The term "marketing" is often associated with advertising or, worse still, techniques for “misrepresenting” reality.
Marketing is quite different; in particular, modern marketing is moving in a very "ethical" and sustainable direction.
Considering this, there is a strong parallel between marketing a company and marketing yourself.
This is where Personal Brand and Personal Branding come in: the first is how others see us, while the second comprises activities to define, build and improve that perception.
Personal Branding is often viewed negatively, as narcissistic, but in my humble opinion:
Personal Branding is not about showing off, but about understanding who we are and expressing our identity and personality.
Combining self-marketing with being ourselves allows us to build an authentic reputation.
In this quote, Jeff Bezos clearly expresses what a personal brand is:
"Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room”
Reputation includes not just competence, but who we are as human beings, and it is a matter of perception: it is what people see in you.
Napoleon Hill said:
“Your reputation is what people think you are; your character is what you are.”
Personally, I believe the best path is to be authentic and bring perception into line with who we really are.
Following the analogy with marketing, we need to ensure our personal Brand Identity produces the desired Brand Equity.
The advice I would give young people is not to underestimate the power of creating a brand in the workplace.
Expressing what we know how to do and love doing has great value in today's market.
The CV is becoming less important and provides a simple snapshot of our journey; unfortunately, what is written sometimes differs considerably from actual competence.
Today, countless channels let us express our thoughts and ideas clearly and honestly, demonstrating through actions what we have learned and tried.
However, we must always be careful, remembering Warren Edward Buffett's words:
"It takes twenty years to build a good reputation and only five minutes to ruin it"
Personal Branding becomes Executive Communications and CEO Branding when carried out by senior managers and chief executives, who effectively create an authentic, effective communication channel.
Through Personal Branding, we make ourselves visible by bringing value to the world around us.
Authenticity is fundamental.
The historic American advertising agency H.K. McCann Co. (later merged with Erickson to form McCann-Erickson, one of the world's largest agencies) based its creative work on the following motto:
Truth Well Told — the truth, well told
To underline its commitment to telling authentic, compelling stories for the brands it works with.
I believe this motto should also guide our Personal Branding activities.
Owned channels for your personal brand
Personally, I find that, besides access to knowledge, one of the great opportunities the Internet offers is the ability to express ourselves and share our thoughts.
Social media are revolutionary because of their ease of use, but, with a few exceptions, messages have very little persistence or shelf life (after a few days, our posts disappear from feeds).
Moreover, social platforms are not “owned media” but “rented media”: we are tenants. Algorithm changes can drastically reduce our visibility at any time (ask anyone who once had thriving Facebook pages), or we can even be thrown out.
Social media are excellent for helping people discover our content and ideas, but then we need to welcome people into our own home! 🏠
Blogger.com is Google's free blogging platform
The quintessential digital property is our own website. On our website, we can do what we want: there are no other platforms' rules to follow (while of course staying within the law), and we can use whatever colours, fonts and formats we like. This is where we consolidate the foundations of our Personal Brand.
Everyone should have their own home (not just companies). I remember the free hosting platform Geocities in the 1990s, organised around the metaphor of homes and neighbourhoods (representing topic areas).
Today, many platforms put website creation within everyone's reach. Here are the main ones:
- https://about.me/
- https://sites.google.com/
- https://www.blogger.com/
- https://www.tumblr.com/
- https://www.wix.com/
- https://wordpress.com/
There are no excuses: all it takes is a little willingness and creativity: in the time it takes to watch an episode of a TV series, you are online 💪
If you can invest the cost of a dinner (a pizza and a beer will do), the best option is your own domain representing you (I recommend registering firstname-surname.it; if your name is Mario Rossi it may already be taken, but if it is available, buy it straight away), with a hosting service.
Incidentally, individuals could not register domains in the past (I remember using my father's VAT number; he was probably the first market trader with a domain 😂).
At that point, platform algorithms may change, but no one can touch your digital home (in theory).
Personally, I attach much more value to CVs containing a link to a personal website. Clearly, it is even more important when applying for a digital role 😉
Brett Adcock, considered one of the most influential figures in AI and CEO of Figure (the robotics company valued at 2.6 billion), wrote down some very useful advice after reviewing countless CVs for his start-up.
Cover letters are a waste of time and are not read, so avoid them.
A CV should convey a clear message. Put yourself in the reader's shoes to check whether they will perceive what you want them to perceive.
But what Adcock most appreciates is a personal website listed on a CV, because it gives a clearer, more complete picture and reveals the candidate's style and thinking.
Adcock also values the effort and creativity involved in building a personal narrative using a website or any other available platform (video, presentation, etc.).
Finally, a practical, tactical tip: find out who is responsible for recruitment and write to them directly.
Notice that Adcock's LinkedIn profile immediately links to his personal website😉
For that final point, it is essential to know how to use LinkedIn and also have an outstanding profile there, because the recruiter will first look at who you are.
In practice, a LinkedIn page is a living landing page where we can share not only our education and past activities, but also our thinking and vision of the market.