Personal Branding_ A Blueprint for Professional Success Reading

Figure 3.4.2

PORTFOLIO

As stated throughout this chapter, showcasing expertise and insights is
important. One way to do so is through a portfolio, which can be housed on
your website or created on a separate site such as Adobe Portfolio, Wix, Square
Space, or Behance.

COMMUNITY

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A community helps bring people together, and that’s what helps in providing
value. Many professionals have created communities that have helped them
build their personal brands. Entrepreneur Amy Landino has created her “Good
Morning, Good Life” community based on her book by the same name, whereas
Matt Navarra has created a community with his “Social Media Geekout”
Facebook group, podcast, and newsletters.

Communities take time and energy, but if invested in can provide value for
everyone involved.

SOCIAL PROOF

Have on hand social proof — that is evidence documented online by others
validating your brand. By showcasing testimonials, recommendations,
endorsements, quotations, work samples, etc., professionals will be able to
determine those who are “real” versus those who are just all talk and nothing
else.

SECTION 5

The “Golden Rules” for Personal Branding and
Careers

“Entrepreneur” and “Forbes” contributor Goldie Chan has several personal
branding “golden rules” for entering or working in a profession:

Goldie Chan's Golden Rules of Personal Branding

In addition to Goldie’s rules, there are other key elements to consider as you
move forward in building a personal brand for your career:

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PICTURE WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF WORKING

Do you see yourself working in a cubicle focusing on responding in realtime to
customer inquiries in a matter of seconds for one primary brand? Do you see
yourself working at an agency where you may have a variety of different
projects, brands, and clients? Or, do you see yourself taking the
entrepreneurship route where you are your own boss with your own company?
All of these job types have key roles in the social media world, and each
requires certain skills and a specific mindset.

IT IS ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHO KNOWS YOU

For some positions, it’s all about who knows you. Invest not only in your skills
but in building networks and communities. Speak at local events, volunteer at
professional functions, be a guest on blogs or webinars, and develop your
thought leadership by writing content to share with various communities.

UNDERSTAND YOUR EMPLOYER’S VIEW ON PERSONAL BRANDING

You want to make sure you are fully aware of how your employer views personal
branding. Some employers will be super supportive in having your personal
brand showcased and for you to get amazing opportunities, but there are others
that may feel jealous of your success. You want to be aware of this ahead of
time as you move forward. Supportive colleagues and mentors will help amplify
your work and presence, not try to hold you down.

COLLECT SOCIAL, DIGITAL, AND PHYSICAL PROOF OF YOUR EXPERTISE

Endorsements and testimonials are great, but in order to demonstrate the
impact of a personal brand on a larger stage in the industry and society, there
has to be supporting evidence. A collection of tweets / social media updates,
blog posts, news articles, magazine and blog features, and video testimonials
mentioning you are all pieces of content that could be collected and integrated

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into a personal brand media kit, a collection of digital and offline assets to
showcase your skills, experience, and impact of personal brand to others.

A PERSONAL BRAND CAN SAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE

In discussing Covid-19’s impact on his business, author and marketing
professional Mark Schaefer says his personal brand saved him. Schaefer said that
it was his personal brand that allowed other businesses and networks to find
him during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was offered jobs and other professional
opportunities during a time of struggles and troubling economic times among his
colleagues.

It is important to recognize that in good or bad times a personal brand can be
the lifevest to help you overcome obstacles and challenges. This means a
personal brand should not be taken lightly and should be protected and invested
in all the time. You never know when you may need it, so it is best to be
prepared.

SECTION 6

Summary

As discussed in this chapter, building a career with a personal brand is essential in
today’s marketplace. As job applicants are coming in with experiences,
internships, and elements that make them unique, a personal brand can essentially
cut through the noise and allow you to stand confidently.

However, just saying you have a personal brand is not going to get you the job. A
personal brand may get you to the door and into the interview, but you still need
to have the experience, insights, and expertise that are necessary to get the job.
By joining the traditional elements for building a career with a fruitful and
successful personal brand you can be extremely successful.

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A personal brand may get you to the door and into the interview, but you still need to have the
experience, insights, and expertise that are necessary to get the job.

The time, dedication, and energy spent building a career should also be shared in
growing your personal brand. Your career and personal brand are not separate
entities, but should intertwine to create a modern day approach to what it means
to be a professional in the 21st century.

Glossary

personal brand media kit: a collection of digital and offline assets to showcase
your skills, experience, and impact of personal brand to others

social proof: evidence documented online by others validating your brand

Assignment

Identifying and Evaluating Skills Assignment

List and then evaluate the skills you have that pertain to your personal brand.
Include both hard and soft skills. Then, list your level of mastery for each of
these skills. You are then to demonstrate what evidence you have to show you
have these skills. In the final column, list how you will showcase these skills as
you apply for internships and jobs.

Set up and complete your assignment in a chart like the one below:

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Projects

Creating Content to Showcase Your Personal Brand Project

For this project:

1. Create a website for yourself

2. Make your social media channels consistent with each other

3. Build a portfolio template

4. Outline ideas for how you will build an email newsletter

5. Develop a community about an area you are passionate about, and a name you
will call this community (ex. Marketing professionals on Twitter are
#MarketingTwitter)

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In completing this project, make sure to use:

● A recognizable domain name for your website
● The same handle on social media platforms
● The same template and format for your cover letter and resume

Personal Brand Pitch Slidedeck Project

Create a pitch slidedeck for yourself that shows you have each of the skills listed
in Chapter 3:

● Research
● Writing
● Charisma
● Community Education

For each of these skills, you will need to highlight social proof and / or evidence
that you have collected.

Chapter 4: Challenges

Learning Objectives

● Identify the risks and challenges of personal branding
● Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of having a personal brand
● Define “cancel culture”
● Identify key takeaways from personal branding challenge case studies

SECTION 1

What Are the Challenges in Personal Branding?

