Is Brand You Dead?

Couple of months ago, Geoff Livingston, among many others, including me, waxed philosophically about Personal Brand vs Reputation. There was quite the debate both on Geoff’s site and here. 

I’ve struggled with my own business brand for years, even when I had a strong brand with my PR business. I have always had a billion projects on the go, and they don’t all fit under the umbrella of the PR firm. Some of them downright seem contridictory.

What I ended up doing, was technically, creating a brand for “Colleen Coplick” rather than anything else. I’ve got a site, sure, but much like Rebecca is known as Miss604, I am working on connecting Colleen with MissManifesto, (no, that wasn’t planned, and I just noticed the similarity now!)  which acts as my umbrella brand for all of my projects. There’s a place for all of it under there. 

But then, based on my defintion of personal brand, does that mean I’ve created a brand out of Colleen Coplick, or have I developed my reputation?  

Rick over at EyeCube says that “Brand You” is dead and what’s more important is the brand you build, rather than the brand you are. 

In today’s hyper-connected, no-barrier-to-entry, Consumer-generated-content world it’s hard to escape the cult of Personal Branding. Everyone has a website, blog, Twitter account and Facebook page and they aren’t afraid to use them. But it seems to me we’ve reached an inflection point, and what was once smart move now feels self-congratulatory and driven more by ego than producing value.

I think we as marketers, strategists, consultants and social media participants need to re-think what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. [source]

What I’m wondering is, is this any different than what Geoff and I said initially? At least, I know it’s what I had in mind when I wrote that post. 

I think that the bottom line, no matter who says it, be it me, Geoff, Rick, or even the commentors on Rick’s post (Scott Monty’s stood out to me personally as excellent advice) is that no matter what technology does to our lives, or how it advances, when you work to build a brand, whether it’s your name (ergo, yourself) or your company, it’s not enough to just have a persona. You need to build the brand rather than just be a brand. 

It’s not enough to have thousands of Twitter followers (and it shouldn’t be, as many said, about the numbers. It should be about the relationships you build with those followers), an impressive Linked In account, (”oooh! I’m two degrees away from Bill Gates!” Great, but what can that do for you??) or more friends on Facebook than any of your other friends. 

Create something that other people can get interested, involved and immersed in. What is it about you that someone else can get immersed in?  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re just not that interesting. What you create is.

Find out what’s important to your audience or community. Put them first – show them (don’t tell them) why they need to be paying attention to whatever it is you’re doing, and what’s in it for them. Your brand has got nothing to do with YOU, it’s got to do with the value you provide to others.

This goes for your personal brand, your company’s brand, or even the brand you work for. Find a way to provide value, or you’re just another “rockstar“.