If you’re trying to get a room full of people all to roll their eyes simultaneously, try encouraging them to work on their personal branding.
Why? Because personal branding is getting obnoxious.
We’ve seen the Johnny Cashes dressing in all black. We’ve scratched our heads at the Gene Simmonses of the personal branding world. Now we’ve got Marilyn Mansons running around, and none of them can stop talking about the importance of personal branding.
Personal branding is, unfortunately, a real thing. It has impact. In an ideal world we wouldn’t boil people down to brands. But some people do, and so personal branding was born.
As the online space gets more crowded with these brands, however, certain people have had the inclination to go bigger. Do not go bigger. Increasingly, people will hate you for it.
Here are some tips in a world where people hate personal branding a little bit more.
If you brand through clothing, stick to one small thing.
In That Thing You Do, band manager Tom Hanks gives his drummer a pair of sunglasses. He explains that he’s going to be “Shades” now. In another example, as mentioned before, Johnny Cash frequently dressed in all black.
These both worked (granted, one was fiction) and were classy because they were simple. I have a friend who wears a baseball cap all the time. He isn’t trying to brand himself, but if you are, follow his lead and stick to one thing.
And don’t let the one thing be a suit covered in question marks.
Avoid buzzwords
This one is the most important for your online presence. Maybe you really believe you’re a social media marketing expert who specializes in corporate synergy. Your readers won’t. This will be the biggest part of the backlash.
Don’t be a jackass
If the concept of personal branding appeals to you, there’s already a significant chance that you’re arrogant, self-absorbed and generally a pain in the ass to others.
If you briefly paused just now to consider whether you actually are those things, then you’re alright. Don’t worry about it. If you let out a brief, sharp “Ha!” or otherwise immediately dismissed it, then I encourage you to take a long, hard look at yourself.
Because personal branding holds a higher appeal with annoying jackasses, we see more annoying jackasses doing the personal branding thing. When you enter that arena, remember who else is going to be there.
Don’t “personally brand”
This is the best advice. Don’t try to personally brand. Just let it happen. Be yourself. There’s nothing wrong with making sure Google turns up the right stuff. Just don’t be “that guy.”