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Personal branding is a prominent and positive area within digital and social media
marketing. But personal branding is not all sunshine and rainbows. As with
anything positive, there are consequences and challenges that need to be
acknowledged.

There are many ways in which a personal brand could go wrong, and we have seen
this happen countless times in society for a variety of different reasons, such as:

● Chrissy Teigen experienced being cancelled after audiences found out she
had been accused of bullying others on social media, which prompted others to try
to “cancel” her on social media.
● Ellen DeGeneres, who had promoted positivity and kindness on her show as
part of her brand, had to address accusations of a toxic workplace culture on her
popular talk show, “Ellen,” during COVID19 lockdowns and the pandemic. In 2021,
her show announced it would end after 19 seasons, prompting others to ask the
question if this was due to this crisis.

With these two examples, we can see these are challenges facing specific
individuals and their personal brand. There are others cases in which challenges
may arise for a personal brand, such as:

● Doing behavior that is not aligned with your personal brand;
● Saying or acting on topics that are contradictory to personal branding traits
and characteristics;
● Not following through on values and ethical standards set forth in your
personal brand;
● Not being authentic and true to your personal brand offline.

SECTION 2

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal
Branding

To fully understand personal branding, we have to take a balanced approach that
personal brands bring forth great opportunities but also significant challenges.

Advantages

Let’s start with the positives that personal branding brings to the table.

THERE ARE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES

Through a personal brand, you are able to bring together more opportunities to
help your personal and professional lives. Brand partnerships, speaking
opportunities, press in traditional and new media publications, and invitations to
exclusive networking events are just some of the benefits a personal brand can
bring.

YOUR IMPACT ON THE FIELD

In many cases, personal brands are being used to gauge whether or not someone
has made an impact on the field, that is, in your area of study or work. It is not
only important to know your craft but to have others know you and what you are
able to bring to the table. Everyone has experiences and skills to showcase, but
what makes the difference is how a person uses their platform and the digital and
social media tools available to showcase these to the world. In many ways, we
have to be our own best advocates and build these relationships over time. Again,
personal brands do not happen overnight. They take time, energy, and investment,
but the results are well worth the effort.

DISTINGUISHING YOURSELF FROM OTHERS

Being unique is the name of the game here. You are able to set yourself apart as
being different from others based on approach, likes / dislikes, perspectives,

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expertise, personality, and experiences. We are all human beings, each with our
own story to tell, and we are all different in this way.

Disadvantages

Understanding what disadvantages are out there when it comes to personal
branding is equally important. Here are some of the challenges that having a
personal brand may bring to you:

YOU WILL HAVE A TARGET ON YOUR BACK

Once you have established yourself as someone of prominence in the field, praise
will come your way, but also criticism.

IT WILL BE HARD TO MAINTAIN IF NOT TRUE

If you are true to who you are as a person, this will not be a factor at all. However,
if you have built your career and brand based on what you think people will like
and respond to that which is not true to who you are, then you have an issue.
Pretending to be someone you are not is unethical and draining. Think of this as
the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” approach. Showing one side of who you are to an
audience — and not the true side — gets people upset. They experience what we
call reputation dissonance, a violation of expectations of how others perceive you
as a person. This causes more issues and crisis situations for professionals than
anything else.

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE “YOUNGER, HUNGRIER” THAN YOU

Think of the movie “Despicable Me.” Gru is waiting to get resources in order to
steal the moon, but he meets his adversary, Vector, who the banker says is the one
he will financially back, because, as the banker tells Gru, Vector is “younger and
hungrier than you.”

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These individuals do not always have to be younger, but if you have others who
view you as someone to beat or surpass, they have the motivation and drive to do
so. Individuals may also do whatever it takes to try to take you down — by stealing
your work, trying to present themselves as a better version of you, or by many
more means. Be aware you will always have people in the industry who will try to
be your “friend” to be able to consume you as a brand. Think of this like “Star Trek
and the Borg,” an alien race that collects others to be assimilated into their own.

NOT EVERYONE WILL LIKE YOU FOR WHAT YOU STAND FOR

There will be individuals who will love what you do, no matter what. These are
your loyal audience members and fans who will support you through good times
and challenging times. Then there are those who will not like you for what you
stand for — even if they do not know you. That’s the hard truth of things. You can’t
please everyone, so you need to be aware of what to look for if you get community
members online who do not like what you say, or in the extreme cases, try to troll
you.

SECTION 3

Challenging Situations and Case Studies

There are many different situations that can create challenges for personal
brands in the social and digital age.

One of the biggest challenges for personal brands is the rise of cancel culture,
which has become a growing trend over the last few years for brands,
organizations, and individuals. Removing support for a brand, person, or
organization has always been there, but the cancel culture phenomenon has

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taken quite the turn as we are seeing more cases and circumstances brought to
light, according to Mashable. The “The New York Times” has even declared that
everyone is canceled now, which stance may be a bit extreme.

People do have differences in opinion when it comes to cancel culture. A Pew
Research Center report on the perceptions of cancel culture shows that some
people found it to be calls for accountability, whereas others say it is focused
on censorship punishment.

While there was a huge increase in Google Trends searches for “cancel culture”
from 2019-2020, it does seem the term is coming down in 2021.

The Cancel Culture

Cancel Culture’s Impact

Let’s talk about some cases that demonstrate the significant impact cancel
culture can have on a personal brand.

JAKE PAUL

Jake Paul, who is a prominent yet controversial YouTuber, has been in the news
for not always the most positive of circumstances. From his outrageous antics in
his videos to controversial content he shares on social media, Paul seems to
thrive on producing content that promotes unethical behavior. In many cases,
there were attempts to cancel Paul for his actions, and in 2020, Paul was at the
center of being canceled.

