5 Steps to Becoming the Gatekeeper of Your Personal Brand

August 8, 2008 at 11:11 am | In Career Development, Personal Branding, Positioning, Success Methodologies | 4 Comments

What is a gatekeeper?

In medieval times a gatekeeper was in charge of lowering and rising a gate that protected the castle. They let people in and kept others out, depending on what their affiliation was with the community and king, as well as what the intent of the visit was. Gatekeepers were extremely important to the protection and survival of the community, yet they were either discounted or ignored. In the personal branding arena, you have to play the role of the gatekeeper or someone will still what is rightfully your’s.

Gatekeepers in today’s world need to own their domain (in more ways than one -) ). If you go into web 2.0 with the objective of positioning yourself as a social media expert, marketing legend or another consultant, you are allowing others to be the gatekeeper. In this way, you have to seek approval from them to survive.

5 steps to becoming a gatekeeper

1) Differentiate or die

Let’s face it, you can’t own your brand if it’s a commodity. Person A is just as good as person B if they share everything in common and you can’t compare and contrast their personal brands. You have to stand for something, as well as be authentic, transparent and actually show your personality. I do this by filming podcasts so you get to see my emotions, body language, etc. Observe what everyone else is doing and find your place in the world. Creativity is the key.

2) Niche or itch

If you don’t choose a niche, you will be a needle in a haystack. I’ve said this before that if you are heading into the web without a well-known brand name or a corporation backing you (at least at a director level), then you need a niche. If you fail to select a niche, you will have an itch in an area where you can’t scratch. Yes, this means that you will watch everyday as you are ignored, not placed in the press and fail to build a community. Stop itching yourself and find a place that is relevant to your brand. If you can capitalize on a new trend that is preferred.

3) Google or Froogle

It’s obvious that I’m trying to rhyme at this point. Google’s legacy product service was called Froogle. Instead of trying to rank high on Yahoo! or Excite, concentrate on Google. I can honestly say that Yahoo! and other search engines are inaccurate and don’t have a good algorithm. Google is the background check or permanent record for our brand. Think of Google as the drawbridge from medieval times that is sometimes hard to control, but with enough effort, you can pull it up to protect yourself. To command your gate, seek to become #1 for your brand name and your topic. In natural search it can be hard (refer to #2) but if you pay for keywords, then you will at least show up until your “naturally #1.”

4) Determination or extermination

Referring back to #3; if you fail to proclaim your brand name as the top result after a Google search, you should become determined. Terms such as “mistakes” and “failures” are really dumb. Forget about them immediately and focus your energy on building your brand to claim what is rightfully yours. Without the will and desire, your hard work will disappear into the confined of the 60th page of Google. If you care enough, the determination will come, so choose the right topic in the first place.

5) Visible or miserable

Say you claim your niche before everyone else. Cool! Oh but there is a problem. If your website is not easily found, then it is if it wasn’t established in the first place. Once someone discovers it, they can even copy it and use stronger promotional strategies to “raid your castle.” How about you focus on search engine optimization, social network profile building, and the creation of blogs to help you put up the drawbridge before anyone else can enter? If your strategic then you will be the “first man in” and be positioned as the pioneer before everyone else.

Benefits from being a gatekeeper

  • You will be asked for permission to enter your field, creating a barrier to entry.
  • You will be the #1 contact for the press.
  • You will own your presence on Google, thus positioning you and placing your brand on a pedastal.
  • You will be associated with your topic to a point where when someone speaks about the topic, your name always comes up.
  • You will have power over everyone else interested in your field.

Today’s Social Media Experts are the Email Experts from 1965

July 30, 2008 at 11:06 am | In Career Development, Personal Branding, Positioning, Success Strategies, social media | 18 Comments

I’ve put a lot of thought into the future of “social media experts,” which typically includes consultants and corporate employees who dawn the “social media specialist“, “social media manager” and other titles. Jeremiah Owyang has the entire list.

The truth is that these titles will be non-existent in the future. Social media is not just an advancement in technology, but it’s a movement, in which we have transitioned our behaviors and interactions. A similar instance of this occurred in 1965 with email. Although email hasn’t disappeared, it will slowly be manipulated and drained by the likes of social networks like Facebook.

The history of email

Before email, people used regular phones (not cell phones) and in-person meetings to hold conversations. Around 1961, people’s behaviors began to change, as the internet was born and MIT first demonstrated the “Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS)“, which allowed multiple users to log into the IBM 7094. The IBM 7094 was the fastest computer of it’s time (IBM sold it’s computer business a while ago). In 1965, CTSS allowed multiple users to login and encouraged users to share information in new ways. From email came network email, which allowed users to send messages from one computer to the next.

