Responses to recent tweets by people about personal branding.
jay singh, @jaysingh, remarked: instead of personal brand, why not get a personality?
Jacob Share, @jacobshare: I had to smile when I read this, it definitely rings true.
Jay, you sound like someone who’s either fed up with people talking about personal branding or people building their personal brands or both! More likely, you’re just a victim of people doing a poor job of all of the above.
The best personal brands are the ones that have personality.
Here’s a suggestion: once in a while, reach out to someone and tell them why their branding isn’t working for you. Your feedback will be a well-appreciated wake-up call more often than you’d think.
Tim Bryan, @greenleafbbq, asked: Twitter/ FB Profile / Avatar Pic Question. Brand Logo or Personal Face type shot? Thoughts?
Jacob Share, @jacobshare: if you’re trying to build your personal brand in connection with a product brand, use both- have a self-portrait avatar picture with the brand logo either appearing in the image or super-imposed in one corner or on one side of the it.
If the web profile in question is meant to be the official profile for that product brand and not a place to build your personal brand, just use the brand logo.
Christian Lisogorsky, @Kbzon, remarked: if ur building ur personal brand, shld u have Twitter accts for each language u speak? Or tweet in both
Jacob Share, @jacobshare: I speak English, French and Hebrew fluently. 99% of the time, English is the language I tweet in but occasionally I will get into a *quick* conversation with someone on Twitter in one of those other languages. If other followers see that a user is mentioned in those incomprehensible tweets i.e. that the tweets are part of a conversation, they won’t usually get annoyed to the point of unfollowing me, because they know that I won’t all of a sudden overwhelm them with messages they can’t understand. In other words, because I dabble in the other languages sparingly, I can get away with it.
If you plan on tweeting in multiple languages much more often than I do, be considerate and only tweet in multiple languages when you know that the vast majority of your followers can understand those languages. Otherwise, yes, use separate Twitter accounts for each audience you’re reaching out to.
Lucretia M Pruitt, @GeekMommy, remarked: Can your “personal brand” change over time like you do?
Jacob Share, @jacobshare: Personal brands MUST change over time BECAUSE you do. That’s the only way for a personal brand to stay authentic, and authenticity is a key to personal branding success.
Classic product brands are just that because they stand the test of time; Lego still brings to mind the same building fun now as when I was born, and a refreshing, cold, slowly-dripping bottle of Coca-Cola is still what many thirsty people think of on a hot day. These brands have lasted because their products have stayed appealing without changing much. Coca-Cola is still the same secret-recipe-based drink.
With a personal brand, YOU are the product and you WILL change. If your brand doesn’t evolve along with you, building your brand will become an act as you try to perpetuate something that’s no longer completely true. Perhaps unfairly, the people who are most likely to notice this breach are your biggest fans who have been following you for so long and will feel most slighted.
Regarding how to evolve your personal brand, you might find this article interesting too: Ask the Readers: When Should You Update Your Personal Avatar and Why?
Author:
Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.