Being canceled is the actions taken to no longer support a person, brand or
organization, and publicly noting such on social media.

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Paul was filmed at a shopping mall with looters in Arizona during the George
Floyd protests and riots. Here is how Paul responded after he was trending on
Twitter and numerous stories were written about his presence at the mall:

We filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the
anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through; we were strictly documenting, not engaging. I do
not condone violence, looting, or breaking the law; however, I understand the anger and frustration
that led to the destruction we witnessed, and while it’s not the answer, it’s important that people see
it and collectively figure out how to move forward in a healthy way.

TAYLOR LORENZ AND CLUBHOUSE

Taylor Lorenz, an established reporter and writer for “The New York Times”
Style section, has built a reputation as one of the go-to professionals on
influencers, creators, and GenZ in the media. Lorenz has been very upfront with
how she has handled her notoriety and presence in the industry, including the
dark side of the social and digital space. She has been interviewed on many
occasions to talk about how influencers such as Shane Dawson and James
Charles have experienced their own “canceled” moments.

YouTube stars face reality of "cancel culture" as old racist videos surface

Lorenz experienced her own “canceled” moment in June 2020. She was one of
the only reporters and media professionals who was invited to be part of the
new app and community called Clubhouse, where she had criticized how Away
co-CEO Steph Korey was managing the internal culture at the luggage company.
As a result, many Clubhouse community members went on Twitter to slam

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Lorenz for her views and reporting, and even set up a fake Twitter account (that
was later taken down) called “Cancelled Taylor Lorenz.”

These are just a few cases to explore on the issue of cancel culture, and the
cases seem to continue to grow. Although both of the individuals in these cases
have large followings and presence, they still have faced challenges on their
overall personal brands. For Jake Paul, this involved criminal charges. Lorenz
had to take actions to own her story and gather the community together to
bring forth awareness of these issues.

Keep in mind, anyone can be the victim of being canceled. Cancel culture
doesn't just affect celebrities, influencers, or high profile individuals. Cancel
culture can occur at any time, anywhere, and any online place — and can have
real-world consequences.

Handling Cancel Culture

If you are faced with being canceled, there are ways to help deal with the
situation:

BE AWARE OF ALL THAT IS BEING SAID

Have an open mind and know that the cancel culture movement on social media
happens rapidly — sometimes at light speed. Look to see if there is any truth
(For example, did you actually do what is being said?) or not in the accusation.

IDENTIFY THE ROOT OF WHAT STARTED THE CANCEL CULTURE

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Exploring who — individuals, specific influencers, and groups — sparked the
conversation on the cancel culture movement is crucial. Listen, monitor, and
evaluate what is being shared, said, and discussed. Being present is important
to make sure you are able to control the narrative and to determine how to
respond.

EVALUATE THE SITUATION AND REACH OUT FOR HELP AND GUIDANCE

Do not face cancel culture alone. Reach out to trusted sources and colleagues
for advice on how to handle these situations. It is best to get some advice and
different perspectives before moving forward.

FORMULATE STRATEGIES IN ADDRESSING THE SITUATION

This is a crisis moment, and how you respond will either minimize the situation
or amplify it to new heights. Understand what the choices are in terms of
responding to accusations and weigh each of these options based on how they
will be received and perceived by others. Take emotion out of the equation.
Make sure you do not react in a moment’s notice: think about how you will
react if five years down the line you Google search your name, and find your
response to being canceled at the top of the search list. Be mindful you are
playing the long game for protecting your personal brand.

KNOW THAT A CANCELED MOMENT IS JUST A MOMENT, AND THAT IT DOES NOT DEFINE A PERSON

Humans make mistakes. How brands and individuals respond can help shape the
movement and intensity of emotions from one side of the spectrum to the
other.

LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE

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Understand the takeaways from the experience and think about what to do in
similar future events.

SECTION 4

Best Practices for Handling Personal Branding
Challenges

This chapter has identified some of the opportunities and challenges of personal
branding. Challenges such as being “canceled” on social media can happen at any
time and anywhere, so it is best to be prepared and mindful of how you will react,
respond, and move forward.

Best Practices

H ere are some best practices for handling personal branding challenges:

DO NOT BE AFRAID — BE AWARE

We cannot control what other people do, and we have to acknowledge the
possibility that challenges such as being canceled may happen to us. What we can
do is control what we are able to control, and that is ourselves.

DON’T PLAY TO THE EMOTIONS

People want to spark an emotional response if you are trending or even a victim of
being canceled. Do not show your emotions — take a moment to collect your
thoughts, perspectives, and responses.

BUILD A SUPPORT TEAM OF TRUSTED ADVISORS

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Whether friends, family, or an official team, you want to make sure you have allies
who are there to help validate and support in a time of need. Consider this your
own crisis and reputation committee there to bounce ideas around on how to
engage, respond, and act in a challenging time.

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF WITH AUTHENTICITY

Don’t rely on template statements. We have all seen the crisis apology statement
that is used when someone is caught, in the middle of a crisis, or trending.
Audiences understand these are templates and crave a real response. This does not
mean you let loose and say anything — it means preparing a statement that is
authentic and transparent and that sounds like something you would say. Don’t be
fake in how you handle the challenge. A personal brand is all about being true to
yourself. While it may be tempting to be someone else, your personality,
community, voice, and brand are the components that truly make you unique and
memorable. Authenticity is key.

UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR “VIRTUAL” BRAND IS ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR OFFLINE BRAND

The biggest issue with personal brands is violation of expectations. People will get
upset if they feel like they have been played. Consistency is the utmost important
element to consider here. Make sure you are the same offline as you are online.
Social media may be a large global community, but it is a small world. Any
disconnect or dissonance created when people meet you online and offline can
result in a negative perception or impact on your personal brand.