The history of social media

Before social media brightened all of our worlds, web 2.0 was coined, which symbolized the transformation of the internet. Web 2.0 aims to enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration among users. Although this is nothing new to you, after reading this blog, in combination with others, it’s important because social media became a set of tools that facilitates web 2.0 behaviors. A lot of people get “social media” and “social networking” confused because they are unsure what the difference really is. Basically, social networking is an instance of social media. The main movement comes from the openness of communication, human interaction and an integration of words built to share-meaning.

What defines an expert?

I never used to brand myself as an expert in personal branding and social media. It came about almost unexpectedly when I proved the concept that I replaced. For the first 6 months of my blog I felt comfortable calling myself a “spokesman” or “personal branding spokesman” until Fast Company wrote about me and was recruited based on my passion at the same company I applied to a year before. This was my transition to expert and the reasoning is simple.

To be labeled as an expert you need PROVEN results, with an associated endorsement to back it up.

Although I brand myself as a personal branding expert, I’m hired by EMC to be their social media expert and there is a big difference. Social media is just 1 of 8 tentacles of personal branding (see Octopus Model of Relevancy).

A comparison and explanation

Both email and social media have a lot in common. First, I don’t believe anyone was ever called an “email expert” but they were possibly referred to as such in the workplace, when few understood the concept. If you Google “email expert” you will get approximately 40,000 results, of which, none are relevant. Second, social media and email both stem from the art of communication and interaction, accept social media is more advanced and new.

So why do we have “social media experts” today? Well, it’s taken our culture just as much time to understand the ramifications of social media and because of generation differences, some are adopting it faster than others.

Will we all be using and have proficiency in social media 2-4 years from now? The answer is yes.

When everyone is an expert on a topic and has the same level of competency, the expertise becomes a standard.

Basically, you can’t stand out, thus your personal brand suffers. This is a reminder to us all that we must constantly diversify our skill set and remain relevant to our audiences. It’s like the stock market, where, if you invest all your money on a single stock, and the stock loses value, you suffer. If you purchase multiple stocks in various industries they can counter each other.

In 2-4 years if you claim to be an expert in this field, you will be laughed at. If I walked into work today and screamed “hey if anyone needs help with email let me know,” I would hope people thought i was joking.

The future of social media experts (SME 2.0)

I couldn’t leave this post open ended because it’s too important. I am currently a social media specialist, but I’ve figured out how to apply my knowledge to various business functions, which creates value. Since there is an apparent intersection between social media and business functions like PR, HR and marketing, it’s almost obvious to apply your “skills” to these areas, but not just one. You must learn how social media impacts them all and this blog will help you bridge that knowledge gap. I’ve made the obvious connection between social media and personal branding, which is yet another application.

Apply your social media knowledge to business functions for survival.

If your interests lie in working for a corporation, then you MUST apply social media to those business functions, but also learn traditional approaches and look to the future. At the same time, there is NO job security anymore. When your colleagues preach about “job security,” it’s a load of crap! The only way to have job security is to become indispensable.

On another note, the other popular title in this regime is “community manager,” which my friend Connie Bensen dawns. I have confidence in this title because it’s similar to having customer service representatives. You need individuals to monitor communities, encourage participation and be creative.

Your turn

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this and hope to hear your opinion. From social media experts, to community managers, to independents and those who don’t have a bias, please share your thoughts. Part of my message in the past few months has been to protect yourself and by finding new ways to apply your skills, your future will be bright.

The Nirvana of Personal Branding is to Become Indispensable

July 17, 2008 at 11:14 am | In Career Development, Personal Branding, Positioning, Success Strategies | 18 Comments


Subscribe to receive my podcasts

Are you indispensable?

That’s right, if you become indispensable, you will not be subject to a firing or replacement. This is the most challenging personal branding goal. It’s lofty but wouldn’t you like to have that much job security and negotiating power? How would you feel if you could ask for any salary or benefits, as well as pick your company or start your own company, with customers or employers lined up at your door?

Well, it’s possible, but very rare in today’s society. There is an exponential growth in the amount of small businesses in this world, as well as specialists who are claiming niche’s, fighting to hold them and struggling to stay relevant to the ever changing marketplace. People are having trouble enough standing out to worry about hitting personal branding nirvana by becoming indispensable.

Imagine this

A new technical skill just hit your industry and no one has learned it yet. You decide to go through training and become the only certified professional in the world with that skill. Due to your specialization, you have become indispensable and you can’t even fight off the amount of offers your receiving from companies that would like to advance their business with your skills. IT is possible, but how far will you go to position yourself in this respect?

What won’t make you indispensable

1) Becoming an expert in a saturated market. Learning everything you can about social media, including blogging, podcasting, social networks and social applications. Sorry everyone, but this is slowly becoming general knowledge. You can only differentiate here for select audiences.

