The Grande Guide to Personal Branding

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Subscribe to our Blog The Grande Guide to Personal Branding The Dave Cutler Story Brought to you by01 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Subscribe to our Blog What’s a “Grande Guide”? What is Personal Branding? People don’t just buy from brands; they buy from As you probably know by now, our Grande Guide people. More importantly, they want advice, services and series of e-books is all about delivering subject matter even products from people they trust. proficiency in about the time it takes to drink your morning coffee. This Grande Guide explores the hot Much like any form of branding, personal branding is topic of Personal Branding and we went to a personal about marketing. But it shouldn’t be confused with branding expert to give us the skinny. self-promotion. It’s about positioning yourself as an expert in a chosen profession or market by sharing your Thousands of marketers spend countless hours building knowledge in a transparent way, earning trust with an up organizational brands. They write copy for ads, craft audience over time. The rise of the social Web is making storyboards for videos, maintain blogs, and run accounts this possible for a greater number of people. on social channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But few put the same level of energy and enthusiasm While personal branding has only recently worked its way into their personal brands. into popular lexicon, it’s not an entirely new concept. In fact, the Wikipedia entry on personal branding attributes At Eloqua, we’ve long been fascinated by personal its origins to the book Think And Grow Rich, written in branding, how it can benefit professionals and for the 1937 by Napoleon Hill. However, the methods and tools companies employing them. (We’ve even hosted a panel used in personal branding have evolved, and the advent on the subject.) That’s why Dave Cutler caught our eye. of Web 2.0 and social media platforms have led to more mainstream adoption of the approach. Today, people are While the Web has provided new ways to tell a story, using tools like blogs, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and it’s also cranked up the noise volume. That’s what Facebook to build personal brands across industries – makes Dave’s story remarkable. An experienced from finance to fashion, from software to sports. marketer with a diverse professional background, he launched an ambitious personal branding campaign, The process eventually leads to the establishment of using an array of social media tactics to stand out. It one’s personal brand. As Dorie Clark, Author of the got the attention of not only influential marketers and forthcoming What’s Next?: The Art of Reinventing Your potential employers, but also one of the most popular Personal Brand told me, personal branding “is the newspaper’s in the U.S. So naturally we turned to Dave professional reputation you’ve created – what people say to share his secrets. about you when you’re out of the room. Whether or not they recognize it, everyone has a personal brand, so it pays to develop a positive one.”02 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Tweet This Why Should I Care About Personal Branding? Here’s the honest truth of modern marketing: You are who Google says you are. Millions of past, present and future customers are sharing their experiences online. The conversation goes on whether your brand joins it or not. Personal branding offers an opportunity for both individuals and companies to establish a greater bond with this audience of customers, potential buyers and influencers in the marketplace. For individuals, personal branding opens doors that a resume won’t. Whether you’re gainfully employed or looking for that next gig, employers and clients alike are looking for professionals who know their stuff. Consider these facts: executives from every company listed on the Fortune 100 are among the more than 100 million members on LinkedIn. 89% of US companies were expected to use social networks for recruiting in 2011, according to Jobvite. And more than half of all employees expect to change careers within five years, according Kelly Global Workforce Index. Despite the rapid changes to hiring and employment trends, one thing hasn’t changed: the need to demonstrate your experience. 80% of employees said their personal career development was due to their experience, according to that same Kelly Global Workforce survey. Personal branding is a highly effective way to tell the story of your experience, development and interests. Personal brands don’t just appeal to recruiters. Increasingly, trust is shifting away from corporate brands to individuals – not just friends and family, but even strangers with proven chops. In some ways it’s a generational shift, as a study conducted by Bazzarvoice found Millenials are searching online for experts before purchasing. For corporate brands, employing experts who buyers trust enhances their ability to reach and engage a skeptical audience.2012 ELOQUA INC. The Grande Guide to Personal Branding 03

