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August 28, 2009

Personal Brands are Like Belly Buttons

Do you have a personal brand on the Web?  In this post, I’d like to convince you that personal brands are like belly buttons; everybody has one. If you don’t believe me, consider this question: Have you ever used your real name while doing any of the following activities?

  • Entering comments on a news story or blog
  • Participating in a public discussion board
  • Keeping an account on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn
  • Blogging about your profession, hobbies, opinions, or family

If you answered “yes” to any of those items then you have a personal brand, in other words, an online perception of who you are and what you do.  Brian Solis calls this your digital shadow that follows you into the future.  He notes that in a survey of hiring managers in 2009, 38% admitted to using social networking technologies to research job candidates, a rise from 22% from the previous year.

If you answered “no” to all of those items, you might be surprised to learn that you also have a personal brand.  The content of that brand might just be a set of ten search results after someone has searched your name on Google.  Try a search like that right now.  If there's not something on the first results page that you've hand a part in creating, then it's as if you're letting random people control your Web identity.  This may lead people to assume that you're not very unique, notable for certain strengths, or interested in making a good appearance.

I hear some people saying, “Wait a minute, those results don't reflect me!  That’s not even fair!”  Understandable reaction, but the reality is that more and more people will be using online tools to form an assessment of you even if you don't work in a technical field. (Attention, all you “John Smith's” that are buried by people with the same name: there's still no excuse for doing something to create a personal brand with a Web page address that you promote on your resume.  Try using your middle name to make it more searchable.)

There are a number of simple and free ways to refine your personal brand without spending a lot of time or money.  It's easier than you may realize to influence what the Web says about you.  Stay tuned for future posts on this blog under the category of personal branding.

What about privacy?
Maybe you're concerned about having your name on the Web.  Consider this, though: your name is already shared publicly in offline world as you interact with co-workers, customers, and employers.  Just because you interact with people in the workplace under your real name, it doesn't mean that you've surrendered all of your personal information.  It just means that there’s a part of you that is known for something by the world around you.  Michael Roe, one of my favorite guitarists, once said from the stage, "I know some of you out there...and you all know some of me."  Having a personal brand is just an extension of that principle.

If you shudder at the thought of people finding lots of information by searching for your name online, then just put that aside for a minute.  Instead, think about whether there are advantages and opportunities you will lose because someone interpreted your lack of an online identity as a sign that there's nothing exceptional or interesting about what you do.  Are you prepared to prevent this wrong impression with even a single Web page that shares accurate, basic information about what you do?  If not, then ask yourself if there's anyone more qualified than you to decide what goes on that page.

There's a ton of information out there about creating your personal brand.  Here are are some good overviews:

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