2) Sitting behind closed doors. As I always say, visibility creates opportunities. What do you think of someone who may be indispensable, but no one knows about it? It’s like having the perfect resume, but not submitted it to anyone. It’s like building an amazing blog template, website or Facebook page, but not publishing it. If you aren’t aggressive, you will digress.

3) Following in one’s footsteps. Sure mentorship is great for your professional education, but if you are constantly copying others, then it’s hard to identify you among the masses. In order to become known in today’s society, don’t be co-branded (except for celebrities, when it tends to come with the territory). When you follow someone else, you lose track of who you are, with the benefit of learning, but at the cost of positioning.

What will make you indispensable

1) Don’t think about now, think about the future. If you concentrate on skills that are being taught in our school systems, you will not become indispensable, but rather, just another graduate. You need to become a thought leader, such that you are years ahead of everyone else in your field. This sometimes means that you have to make guesses or assumptions and try and back them with research (educated guess).

2) Pay attention to what’s already out there. Not enough people read. It doesn’t matter how you receive your information (I prefer Google Reader). All that matters is that you are die-hard about your field. You should be subscribing to all relevant blogs and traditional news sites. Also, you’ll want to subscribe to research websites such as Marketing Charts and eMarketer, so you can start to plan for the future or at least build it into your pitch. The more you learn today, the better off you’ll be tomorrow.

3) Forget about your weaknesses, they are WEAK. Listen, if you are horrible at creating websites or investing in the stock market, don’t allocate all your time to learning as much as you can. If you know what your strengths are, try to elevate those strengths into personal branding nirvana. Those strengths can turn into the skills you need to be indispensable.

A Corporate Brand Won’t Shield Your Personal Brand Anymore

July 14, 2008 at 11:16 am | In Career Development, People, Personal Branding, Positioning | 5 Comments

Thesis

There is an ongoing shift from people being eclipsed by corporate entities, to people becoming the shield, point-of-contact and spokesperson for the company. No person or company is safe anymore, but instead of separating both brands, they have collided into one transparent mirror of information flow and retrieval. This happens for a few reasons. One, there is no such thing as long-term employment or work/life balance anymore. Two, some personal brands are more recognized than their corporate affiliations. Three, there is friction and constant struggles between companies and employees on the social media front (i.e. blogging, podcasting, social networks).

A lot of people aren’t familiar with products or companies, so they are forced to rely on people to cross the association bridge.

This tends to happen with B2B companies, where products aren’t sold to the end user (lack of touch).

The rise of the individual

After Bill Gates left Microsoft, there was a lot of discussion about what it meant for the company, it’s future and that of Bill. Even in the year 2040, everyone will still connect Bill Gates to Microsoft’s brand. This association will never break because Bill built the company, he was the leading spokesman and he’s the innovator that passed through the press like wind through a field.

Is the Bill Gates brand stronger than that of Microsoft’s? This is debatable because, in terms of net worth, the company is worth more than the person. Are more people familiar with Microsoft or Bill? I’d answer the ladder and say both equally, even though we clearly see Microsoft’s brand everywhere, Bill’s sits right by it. Even though Bill left, the press will still follow his every move, and that of Microsoft’s leadership in Ballmer. Bill can no longer protect Microsoft, which once was a baby, which he grew into a man/woman. Bill’s brand grew out of the company and products, which he helped create, therefore this is correlation between his growth and that of his company.

Next up, yes you guessed it; Donald Trump. I consider Donald’s brand stronger than any of his properties because people are paying for his name and not the other way around. This works with Oprah and many Hollywood A-Listers.

My thesis really comes to life, not as much with the billion dollar enterprises, but more with the solotrepreneurs and small businesses, where there is certainly no hiding because there are few if any people to hide behind.

Examples

I welcome your opinions on this because this is surely from my perspective and my view of the world. These examples are of people and companies you are probably familiar with. The point of this discussion to to show you that individuals are gaining the public eye, just as much as companies. People are transferable and companies aren’t, unless they are purchased or merged. One brand is stronger than the next based on audience size, reputation, perception, money, etc.