The Grande Guide to Share this Personal Branding Grande Guide on Facebook Tweet This My Story DAVE’S TIMELINE After being laid off in February of 2011, I had to devise a strategy to differentiate myself in a job market crowded with talented and creative individuals. I started by leveraging the power and reach of social DAVE, LOOKING FOR WORK media. Coming from a predominantly traditional marketing background, I was in the midst of rebranding myself as a social media marketer. I put a major emphasis on producing and curating content that demonstrated my knowledge and understanding of the industry, while demonstrating social media savviness. I built the website HireDaveCutler.com, featuring a Dave! video and PowerPoint resume, writing samples and references, to provide a more holistic view of myself than a traditional resume. I created a Foursquare venue promoting my search and an app that aggregated my various content channels. DAVE CREATES HIS “HIRE DAVE” Dave! My efforts culminated in me receiving considerable WEBSITE media coverage as I was featured on the cover of The Boston Globe’s Sunday Business section and was interviewed on NPR, Boston’s Fox television affiliate Dave! PLUS AN APP and the Tonya Hall Radio Show. Dave! The day The Globe story ran, titled “Hire Dave!”, my website received over 1,000 page views. The video resume itself has been watched over 500 times and the SlideShare presentation of my resume has been Dave! viewed more than 3,000 times. PEOPLE My own promotional efforts, coupled with the START Boston Globe publicity generated by the mainstream media TALKING coverage, resulted in a barrage of opportunities – ABOUT Dave! including this Grande Guide. DAVE Needless to say, the process significantly enhanced my personal brand and raised my profile, positioning THE PRESS me to receive continued professional opportunities PICKS UP above and beyond getting a new job. HIS STORY It’s worth noting that I combined online and offline efforts. While social media broadened my network, DAVE the most impactful interactions occurred at WRITES conferences, networking events, panel discussions THIS and the like. GUIDE!2012 ELOQUA INC. The Grande Guide to Personal Branding 04

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Tweet This Personal Branding Best Practices Personal branding is obviously driven by the individual’s The Case for “Googling” Yourself tastes, style and personality. But there are still some best practices that can help guide the process of Much of your personal brand is determined by what can building your own brand. be gleaned about you through a Google search. I would highly recommend the seemingly narcissistic exercise of Craft Your Niche Googling yourself on a fairly regularly basis to see what about you is featured most prominently. For optimal Think in terms of an elevator pitch. Can you quickly results, use a browser that normally lies dormant on your and succinctly describe your knowledge and experience, computer. Short of that, you should at least make sure either in person or through an online profile? Consider to log out of any Google-related profile to ensure that the colleagues, consultants or friends that you’ve you’re viewing a reasonable facsimile of what the average recommended to others. More than likely, you thought person performing a search of your name would find. of them because they demonstrated a mastery of a certain specialty. Identifying the appropriate keywords Targeting Influencers associated with your chosen niche across your entire online presence is critical. Being the foremost expert Every field has established experts and influencers. matters little if no one can find you by searching relevant Identify and reach out to those folks in your industry. terms. You can learn how they achieved and maintained their current stature. Rather than immediately requesting Remember…neither Rome nor Coke was built in a day that they share your content, engage with them via social media, comment on their blog posts, or introduce Establishing a brand is not an overnight process for a yourself following a talk. Over time the influencer will be company or an individual. It’s not merely as simple as more inclined to follow and share your work, lending you flipping a switch. While taking control of your online further credibility. presence, configuring profiles and/or building a website for yourself is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t mean your work is complete. Personal brands must be nurtured over time, especially as your career progresses and evolves. Mix Business with Pleasure People want to work with individuals they know, like, and trust. Injecting a little personal info into your branding helps make your story more relatable. I try to give people a broader understanding of who I am beyond my professional pursuits. You never know what will resonate. I’ve had business opportunities that initiated with comments about my kids, dogs, and even the spot where I proposed to my wife. However, it’s important to strike a balance and find a happy medium.2012 ELOQUA INC. The Grande Guide to Personal Branding 05