Summary

Personal branding will continue to evolve with social media, and the challenges
will change as well. We will be faced with new situations, ethical challenges, and
cases to learn from. Behave consistently and ethically.

Educating yourself about some of these rising issues and situations involving
personal branding on the professional and personal level is key for success. One

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misstep can wreak havoc on your personal brand for years to come. It only takes
one situation to damage everything you have built. Rome was not built in a day,
but it was destroyed in one.

Glossary

being canceled: the actions taken to no longer support a person, brand or
organization, and publicly noting such on social media

cancel culture: the removal of support for a person, brand, or organization based
on the actions taken by that person, brand, or organization

reputation dissonance: occurs when violations of expectations happen in the
perception of a brand, organization, or person

Assignments

Identify Risks Facing Personal Brands Assignment

In a 1-2 page essay, identify some of the risks associated with personal brands
and what people need to be aware of relative to those risks. Then, include in
your essay an overview of your personal brand and identify some risks that you
may face with your personal brand. Discuss what actions you will take to
address and prevent these risks in the future.

Risk Assessment for a Personal Brand Assignment

Create a risk assessment for a well-known celebrity or influencer that presents
the challenges and risks they could face for their personal brand.

1. Choose one person’s personal brand to analyze.

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2. Identify advantages for their personal brand along with their core mission and
brand principles, accomplishments, and achievements in the space in which
they promote their personal brand.
3. Next, identify the personal brand’s disadvantages.
4. Identify three possible risks that could impact the personal brand negatively.
5. Provide rationale and evidence for how each of these risks could impact the
personal brand.
6. Then, provide at least two proactive strategies for preventing each risk from
happening.
Set up and complete your assignment as shown below:
• Risk assessment for: (celebrity or influencer’s name)
• Advantages: (list advantages of their personal brand)
• Disadvantages: (list disadvantages of their personal brand)

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Project

Presentation on Cancel Culture Project

Work in a group to prepare for a 10-minute presentation on cancel culture. Your
group should research to identify:

1. the key characteristics of cancel culture

2. the challenges cancel culture brings to personal branding

3. a case in which one person has survived being canceled

4. a case in which one person has not survived being canceled

● For each of the cases (items 3 and 4 above), provide an explanation of what
happened, the consequences, and results

5. five best practices on how to combat cancel culture

Also, in your presentation, make sure to provide at least 10 references (articles,
reports, research, etc.) supporting the points you make.

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Chapter 5: Finding Your Brand Voice and Presence

Learning Objectives

● Define “brand voice”
● Evaluate practices for creating a brand voice
● Determine the steps of creating a brand presence
● Identify best practices for creating a brand voice

SECTION 1

Introduction to Brand Voice

Individuals can have all the experience and expertise in the world, but if they are
not able to stand out in a way that connects with their audiences, their reach is
lessened.

This is why brand voice — often referred to as a must-have for personal brands — is
crucial.

While some say brand voice involves the personality characteristics an individual
displays on social media, others focus on brand voice as the lens and perspectives
used to present visual and written content consistently.

You may be asking, “Which definition is right?” Actually, both views are.

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Brand voice, the overall personality and entity that you want to present online, is
probably one of the most important elements to consider when looking at either
establishing a brand from scratch or enhancing an established brand on social
media.

The aspects of your brand voice need to be consistent — this is your personality!

Note: Included with this chapter’s content is a great Expert Session video from Liza
Dunning (Airbnb) that discusses what a brand voice is.

Brand Voice Vs. Brand Tone

Brand voice often is confused with brand tone, both of which are aligned in a
personal brand.

Brand voice focuses on personality and integrates tone as a core part of its
essence. It also focuses on how a personal brand communicates with audiences and
how it influences people’s perception of the information, messages, and content
an individual is sharing, according to the blog post “How to Define Your Brand’s
Tone of Voice” from marketing search firm Semrush.

Brand tone is the overall attitude and presentation of your brand online. Brand
tone can change based on the situation, type of topic being discussed, current
landscape and mindset of a community, and the current state for the individual in
sharing the content off and online.

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The tone of a brand voice focuses specifically on the values, word choice, and
delivery involved in the messages shared. The Semrush blog post also explains that
tone does not discriminate between content the person or corporate brand is
sharing — this means digital media content (websites, blogs, etc.), social media
(tweets, updates, etc.), emails, newsletters, and even traditional content all come
into play when it comes to tone. Yet, as the blog post presents, in reference to
tone, the situation, media channel, goal, and intended audience need to be
considered.

The Semrush post also presents that it is important to understand what and how
different audiences (ex. GenZ, Millennials, GenX, Baby Boomers, etc) consume and
react to certain content. The brand voice needs to be adapted to be consistent
across all of these audiences, but tailored in how it is packaged for specific
audiences and platforms. This is a key lesson many brands have learned and
benefited from, so the same can be said about implementing these same practices
for a personal brand voice.

SECTION 2

Benefits of a Brand Voice

Skeptics may think a brand voice is not worthwhile or would not be a factor for
creating a successful personal brand. Yet, that could be farther from the truth.
There are many benefits of having a strong brand voice for a personal brand. A
strong brand voice has the ability to:

● Build connections with audiences
● Foster trust with audiences
● Create a memorable image for your brand
● Put a human face and personality on your brand
● Establish dimensions unique to your personal brand

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Marketing search firm Semrush has created a “Four Dimensions of Tone of Voice”
infographic based on Nielsen Norman Group content that the infographic states
“can be used to analyze or develop your website’s tone of voice.”