  • EMC > Dan Schawbel: EMC was founded in 1979 and I was born in 1983, so it has 4 years on me! But in all seriousness, a million more people know about EMC than they know of me. EMC is older and with brands such as Joe Tucci, David Donatelli and others attached to it, it’s hard for someone like me to compete, so instead the corporate name helps me. It doesn’t shield me, but the credibility gives me some “lift.”
  • CrossTech Media < Chris Brogan: Go to their website and look who they are promoting; yes it’s Chris Brogan. When people are established and have followers, companies pursue them, especially the smaller ones. They are clearly using Brogan as a channel, as an expert and as a brand to boost theirs. I certainly don’t blame them!
  • Forrester Research > Jeremiah Owyang: We all know Jeremiah for his outstanding blog efforts BUT it’s hard to compete with Forrester, one of the leading research companies. The reason is simple: Forrester has been around for a lot longer and is in many more spaces than social computer, which he covers.
  • Edelman > Steve Rubel: Richard Edelman has really built a mega PR corporation. Steve Rubel is certainly a highlight of the company, especially as one of the “fathers of blogging” BUT the Edelman brand is extremely strong, part because of the talent, the clients and the trust and respect in the brand. Steve benefits from being a SVP of Edelman and visa versa but Edelman is still stronger.
  • Ogilvy > Rohit Bhargava: In the social media world, Rohit commands authority and respect, but when you place his brand next to Ogilvy’s it’s hard to compete. Ogilvy an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency founded in 1948. Rohit has a book, a blog, speaking arrangements and marketing expertise, but Ogilvy’s founder is more well known as well as some of his colleagues who aren’t as visible with social media.
  • crayon < Joseph Jaffe: He created the company and their clients are many that he has built relationships for years. Joseph has also attracted a lot of press attention. Overtime, this might even out, especially because other personal brands, such as Greg Verdino are on-board. Basically, they are all consultants under a corporate brand name.
  • FutureWorks PR < Brian Solis: He has even admitted that he gets most of his business from his personal blog. He promotes it on the front page of FutureWorks and his name has carried further than his company. Although more personal brands are attached to Brian’s company, people know Brian and then find out he has a company.
  • Shift Communications = Todd Defren: This one is tricky. Todd is a thought leader, as PR crosses new media and his blog is directly linked from the corporate website. From the web observers point-of-view, it would appear that Todd is the company, yet there are many other employees that work there, therefore this is more based on my experience.
  • Twist Image < Mitch Joel: Mitch is the president of the company and the chief blogger. His reputation and credibility position his company as “high tech.” Both his network and appearance in the press (namely Canadian) make him the spirit IN FRONT OF the corporate brand.
  • LinkedIn > Mario Sundar: I like Mario, but professional networking (online) is synonymous with LinkedIn. It is so dominant that Bill Gates is a member and that the company has over 22 million users, at a value of $1 billion dollars. Mario is a community evangelist and blogger, but people are more familiar with LinkedIn than him.
  • Jibber Jobber = Jason Alba: I’m not too sure how successful Jibber Jobber is, but I do know that Jason is the key to it’s success. He is Jibber Jobber and in some ways, Jibber Jobber screams Jason’s name. They are both focused on professional networking.
  • Geoff Livingston = Livingston Communications: Geoff is his company. He uses his last name as part of the corporate brand name.
  • Squidoo < Seth Godin: This one is easy. If Squidoo wasn’t connect with Godin’s brand, it would probably be a bust. People trust Godin, therefore they trust what he produces. Godin is more well-known than Squidoo as well.
  • Microsoft > Fast Company > Robert Scoble: If Robert filmed employees at a different corporation, other than Microsoft, he would not be as famous as he is today. Although Scoble has an extreme reach and influence in the blogosphere, Fast Company has a larger circulation.

Key take-aways

When you are first starting out, your brand will need support from a larger corporate entity if you choose the corporate route. Otherwise, you will become the corporate brand if you are an entrepreneur. In both situations you are the CEO, HR Exec, Communications Exec, Chief Marketing Officer and head consultant for the brand called you. If you choose to remain silent online, then the corporate brand you work for will support you for the duration of when you work there. The key is to build your brand within the company and outside, to protect yourself and to become a transferable property for another company or opportunity.

Years ago, the route to super stardom was the climb the corporate ladder and become “Your Name, CEO, Fortune 500 Company Name,” then either retire or break off and start a company, write a book, etc. These days, although you can’t graduate from school and be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you can choose a different path. You can break away, start a company, fail, start a company, fail, then succeed. You can build the blueprints for a business while having a full-time job. It’s really up to you.

What I want you to get out of this post is that no company is going to protect you. In each example I gave above, the individual has established themself, in order to protect their brand and position themself as a “value-add” for any company. Based on this method, they will succeed.

Final thoughts

  • 1) Companies need to permit employees to share their voice online.
  • 2) People need consume all benefits from working at a company because, let’s face it, you can be laid off tomorrow.
  • 3) If you are first starting off, a well-known corporate brand may protect you.
  • 4) If you’re in a small business, then you need to protect the corporate brand.
  • 5) Companies are losing control and the power is going to the people.
  • 6) In order to understand a company, people will look to employees for the final word.
  • 7) A single employee or customer can hurt a brand’s reputation instantly.
Next Page »

Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.