The Grande isGuide to Share th Perso nal BrandingGrande Guide on Facebook our Blog Subscribe to What happens to influence when media institutions fall? It shifts to the individual. How Personal Brands Benefit Organizations It’s easy to see how personal branding benefits the person. But how does it help the corporate brand? Turns out, it can be the difference between winning or losing customers. Corporate brands have turned to tried and true methods like mass media advertising and PR to make consumers aware of their products and services. As the effectiveness of these strategies diminish, trust in corporate brands is eroding. That trust is being put into individuals. 06 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Subscribe to our Blog Case Studies The proof is in the numbers. In just one year, trust Scott Monty in “a person like yourself” jumped by 22 points in Edelman Digital’s annual Trust Barometer survey. Trust Scott had a sterling reputation in social in a “regular employee” now outranks the trust placed media marketing before he came to Ford. in a CEO. But since joining the company in 2008, he’s effectively leveraged his own influence Buyers clearly relate more profoundly to individuals to drive Ford deeply in the social Web. The than logos. “Your people are your greatest asset” has brand has launched campaigns targeting influential bloggers long been a maxim in business, but personal branding in the highly competitive automotive space. Under Scott’s makes it especially true for marketing. As employees tenure, the brand has adopted a personal touch – going so build their own profiles and established credibility in far to convert an influential loyalist to their product with a the market, that authority can transfer to the employer. well-timed phone call – and even unveiled a new model truck on Facebook. Scott’s personal brand is definitely a positive When your frontline employees serve as trusted influence on Ford’s corporate brand. sources of information about your product or space, their recommendations can go a long way in extending the reach of your content and messaging. And their DJ Waldow personal take can grow trust in your brand far better DJ already had a solid reputation, but than any jingle. wanted to enhance his personal brand To see these benefits, corporate brands should last year when seeking a new professional empower and invest in their employees’ personal opportunity. He created a website, an brands. They can do this by giving them a platform interactive resume and secured references (blogging, video, social media and speaking in the form of 30-second video clips from eight of the most opportunities, for instance) to share their expertise. prominent digital and social media marketers. Their snippets But they should also provide clear guidelines for spoke volumes. DJ’s site went viral, boosting his profile and employees, stating where the line between the strengthening his personal brand, which served him well personal and professional end. And at all times, when he launched his own consultancy, Waldow Social. employees should always disclose existing professional relationships. Lindsay Blackwell By tapping into employees knowledge, and by being At 22 years old, Lindsay lacked a large fully transparent, corporate brands can benefit from portfolio. So she devised a clever and the trust personal brands gain among prospects and creative approach to personal branding. customers. Over a 3-day period, she built a website directly targeting the hiring manager for the Social Media Director position at the University of Michigan. Featuring an informative and visually stimulating video as the centerpiece, she was able to secure an interview despite competition from more experienced candidates. She didn’t get the job, but garnered considerable social and mainstream media attention. A prospective employer contacted her through Twitter, and she landed that job.07 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Tweet This Tools of the Trade provide a visual way to communicate your subject matter expertise. Give some thought to the kinds of videos you should shoot. These could be video About.Me resumes, interviews with people at conferences, or About.Me is a highly useful branding tool that “how-to” screencasts. enables you to easily create a one-page website LinkedIn by uploading a photo, crafting a short bio and aggregating your favorite social profiles in one A LinkedIn profile is a must-have component place. It’s simple but never crude. It brings all this of personal branding and, more broadly, one of content together in a visually appealing way. the costs of doing business in 2012. LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network Blogs on the Internet with more than 150 million members. Its corporate hiring solutions are also Blogging your thoughts on topics relevant to used by 82 of the Fortune 100 companies. your chosen field is an excellent means of Job seekers, consultants and executives alike demonstrating your expertise. You don’t need to are all being vetted through LinkedIn in some write long diatribes. A 500-word post commenting form or fashion. Your profile should not only on a recent article exhibits your critical thinking accurately describe the nature of past work and skills. A blog can easily be created and maintained responsibilities, but also call out achievements. through popular platforms such as Wordpress, Fill out every available section of your profile, Blogger, and Tumblr. connect with people in your network, and ask for recommendations from people with whom you’ve SlideShare done business. SlideShare.net, which was recently purchased Q&A Forums by LinkedIn, is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations. It’s a great tool for There are few ways to prove your proficiency leveraging your existing content. You simply than by providing meaningful answers to people’s upload PowerPoint presentations, documents, burning questions. Sites like Quora and Focus PDFs, videos and webinars. After, you can easily give you the opportunity to do just that. Founded embed your presentation within a website (or by former Facebook employees, Quora provides blog post) or share it through social media. It’s a forum for experts to weigh in on questions worth sifting through your past decks and slides to posted on the site. Users can vote up or down an determine if you already have something to share. answer, and topics are wide-ranging, to say the least. Focus is similar to Quora, but is all about Video business. Folks can pose questions, and you can rise within the site’s expert community by Video is a key tool in the personal branding toolkit. participating and receiving favorable votes for your After all, YouTube is the second largest search contribution. engine in the world, with over 800 million unique visitors per month. Sites like Vimeo and YouTube2012 ELOQUA INC. The Grande Guide to Personal Branding 08