In essence, a brand voice can:

● Help express a brand’s human qualities and tell a community who the person
is and what they stand for in terms of values, principles, and perspectives
● Provide differentiation from one person to another
● Foster familiarity with others by showcasing consistent attributes and
behaviors, which ultimately helps create a long-standing, trusting relationship with
audiences

Brand voice is also valued by the marketing, public relations, and communications
fields. According to a Sprout Social survey conducted among marketers and
consumers about social media best practices, consumers valued certain elements
more distinctly on social media compared to marketers.

Considerations

There are some elements that make a brand voice and others that do not. For
example, personality is a big part of brand voice, but it is not the whole shebang.
You can be the most personable and outgoing person on the planet, but if you do
not offer insights, stories, or experiences, then people may be entertained, but
not inspired. In addition, content is not just about photos for a brand voice. A
brand voice can be shared and integrated in all content — video, audio, photo,
written, and immersive — the possibilities are endless! Yet, with all of the options
for content to be created and shared, brand voice consistency is necessary.

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SECTION 3

Creating Your Brand Voice and Presence

It is one thing to say that you have a brand voice but another to articulate the
key characteristics and attributes and then figure out the best way to execute
these on- and offline. There are many personalities that can be part of your
overall brand voice, but your brand voice has to be authentic and consistently
present across all channels of communication, both on- and offline. Following
are three steps to creating your brand voice:

1. Determine Your “Why”

First, you need to determine your “why.” What makes you unique from others?
We have discussed this in previous chapters, but this step focuses on what
personality characteristics and perspectives you have – rather than your
experience and expertise – that make you different from others in the
community and industry.

Your why focuses on your overall mission and goals and your role in the
community, what you are passionate about, and what makes you essentially
spark! In many ways, determining your why will allow you to be able to share
with others your areas of interest and why you do the things you do.

Audiences do not essentially do business with you just based on your expertise
and experience but on qualities that make you different from others. You have
to make sure your writing reflects your overall content and your why. Writing is
one of the primary ways to communicate your perspectives, attributes, and
ideas.

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In this Stukent Digital Summit presentation, Dr. Elaine Venter of Colorado Mesa
University shares the importance of writing when it comes to brand voices:

How to Teach Writing for Digital Media: Brand Voice and Social Media - Elai…

2. Identify Your Voice Characteristics

One of the more popular ways to showcase personality is in your brand voice
and overall presence on social media and other online channels.

As Hootsuite shares in the guide “How to Create a Social Media Style Guide for
Your Brand (Free Template),” personality characteristics include the following
attributes:

ATTRIBUTES

Friendly / Helpful / Compassionate

A friendly tone that focuses on welcoming everyone to the community,
amplifying the masses, and supporting others makes people memorable, but
more importantly, a light people gravitate to.

Let’s take Christina Garnett (@ThisChristinaG) for example.

A marketing professional working for Hubspot, Christina has made it her mission
to advocate for and support individuals active and present on Twitter,
specifically in the #MarketingTwitter community. In fact, she started a Twitter
thread that allows people to share who they are and network with others in the
community. The individuals she has helped had fewer than 1,000 followers.

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This approach of offering a friendly hand and helping others can reap rewards
not just for a community collectively, but personally as well. With these efforts,
Christina has gotten a lot of professional opportunities, such as becoming a
contributor to Adweek.

Bold / Sarcastic / Dry Humor

Social media allows audiences to share useful tips and insights and bring forth
unique perspectives that focus on humor, creative insights, and even sarcasm in
the form of memes, trends, and more.

Adrian Molina, the senior brand manager for American Aviation Gin, takes this
approach to heart with his own channels. If you are working with actor Ryan
Reynolds, you need to have a strong voice and presence as well as the ability to
handle the demands and expectations of the job. Molina embraces this naturally
with his comments and he authentically shows his sarcasm and boldness openly
to the social and digital community. Adrian’s work is refreshing in many ways to
see since it goes against expectations of how marketing professionals act and
behave. Sometimes going against the grain is rewarding in itself.

Confident / Trendy

People seek out and see as inspirational individuals’ expression of confidence.

One look at the social media channels of Jayde Powell, director of social and
community for Sunwink, and you can see the confidence come across. Not only
does she display insights and expertise in the marketing world related to social
media, but she makes sure her content integrates current issues and
perspectives to be discussed.

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IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS

Keep in mind, there are many other personality characteristics that can be
incorporated into a brand voice. In addition, brand voice personality
characteristics are not just limited to one attribute. In fact, it is common to
have at least four to five characteristics (or brand pillars) aligned with a
personal brand. Brand pillars are values, interests, and areas you feel make up
who you are as a person and professional.

In this Forbes article, we can see how brand pillars can be anything from your
overall purpose for the industry (How do you want to make an impact to help
others?) to strengths (What areas do you feel you are known for?) to values
(What are the elements that are most important for you?). With that being said,
how can all of these pillars be accomplished and showcased? That’s the key
element to consider. It’s not only about listing and identifying characteristics,
but how you package and execute them in your channels and situations and to
your audiences in a cohesive and authentic manner.

First, list attributes. List the four to five attributes that you feel are aligned to
your personal brand. Do research to determine which ones these would be.
Self-reflection is one way to go about this, and another is asking your friends,
family, and trusted confidants. Asking them what characteristics they see from
you would be a good start.

Next is to set up guidelines for how these attributes will be incorporated. This
includes identifying best practices. It also includes outlining behaviors, actions,
and messaging that go against these attributes in a reflective step to help you
commit to the idea that if you act, speak, or behave in ways that go against
what you stand for, conflict, including a personal crisis or challenge toward your
personal brand, can result.

BRAND VOICE CHARACTERISTICS GUIDE

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The Content Marketing Institute created a guide to help individuals figure out
some of their brand characteristics and personality attributes, how to present
these in their pieces of content, as well as what not to do.

