Personal Branding: Proceed With Caution

In the past, self-help management was about improving oneself. If you wanted to be more level-headed you took a meditation class; if you wanted to be a better designer, you studied Paul Rand, David Carson and William Morris; if you were looking to advance your career, you got a Masters Degree.  The rise of social media and search engine marketing has changed that.

The Internet has provided us unparalleled access to audiences. Twitter, Facebook, blogs and online communities have allowed no-names to become household names and people have taken notice. There are books, blogs, experts and companies to help you build your ‘personal brand’. They’ll tell you that all you need for personal branding is a business card, blog, profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and a personal style.

What if a company took that approach? They get great business cards and collaterals developed, they create a company blog, they’ve got all their social media bases covered and their office is filled with beautiful people, frosted glass and Herman Miller. One problem: their product sucks. Oh, and their CEO is sleeping with his secretary, they have no quality control, all the sales guys are jerks who only care about money and their employees hate their jobs. Is that company going to be successful?

Just like a corporate brand, your personal brand needs to embody who you actually are and what you represent. If you position and promote yourself as an expert, but don’t have the knowledge required to be one, you will fail.

For example, you promote yourself as a Branding Expert. You spend hours writing your blog and filling it with keywords, building your profiles and connecting with industry movers and shakers. You spend your savings on a new Ben Sherman wardrobe. You go to industry events.

You get your name out there and you land a meeting with the Product Manger of a large company. He asks to see your work and the successive ROI of your efforts and you share case studies of Lorna’s Consignment Shop, Park Ave Diner and your Uncle Bob’s plumbing business. Mr. Product Manager then proceeds to laugh in your face and share this with his followers on Twitter, as well as posting a comment about the incident on your blog and Facebook profile.

You. Are. Toast.

So my friends, the ‘personal branding’ process: get the knowledge, get the experience, then get the network. If you start claiming your expertise before you actually become an expert, you’re in big trouble.

Beth LaPierre is a Brand + Creative Strategist. When Beth is not helping build brands she’s on her snowboard, spray painting something, or drinking copious amounts of espresso. Follow Beth on Twitter.