A personal brand can boost your reputation. It can help you spread a message, build relationships, and grow your business.
BUT… not always.
Your personal brand can actually work against you.
In fact, it can damage people’s perception of you.
For the first half of my career, I was a copywriter in advertising, and wrote ads for some of the world’s greatest brands. I saw the power of branding to help a brand become more loved and admired.
Yet I also saw that not all branding is created equal. A generic or half-hearted brand can turn people off, and make them less likely to return for more.
The world doesn’t need another personal brand to roll off the assembly line. The world needs YOU.
Are you damaging your personal brand with any of these 5 mistakes?
1. Is your personal brand generic?
Most personal branding techniques give generic tips about how to make an impression. Yet, the whole point is to stand out, and rise above the competition, with authentic traits. Ironic, no?
You can’t stand out by presenting yourself in the same way as everyone else. Avoid following one-size-fits-all techniques, or else you’re just blending in with everyone else.
2. Does your personal brand seem artificial?
Nobody wants to talk with a fake cardboard cut-out. Are you focusing so much on the other person (your customer, your client, your manager) that you’re losing your you-ness?
Don’t focus so much on what you think someone wants that you lose who you actually are. Identify who you are at your best, and the Advantages that highlight your greatest value. Build your brand around those core qualities, and you’ll never feel like a manufactured persona.
3. Do you equate “personal branding” with a resume or logo?
No, no, no. Your personal brand is NOT the same thing as your marketing or resume. It’s not your business card, or your blog, or the color of your website. It’s not artificially manufactured.
Your personal brand should come from within—from your personality. It’s a living, breathing part of you.
What you do should be in alignment with who you are.
4. Is your personal brand stagnant?
Basic personal branding is a good start to a career. But after a certain point, you outgrow where you started. The basics become too basic. Don’t get stuck.
As your income rises, so should people’s perception of your brand.
5. Is your personal brand jumbled and confusing?
It’s easy to think you should change your voice and mindset to match different situations.
Here’s the problem: That makes you seem inauthentic.
Don’t be one person on LinkedIn, and a whole different person in a live conversation. People want a clear, consistent sense of who you are. We want to trust that you’ll be the same person today and tomorrow.
Be more you.
Everything falls into place when you have a clear focal point for your communication. You can stop struggling, and start doing more of what you’re already doing right.
So what’s next?
So many of you have been asking for help in this area. You understand what you shouldn’t do, but you need a game plan of what you should do. I’ll be back soon with the tools to guide you.
David Ogilvy, one of the smartest branding minds in history, said this: "Tell the truth but make the truth fascinating.”
When you know the truth of who you are at your best, you can be both authentic and fascinating.
The people in your life don’t want the plastic version of you. They want the real you.
Give us the YOU who has ideas and opinions and quirks. Give us the YOU who is different and magnificent and one-of-a-kind. We’ll love you for it.
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You can fascinate your followers with a personal brand that is authentically you. Find out how to build yours here.
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I think too often people build their personal brand statements around their perception of what others or their organization wants and values. Might be lucky in the short term but not sustainable over time and definitely not genuine.
People forget that their personal brand is not about the statements they make but instead about how others perceive them in daily interactions. Best to be authentic and let your best self shine through always. Thanks for the great reminder Sally!
The world doesn’t need another personal brand to roll off the assembly line. The world needs YOU.
I appreciate this article. Thanks for writing this!
@ Paul Simkins - Very small businesses establishing a personal brand try to be all things to all people. It's not possible, especially given the many operations hats a small biz owner must wear...there seems to be no time left for personal branding initiatives. It might help to pick just one platform - LinkedIn for professionals, of course - and use one's limited time to build a strong presence there. When things are going well, another platform might be added. I always tells my clients "It's a marathon, not a sprint" 🙂
I think my biggest peeve with the area of personal branding is the confusion that gets created by all the "ways" to establish it. so what happens with most people? They throw up their hands and give up. I think I am like most, if I have to spend a lot of time trying to establish a personal brand (that ultimately is just supposed to be being me) then I won't do it. How do we get around that?
Biggest pet peeve about personal branding is people that tell you social media IS your personal brand. NO! It's another vehicle(s) to communicate your personal brand. The same as you say a resume or logo does not equate to being your personal brand that same for social media.
Sally, I think this article states THINGS that most people already know about what personal branding is about. However it's a good Reminder. I think the main Point is not just to be who you are. But the BEST of who You Are.
Thank you Sally. I appreciate these tips and look forward to reading further guidance along with the tools to assist me. Blessings♥
Thank you for your kind words!