The guide has four columns. The first, “Voice Characteristic,” focuses on the
type of personality trait or brand pillar you want to have as part of your overall
brand voice.

The second column is for a brief description of what you are trying to
communicate with the given attribute. This column is good to help you further
explore whether or not to include particular attributes or if there needs to be
extra clarification on what you, as the individual, are trying to communicate
with your brand voice.

The remaining two columns focus on the dos and don’ts of the characteristic
you have chosen. 

3. Create a Brand Aesthetic

Once you have your brand voice and characteristics picked out, the next step is
to create a brand aesthetic, the visual assets and presentation that make your
brand voice come to life for the various channels, mediums, and pieces of
content that will be incorporating points of your personal brand.

A brand aesthetic is not just about creating a look to showcase on Instagram; it
involves your complete digital and physical presence for your personal brand.
Meaning, your brand voice aesthetic needs to be represented across all of the
channels you communicate on, and needs to be consistently present on your:

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● Email signature
● Media kits
● Personal newsletter
● Portfolio
● Professional documents and correspondence
● Social media accounts
● Website and blog

With that being said, what goes into creating a brand voice aesthetic? Do you
have to be a graphic designer to create your logo or an art major to figure out
what colors to choose for your brand aesthetic? The answer is, “No, you do not
need to be a graphic designer or art major to choose a look for your personal
brand.” This decision should be yours since this is going to be the visual
representation of your own personal brand. Plus, here are ideas to help you
figure out your overall brand aesthetic:

DETERMINE OFFERING AND MEDIUM

First, you want to determine what you have to offer and which medium works
best for you, according to “The Complete Guide to Personal Branding,” from
design software company Canva. If you love photography, make sure to share
photos and images you have created and showcased. If you like writing, you
may be more inclined to share your written work on a blog or other platform.

Once you figure out what you are passionate about, you have to figure out what
medium and content would be best for you to showcase your voice and
perspective to the world, Canva states.

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DEVELOP A COLOR PALETTE

Also important to a great aesthetic is your color palette. A color palette is a
group of colors that come together to formulate a brand presence.
Here are some questions to answer before developing a color palette for your
personal brand:
● What are the overall goals for your brand voice? (What do you want to
accomplish as part of your personal brand?)
● What are the perceptions you hope people have of your brand?
● Whom are you targeting? (Are you interested in being present and well
known for your friends and those of your age, or will you try to reach a broader
audience?)
● What colors would align with the personality characteristics you are
working with? (Some colors may not work well with specific personality
characteristics.)

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Figure 5.3.1

Once you are able to answer these questions, you can start developing your own
color palette.

You want to focus on choosing the color palette that works for you. Color is a
very powerful tool and strategic element for marking a unique personal brand in
the digital age by providing constant recognition, branding, and attributes,
according to William Arruda’s “Forbes” article “How To Discover The Right Color
For Your Personal Brand.”

Brands such as Burger King have established colors that have marked their
burger chain to be quite distinctive compared to their other competitors in
their market like McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

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Why can’t the same be said about personal brands? The visual representation of
your personal brand needs to incorporate both color and typography that aligns
with your brand’s personality traits. Each color has a distinct meaning, so you
want to make sure you are choosing the colors that best tell the story of not
only who you are but that are aligned with the characteristics and attributes of
your personal brand.
It may be overwhelming to choose your colors, but Arruda suggests starting with
at least six colors (three primary and three secondary) that you feel best
articulate your brand. His “Forbes” article provides the following color
examples with associated attributes and brand examples.

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Figure 5.3.2

There are many tools that can create a color palette based on colors and
attributes you have solidified for your personal brand. Canva, which is popular
for many marketing, public relations, and social media professionals, has a color
palette generator that is free to use.

COLOR PALETTE USAGE EXAMPLES

Let’s look at some personal brands with strong color palette usage and see some
of the attributes being communicated as part of this aesthetic.

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Kendall Toole

Kendall Toole is one of the main instructors at Peloton, the home fitness
company known for boutique fitness classes and other fitness specializations.
On her channels, she has been able to talk about serious issues such as mental
health and self-care.

Kendall has built her personal brand to be upbeat, energetic, and positive, and
the overall colors for her aesthetic are bright, sunny colors such as orange,
blue, teal, and yellow. These come across as well for Kendall when she posts on
her channels online — such as on her Instagram account — and how she presents
herself in the classes she teaches at Peloton.

Billie Eilish

The award-winning singer has created quite the brand for herself in the music
industry — not just with her songs and albums, but also with her overall brand
presence and how she presents herself, such as on Instagram. She has created a
voice for her brand through certain key characteristics that focus on confidence
and being true to who she is.

She also embraced one color quite predominantly: light neon green. From her
physical presence with black and green hair to her overall dress and branding,
Eilish has aligned herself with this color consistently across the board. She has
also brought this forward in her collaborations, which she shared at Adobe MAX
2019.

Yet, she has since moved on from this color when she changed her hair color to
platinum blonde in 2021.

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SECTION 4

Best Practices for Establishing Brand Voice and
Presence

When it comes to creating a brand voice and presence for a personal brand, there
are many tips and best practices that need to be noted and accounted for.
Consider these based on the Sprout Social article “Brand Voice: What It Is & Why It
Matters.”

Write How You Speak

This is one of the most important elements for articulating your brand voice on
social media and blogs, contributor pieces for media outlets, and more.

Differing from lessons emphasized in classes such as English literature, in order to
be consistent with your brand voice, you have to write how you speak. If you are
having trouble doing this, use Google Voice Memo in a Google Talk. Click record,
and start talking. Edit the piece for grammar and spelling, and then share your
insights.

Remember that when operating across mediums and different channels,
consistency is key, so your brand voice has to be similar across the board.