The Grande isGuide to Share th Perso nal BrandingGrande Guide on Facebook our Blog Subscribe to Twitter Twitter isn’t just about telling the world about your favorite sandwich. It’s an effective tool for offering Do’s & Don’ts: your thoughts in a succinct manner. By becoming known as a subject matter expert, you can develop a >>Do: loyal following and expand your network. But Twitter >>Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of is not a broadcast medium. People gravitate towards your industry by creating relevant content (blog those who engage with others and respond to follower’s posts, videos, images, etc.) tweets. >>Be consistent. Your brand may evolve over time as Social Influence Scoring your career progresses, especially if you shift focus Gauging just how influential you, and others, may be or industries. However, branding yourself in an on the social Web and on certain topics may not seem entirely different fashion across various channels like an exact science. But there are tools, such as or repeatedly rebranding yourself over short Klout, Kred and PeerIndex, that attempt to do just. periods of time can be extremely damaging These services use algorithms to attach a score to practices. users sphere and level of influence on social media >>Be authentic. Labeling yourself as a “Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. Guru” in your Twitter bio will do little to enhance Some call into question their precision, but they are your personal brand if your use of the medium worth monitoring. proves otherwise. Moo.com >>Don’t: Moo is an easy and affordable way to create >>Cross the line between proactively attending to business cards. The site offers a multitude of design your personal branding and becoming a shameless possibilities, including the option of selecting a self-promoter. The line can be difficult to find and “MiniCard,” which is half the size of a standard each individual defines things differently, but try business card and stands out in a pile. Including a to be conscientious of the balance between photo of yourself or QR code can help jog a contact’s promoting and sharing your own content and memory. accomplishments vs. those of others. >>Neglect the online representations of yourself that you’ve established. Failing to update the profiles, blogs or websites you created can lead to confusion and be detrimental to your brand. >>Be afraid to inject a little personality into your online and offline communications. Companies are focusing on humanizing their brands for a reason. Give people a chance to get to know you a bit. 09 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

The Grande Guide to Personal Branding Subscribe to our Blog Experts/Resources in Personal Branding Dan Schawbel Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future (Kaplan Publishing) and Managing Partner of Millenial Branding, LLC. You can find a lot of his content at either http://danschawbel.com/ or http://www. personalbrandingblog.com/. He is also the publisher of the Personal Branding Magazine. William Aruda Aruda is the Founder & President of Reach and a thought leader in the field of personal branding. You can find further information from him and his company at both http://www.williamarruda.com/ and http://www. thepersonalbrandingblog.com/. He also has a number of helpful videos about personal branding on his YouTube channel, including one about how to use using video to build your personal brand. The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman & Ben Casnocha (Book). Mastering The Uncomfortable Art Of Personal Branding by Amber Mac for FastCompany.com Lindsay Blackwell’s personalized site mentioned in the above case studies. The First Step To Building Your Personal Brand by Megan Marrs for Forbes.com Boost Your Career with Social Media: Tips for the Uninitiated by Amy Gallo for the Harvard Business Review blog Why Personal Branding? Video by William Aruda Brand You: Personal Branding SlideShare presentation by Kristian Andersen Drivers of Career Choice and Career Progression Kelly Global Workforce Index Report Ten ways to build up your personal brand by Jay Palter for the Toronto Globe and Mail The Real World Marketing Syllabus by Eloqua includes several relevant chapters, including a section on personal and corporate branding.010 The Grande Guide to Personal Branding www.eloqua.com/grande

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The Grande Guide to Personal Branding

by Eloqua on Jun 29, 2012

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