One of my favorite blogs, Web Worker Daily, recently featured a series of posts about the necessity (or not) of developing a personal brand. I know that every solopreneur struggles with this, whether it’s viewed as a fun aspect of being in business for yourself… or an uncomfortable marketing necessity.
The posts delve into the obvious questions, asking about the level of self-expression (or self-exposure, depending on your point of view) needed to achieve a branding or marketing goal. What caught my attention was that the posts illustrated very different points of view and comfort-levels with the concept of transforming one’s own personality, tastes, opinions and lifestyles into what is essentially just marketing material.
The one post, A Book and a Network: Inspiration for Personal Branding Success, was definitely in the “pro-branding” camp – citing Michael Port’s books that espouse full self-expression and pointing to Food Network stars as examples of how being truly yourself and beaming your unedited personality to the world are the keys to success - making it easier to attract ideal clients and build a more successful business. There’s a great point there – as faking it will breed resentment and stress, no doubt. However, it should also be noted that stars of the Food Network are, eh - TV stars - and not generally expected to behave like obedient dullards – or technical service providers. So I’m not sure if that was the best illustration for the rest of us. 
The second post on the subject of personal branding, Personal Branding vs. Self-Awareness, took a very different approach. The author, Georgina Laidlaw, makes the case that “Personal Branding” can devolve into drama-manufacturing – just to garner some attention and feed the media machine. She cites the example of Madonna’s affair with baseball star Alex Rodriquez (and their respective divorces) as an extreme example. Ironically, the “personal brand” can also become a strait-jacket, inhibiting open mindedness or risk-taking:
I see success as being appreciated for who I am and what I can do, so I balk at the idea of avoiding saying or doing certain things because they might erode the integrity of my personal brand.
I think a middle ground (as usual) is the best approach. I’m an enthusiastic Twitterer, have a Facebook profile and love my blog. I really try to keep it informative and human (I’m guilty of spewing an unsolicited political view now & then), but not very personal. In fact, I don’t think anyone could really learn much about my life specifics by looking at my profiles. I do hope people can get a good and favorable impression of how I can help their businesses, and maybe a picture of my personality and values.
As a side-note… I’m darned careful about involving others in my online networking. Example – I met a friend for lunch last week, but did not tweet about it specifically, as maybe my lunch date didn’t want the world to know where she was that afternoon. We joked about it over lunch – and yes tweeted afterward (with permission) – but it is a consideration that can easily be overlooked in the drive to become more and more visible online.
Check out the articles – great food for thought! What’s your attitude toward personal branding?
A Book and a Network: Inspiration for Personal Branding Success
Good post Mary. I did enjoy these three posts as well. I think personal branding is inevitable and still poses as a unique identifier for people who want to stand out amongst the crowd and live their dreams. The hardest part is, of course, figuring out what your brand is!
Hi Dan! I agree – figuring out what the "brand' should be is the toughest part! It's necessary, but having a bit of thoughtfulness about how we go about it is always a good idea. Thanks for your comment!