Avoid Jargon

For example, the social and digital media industries and other related disciplines
use many words that may be confusing to those outside of the fields. It is tempting
to use these words to create the illusion of prominence and expertise, but if these
words do not sound natural or how you would explain concepts, do not use them.
Be natural, and think about how you would want concepts and ideas to be shared.

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Always Do a Self-check of Attribute Dos and Don’ts

Realize that some of your actions may — or may not — be reflective of the
attributes you have set forth as part of your overall brand voice. Keep in mind,
humans and personal brands evolve over time, so these attributes are not set in
stone.

Make sure to ask yourself the following questions to check on your brand voice and
aesthetic as it relates to your personal brand:

● What is my brand voice and tone?
● What makes me different from others?
● What do I want others to say about me?
● Am I reflecting my best self in my brand voice?
● Do my brand colors represent my personal brand?
● Is my brand aesthetic representative of who I am?
● Is my brand aesthetic consistent across my channels, work, and other
elements for my personal brand?
● What are some attributes and actions that are positively affecting my brand
voice?
● What are some attributes and actions that are negatively affecting my brand
voice?
● What are the next steps I need to take for my personal brand?

Be aware of the way you want to present yourself to others, their perceptions of
who you are, and if there are any disconnects. If there are no disconnects, you are
good to move forward. Yet, if there are characteristics and actions that are not
representative of the things you want to portray, it may be time to reevaluate the
strategies and actions you are taking before they become even bigger challenges
down the road.

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Reflect on and Strategize Your Aesthetic

As with attributes, your choice of colors and color palettes may evolve. If they do,
how will you communicate changes to your audience? Will the changes be
accepted? Take the time to really choose your colors carefully with this in mind.
Audiences do not like constant changes.

Write with the Audience in Mind

This comes down to being mindful of the overall tone you are using for your
audiences and what they are expecting. Are you writing a reflection post to a
general audience of thoughts related to a brand campaign? Writing for friends and
community members? There are going to be some expectations from each specific
audience group.

SECTION 5

Summary

A brand voice is key to what makes a personal brand memorable for audiences. It
takes time to determine what your brand voice is and to make sure the attributes
and characteristics you identify and outline are not only true to who you are but
are consistently presented and aligned with your actions and statements.

Visual elements — like a personal branding color palette — are used to
communicate these items and to foster strong relationships. There is no right or
wrong answer to which colors are best in creating a look for your personal brand
and brand voice. What is important is making sure colors reflect and align with
your personal brand.

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The ultimate item that has to be avoided for both brand voice and brand aesthetic
is disconnect. A disconnect regarding what is being shared and spoken and what is
actually being done can lead to lost trust and respect among your community.
Once lost, trust and respect are really hard to win back.

Glossary

brand aesthetic: the visual assets and presentation that make your brand voice
come to life for the various channels, mediums, and pieces of content that will be
incorporating points of your personal brand

brand tone: the overall attitude and presentation of your brand online

color palette: a group of colors that come together to formulate a brand presence

Assignments

Finding Your Brand Voice Assignment

As discussed in the chapter, a strong brand voice has the ability to:

● Build connections with audiences
● Foster trust with audiences
● Create a memorable image for your brand
● Put a human face and personality on your brand
● Establish dimensions unique to your personal brand

For this assignment, identify the key characteristics of your own brand voice.
What are elements that connect with others? How do you foster trust with an
online community? What personality characteristics are unique to you? How do

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you display your brand voice consistently across the different platforms you are
on?

Choosing Your Brand Colors Assignment

Identify the brand colors you will want to use for your personal brand. These
colors will be used for your brand aesthetic and overall brand presentation.
Identify both the names of the colors along with their color numbers (so you
have this information for your records). Then, identify the color attributes and
what characteristics they embody. Lastly, provide evidence of how the colors
and your personal brand are tied together.
Set up and complete your assignment in a chart like the one below:

Colors Defining a Personal Brand Assignment

Create a 5-minute presentation on the brand colors and brand voice of a
professional, athlete, celebrity, etc. Identify what attributes the colors are
communicating as well as how this communication ties to the individual’s
personal brand.

Determine Your “Why” Video Assignment

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Create a 30-second video identifying your “why.” Make sure your video answers
these questions:

● What is your overall purpose in your field?
● What are your goals for creating impact in your community with your
personal brand?

Create an outline identifying your key points as a guide for your video. Record
the video and be ready to present and share with the class.

Project

Create Your Own Brand Aesthetic Project

Create a comprehensive brand aesthetic by identifying the following for your
personal brand:

● Font and type
● Brand colors (those from Chapter 5 Assignment 4)
● Characteristics and attributes
● Brand voice
● Assets for your personal brand (ex. Website, social media, etc.)

Once these items are identified:

1. Discuss in detail the strategies that you will use to embrace these for your
personal brand

2. Identify at least five actions you will take to make sure you are consistent with
your brand voice, tone, colors, and font / type in your online presence

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EXPERT SESSION

Developing Your Brand Voice

Speaker: Liza Dunning (Airbnb), a founding member and the brand creator of
Scoutmob

Duration: 21 mins., 13 seconds

Summary: Liza presents the 5 D's of developing a brand voice.

Developing Your Brand Voice - Liza Dunning

Chapter 6: Strategic Planning

Learning Objectives

● Explain the importance of having a strategic plan for your personal brand
● Name the steps of creating a strategic plan for a personal brand
● Identify best practices that individuals have employed in creating strong
personal brands through strategic planning

SECTION 1

Introduction to Strategic Plans

A personal brand does not emerge overnight or come into light by just
announcing to the world that you have one. It takes a bit more work, strategy,
and effort to make your personal brand come to life. In addition, the personal

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brand acknowledgments seen publicly in many ways are the tip of the iceberg —
a lot is happening under the surface. Much has been done and considered before
a personal brand that is seen as come to light.

