MsCatalysta » Blog Archive » Am I my own brand?

Being in advertising, I constantly come across the term, “Brand Management.” For awhile, people would say this to me and I would politely nod and act like I knew what they were talking about. But in reality, we’ve all seen it first hand.

Remember what happened to Britney Spears when her management team quit on her?! Her brand went straight down the toilet and now desperately needs some rehabilitation- pun intended. Does this strategy of brand management apply to professional people as well?

As an individual joe, are we all individual brands? It does make sense. We all come complete with skill sets, and marketable qualities. Outgoing? Positive? Accountable? You are marketable. Irresponsible? Dishonest? Unreliable? Your marketability begins to plummet. This “self-marketing,” as a young professional, has to be done with the utmost care. No one wants to be a Britney, or worse, start as a Britney. I never thought of myself as a brand, but now that I’m thinking about it, it makes me want to clean up my act a bit. My swearing could lessen, my timing could be better, and a lot of the time I could just shut up. It’s not as though my life is worthy of Page 6, but if I want to be seen as the person I hope to be- I better start the process of acting like it.

I was reading on Dave Mullen’s blog where Jennifer Laycock, a brilliant SEO writer and social media pro, commented on one of his post about how people do business with people. And her personality is why people want to work with her. You can still ultimately be yourself because people do want to see the real person, but you want to present an image that makes you look good at the same time. Reputation means a lot. And if you are doing things to garner a bad reputation… maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities. So if you’re entering the professional world… it might be time to untag those unflattering photos at the Pimp and Ho Theme Party or your brilliant idea to enter that wet t-shirt contest on Spring Break in Mexico. And if you have reservations about missing your college years… just remember poor old Brit Brit and the years it will take to get her reputation back… if ever. I think you’ll make the right decision.

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Good point. Whether we like it or not, we all have our “brand” to manage, even if it’s just keeping your resume and portfolio updated. I’ve been thinking about my own personal “brand” more lately especially when it comes to blogging. I’m not under any illusions that my blog will grow to the level of “professional,” but nevertheless I’ve been trying to develop a more consistent tone to the whole “Team Soell” project. Not really being extremely marketing-minded, it’s been a challenge.

I do think a big part of it, especially in dealing with an online brand, is managing where you allow your reputation to be shaped. In the past week, I actually took the time to get some metaphorical wet t-shirt photos removed from Google’s cache for both myself as well as a colleague. It can be a pain in the ass, but it’s necessary in maintaining a good online reputation.

Yes, we are each our own brand. Most of us do not have ‘people’ to manager our brand. This is why it is so important for us to be aware of our behavior and how it impacts the perceptions others form about us.

Thanks for the shout out. Your post gets to the heart of why I wrote the post you referenced on my blog – Should We Keep Personal and Professional Separate?

I wasn’t asking if we should be robots to our professional contacts, of course. But social utilities like facebook allow friends to out you on embarrassing items, as well, which could lead to some reputation speculation by professional contacts. At the heart of it, the reason we should even discuss the question is our own personal brand management.

Hey, reputation speculation has a nice ring to it. I like it. Think I’ll trademark that puppy.

Andy- nice work. Gotta get at those embarrassing pics while you can! And finding a tone was hard for me. I had to make sure that what I was going to write about also wasn’t going to get me into any trouble with my company. But sometimes scattered blogs are fun. But it is definitely difficult from a marketable standpoint. I was told once to pick a goal. Focus on the goal. I was never very good at focusing… so now I have to zone in on that focus every time I sit down to write.

Margaret- you are right on. I’m working on my brand every day. With many stumbles!

Dave – anytime! your post has been so easy for me to piggy back off of. I think about it every time I see something that has the potential to come back to haunt me! People can get such a bad perception from just a couple of stupid photos. It’s a very slippery slope.

Great post, Ms. Catalysta. And David – “reputation speculation” is brilliant. And just think, it was born right here on the Catalysta blog. Love it!

If I was chips, I’d be one of those esoteric flavour combinations like Mexican Hotpot With Guava, you know, that you buy exactly because it sounds so weird – and they taste OK, moorish with a weird aftertaste – but ultimately, they’re more a fun novelty chip than your standard salt-and-vin or BBQ.

In corporate terms, that tends to make me weird temp-chick. Or something.

fozmeadows- you are cracking me up!

I think I’d be Salt and Vinegar… unpredictable… depending on the day. A little bit of bite… a little bitter. They may be standard but they’ve got some sass. haha.

I approach my blog/facebook the same way I approach the way I talk at work. If I wouldn’t hold myself accountable for it,if I can’t look at it and say “Yup, that was me!”, then it try not to put it up there. Or put myself in situations where someone has a camera/video that will put it up there for me!

Interesting post. I actually took a sales training course this year and one of the exercises we did first gave me the idea that we’re always, constantly marketing ourselves to others. What we were taught in order to become a successful sales person, was to first be able to sell yourself before selling your product/service. It all makes sense. I’ve marketed to myself to the HR that hired me, and at my work I uphold a certain reputation. I never go out of line and think things over carefully…don’t want to make mistakes! But I do tend to really separate my work and personal life. I’m not 100% comfortable with sharing my personal life with everyone around me…(only the young ones). I would never share my facebook with older, more experienced professionals. We come from a different generation. And plus, this is what linkedin is for

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