the Golden Age of Human Connectivity
A time when each and every one of us feels compelled to look into the “digital mirror” of life, forever altering the way we perceive ourselves.
The result, we’re now in the golden age of personal branding.
Looking back, it was all too easy.
You could connect with friends and family on Facebook, break the news on Twitter, post selfies on Instagram, create videos and post on YouTube, and more – all for free! With Google, you could search the world instantaneously and gain immediate access to brands, content and online resources.
But the game was rigged.
It wasn’t free at all. In exchange for using these platforms, your personal data, activity, interests, contacts, (and everything else,) was monitored, tracked, stored and used to serve you “relevant” ad messages and sold to the highest bidder.
Perhaps the biggest danger and potential loser – personal brands.
With all of these social platforms and free access to create and distribute content at scale, everyone (whether they know it or not) is creating a personal brand.
In marketing, perception is reality.
Remember, what you say and what you do creates your brand narrative – how the world interprets it may be entirely different than you see it.
In physics, Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
What you post online creates your brand perception, and each “action” will have a brand “reaction.”
Tread carefully.
Authenticity
In marketing, authenticity rules. If there is such a thing as a sure thing, this is it.
Your personal brand should never be playing some other character that you think the world wants to see, it should be you.
If you’re positioning yourself as a dancer but can’t dance, what do you think the reaction will be when the music starts playing?
Don’t try to be. Just be.
It’s simple, yet most marketers and brands get this wrong.
If you project yourself to the universe in an authentic way, then the people that will relate to you will be drawn to your personal brand organically.
You don’t need to be the best, or brightest. You just need to be you.
That’s how you differentiate.
Your personal brand is real. Be real.
Vanity or Value?
Showing off your personal life is not a personal brand. Brands are about value, not vanity.
Lost in our pursuit of happiness we’ve somehow turned our worlds into a self-directed movie streaming daily for all to see. What is it that you want the world to see?
Don’t let vanity steal the show – your personal brand is too important.
“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility.”
T.S. Eliot
“Your personal brand is not a product.”
You’ve heard this before – marketing should be consumer (not product) focused. Don’t make your personal brand a product you’re selling.
With marketing, the goal is not to try and persuade, position, and coax the consumer into doing something that you want them to do.
It’s about the exchange of knowledge, information, guidance, education, and service that will create actual value for the consumer.
To be seen as a trusted advisor.
Your personal brand is the intersection of knowledge, perspective, and experience that is unique to you. People will be attracted to your personal brand because of your insight and service to the world align and resonates with their particular hopes, fears, and desires.
The world is watching. Remember it’s personal.
Be authentic.
Bring value.
Be of service.