Figure 6.1.1

Take into consideration some examples of personal brands. Actor Will Smith has
a high profile in the entertainment industry from his work in “Men in Black” and
“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” but he has become a social media star through his
work on his accounts and the content he creates with his content team. Dustin
Hawley of Viral Nation states, “… [Will Smith’s] tactical. Leveraging his fame
and namesake is simply just an intelligent approach to developing and growing a
social media presence. He doesn’t just post content for the sake of posting, or

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because he’s an already established public figure with little to gain from a
well-planned post. Everything he does in regards to his social media is done
with a purpose and clear intent.”

The same strategy can be said about actor Ryan Reynolds, who has his agency
Maximum Effort work with him on campaigns for Match.com, Wrexham FC,
Aviation Gin, and Mint Mobile (along with providing content fuel for his fake
feud with actor Hugh Jackman!), and for Tampa Bay Buccaneers football player
Tom Brady, who also has a content team in place to create content and
strategies for his personal brand.

All three examples show emphasis on strategy — thinking about how to uniquely
create experiences, content, messaging, and opportunities that can benefit a
personal brand while separating themselves from the rest of the crowd.

A strategic plan allows a personal brand to be:

Adaptable

Allowing the person to change at a moment’s notice depending on the landscape
and situation in question

Unpredictable

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Not following the same game plan every time, but experimenting to see what
works and what has yet to be accomplished

Creative

Embracing the possibilities of the unknown and finding gaps to be taken
advantage of

Evolving

Allowing for a person to change and grow, which will help in maintaining and
sustaining relevancy with their audiences over time

A personal brand — like a campaign for a client or crisis communication plan —
needs to have a strategy behind it. Understanding the steps of how a personal
brand can be integrated into a strategic plan is a crucial element to have in
your toolkit. Otherwise, you may not have the right steps or insights in order to
take actions for your personal brand. You may have the opportunity to work
with high-profile clients, but you — yourself — are our most important client to
manage and work with.

SECTION 2

Creating a Strategic Plan for a Personal Brand

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Congrats! You are here to create a strategic plan for a personal brand.
You may be thinking about the steps to take based on what a strategic plan
looks like for a nonprofit, brand, or corporation. There are a lot of similarities
between a strategic plan for a personal brand and one for a corporation or other
organization. However, there are some key differences that need to be noted.
This section of the chapter will present a Strategic Plan Framework for a
strategic plan. The overall goal of this framework is to provide two different
avenues to pursue for your personal brand. The first option is to use this
framework to create a campaign for your personal brand. This approach is for
marketing yourself to potential sponsors or brands who you would like to
collaborate with. The second option is to use this framework to create a
personal brand. All of the steps presented are good for formulating your story,
values, brand pillars, and more. This approach could be adjusted as your
personal brand evolves and grows over time.

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Figure

6.2.1

Strategic Plan Framework

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE

Before starting in on the research, the overall purpose for a strategic plan
needs to be identified. Are you addressing a potential opportunity or
introducing your personal brand to the world? What are some of the overall
factors (challenges, competitors, opportunities, features, etc.) to be
considered? Is there an opportunity to lead the way and differentiate yourself
from others? These questions need to be addressed before beginning a strategic
plan.

STEP 2: RESEARCH

Research for personal brands can be done through various methods, such as
holding focus groups, analyzing content, listening to and monitoring social

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media, and conducting surveys and interviews. In fact, reaching out to talk with
people you trust — family, colleagues, friends, classmates, mentors — with set
questions about personal branding could be extremely enlightening and
informative for your personal brand moving forward.
The worst thing that could be done is to just go straight into the brainstorming
process without first conducting research. By not researching, you are at risk of
making mistakes, going down a direction you did not want to go down, or
missing out on potential opportunities that arise from the research.

Figure 6.2.2

Research has to be taken into consideration not only before a strategic plan has
started but as an ongoing part of the process. Providing a background of your
personal history and story provides context and addresses other elements that

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could spark new ideas or highlight challenges or opportunities. Information
gathering through research can come in different forms and formats.

As mentioned previously, doing your own primary research (surveys, interviews,
etc.) is one part of it. You do want to gather materials that are secondary
research in nature to get a clear point of view of your personal brand as well.

These can come in the form of (but not limited to):

● LinkedIn testimonials
● Mentions on social media
● Google search alerts (as well as Talkwalker and Mention)
● Social media profiles
● Articles in which you are quoted or featured
● Blog posts
● Podcast or video interviews
● Content you have created

You should collect all of the materials and assets presented and published on
you with your personal brand. Then, in a personal brand communication
analysis, evaluate each to see if there are any emerging themes that arise from
the content, articles, etc.

In conducting such an analysis, asking yourself the following questions is key:

● Am I presenting myself consistently across all channels?
● Am I being interviewed and talked about in the context and areas I want to
be part of?
● What is the overall tone and sentiment of my brand on- and offline?

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● What are the main characteristics and associations people are recognizing
in my brand?

Doing a thorough job in research takes time and effort, but the payoff is
extremely valuable since it will provide insights for creating a sustainable and
successful personal branding strategy.

Secondary Methods

We can also obtain information through secondary sources by reviewing
published articles about others in our field, reading what others are saying
about our brand, and reviewing best practices for personal branding.

Overall

Research is only as good as your ability to identify what is happening, why
things are happening, and how you can apply findings to construct sound
strategies. Organizing your research efforts can help you see the whole picture
at once.

STEP 3: CREATE A VISION STATEMENT

Once you figure out where you are at in terms of the findings and research
collected through primary and secondary research methods, ask yourself
questions about defining your personal brand and what it stands for. In order to
do that, you have to create a vision statement providing an overall view of the
purpose your personal brand has for your community, industry, and for society.

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