Personal Branding
Personal Branding
The internet bridged connections between people, business, organizations, and countries. It is a key element when it comes to relationships and branding either individually or a group. Professionals are investing most of their time and resources in creating and managing their profile online through social media networks (Thompson, et al., 2008). Hence, the modern day professionalism has a lot more to it than what it was previously. Not only does the online presence cater for the professionalism, but individuals also use the space to promote their personal interest. It is a common trait for an individual to share their life journey, hobbies and interest with the world. They share insights towards the world developments and politics through groups and events. At times, balancing personal interests and professionalism can be a tussle for many since people have their eyes in them. It is quite difficult for professionals to exercise care while conversing with people online, despite them providing their thoughts towards a subject. Hence, having a social media management or strategy will help one in such situations. However, not everyone can afford the services, making them vulnerable to serious issues towards their professional lives.
Why the Dialect Exists
The dialect exists because of the social perception made by people on a particular subject. It is a conflict which many find hard to equate since it is beyond their jurisdiction. Another issue is that everyone has a certain perspective towards a person’s life (Thompson, et al., 2008). Not everyone will think equally and in some scenarios, the media plays a major part in influencing people against a certain person. One major perception people have about senior professions such as managers, and media personalities have a perfect life and do not possess certain behaviors. Hence, if a profession shares a picture of him or her enjoying a night out with friends, people begin to question their character, deeming them as unprofessional. In a way, the society becomes the judge to what people post on their profile. Therefore, it no longer becomes a person’s decision when uploading certain aspects of their lives but the community’s.
The online presence can damage the image of a person and make them change their lifestyles to fit the social requirements set by others. Hence, some professionals lack a personal profile since thy find it fit to keep their lives to themselves (Meijer, Korthagen, & Vasalos, 2009). It would hurt them less if people only saw their professional bio, provided by their company or online sources. For instance, a matchmaker might not want his or her personal life in the public eye especially if they are either married or divorced. Such information would be put into question towards their life choices and professionalism. The situation will be worse if the profession is divorced since the public will question their expertise in marital affairs. Hence, disclosing their marital status will be an issue to their marital status. Publicizing the marital affairs of a profession might harm their personal lives especially towards their family. It affects their personal lives especially when it involves paparazzi and stalkers following their movements everywhere. In the United States, celebrities find it hard to stay away from the public eye because of stalkers and paparazzi who keep up with their daily moves. Despite the effort to control the menace, the celebrities have no option but to look for ways to cooperate or avoid them.
Another conflict that exists is the personal thoughts of a person and their professional requirements (Meijer, Korthagen, & Vasalos, 2009). For instance, a professional working for a tobacco company would promote the brand in his online platform through email or social media in a bid to boost the brand’s presence. However, it might not be their interest to do so and might provide such an insight in online forums or events. Hence, it creates a conflict between their profession and personal life. People would question such drifts because if one does not advocate for their profession in their personal lives, why are they working in such an institution? If such information reaches the executives, the employee might lose their job. Another situation is when a profession working for an eco-friendly organization buys or drives a fuel guzzler (Meijer, Korthagen, & Vasalos, 2009). The public might view such an image as hypocrisy in that their personal decisions does not reflect in their professional image. In the long run, people live the way the media wants them to live, which denies them the leisure to enjoy life. However, people have taken the situation quite seriously that it affects how they live. They are ever on what about what they buy, eat, drive, or associate with. In the long run, one becomes a puppet to the social image, which is not a good thing.
Personal and Professional Identity
Best Practices in Personal Branding
Building a personal brand takes time and caution in establishing what is important for the public and what is not. Despite the need to update people of one’s progress, one should instill certain rules and regulations (Hyder, 2014). They will come in handy during social events and interviews with major companies. Most interviewers go through the profile of their interviewees before the interview because their social sites reveal more about their personality and interests. Despite the effort of an individual in hiding their profile, there are digital blueprints which link back to them. According to Sharma Hyder, digital footprints exist in the sands of space and time; crowdsourced through colleagues, bosses and friends. At times, people do not have control over what others post, but they have the right to pull down whatever they deem as unnecessary.
The first step in personal branding is to build one’s image as a brand. One should think of what people will think of them in a certain perspective. They ought to put themselves in other’s shoes and question whether they are proud of themselves (Hyder, 2014). Understanding these elements will help in outlining the changes one should exercise in their lives. However, it does not mean one should not live as they please; they have to exercise cautions while at it. The second step is audit one’s online presence by going through the different social media sites. A quick way of discovering online presence is a quick Google search. One should ensure they have a common name in most of their social networks to avoid redundancy. A strong personal brand is similar to intellectual property. The third step is securing a personal website, which will act as a curriculum vitae. It should be a simple site with one or two pages and might contain a personal blog. It helps to sell a person’s profile to the people.
The fourth step is finding ways to make one’s brand valuable to the audience through curating or creating content that is similar to their image (Hyder, 2014). For instance, if one is into technology, favorable content would be anything linked to technology. The fifth step is being purposeful towards what individual content shares. Every status update, tweet, and picture contribute to a person’s brand. With a plan of what one seeks to achieve, they will be strategic in the content they wish to share. The sixth step is associating with stronger brands as a way of learning their techniques. It helps in gauging their brand against others and establish strengths and weaknesses. The last step is reinventing a personal brand by using a strong narrative. Just like the way people sell or market products, one should have a selling strategy of their profile to others. One thing to remember is that one should update their image often to ensure consistency and relevance to their personal image. These steps are fundamental towards achieving a strong online personal brand. However, no one has a perfect brand. Hence, one should not stress themselves in ensuring they have the best.
High-Profile Examples
The two examples used in the paper provide a good relation between personal and professional brands and identities that have had conflict in the online media. The first example is the Conflict of Interests, an online brand located in New York (Welty, 2013). It was initially a parody to some of the well-known brands. Parodies are misdirection made by people pertaining to a certain image or impression with the aim of making jokes out of them. Their first collection was T-shirts which had simple and uncomplicated prints from a known brand, The Secret Agents (Welty, 2013). Luckily, the parody T-shirts became popular due to social media. It was a kind of secrecy which played well for the developers by warming up the interest of new and weird brand. The Secret Agents shared their sentiments in an interview, where they explained that secrecy was not PR stunt, but a belief established by the teammates of the brand. The secrecy by Conflict of Interest added excitement and mystery towards the brand (Chernikoff, 2016). It highlighted the way the products look and not their design. Hence, defining the brand’s authenticity was self-difficult especially when social media is put into the equation. The Secret Agents were in a dilemma on whether to reveal themselves or not to save their brand. The only way around it was to create a line of clothing which will expand the customer base and keep the individual’s information a secret.
The second example is The White T-Shirt CO, founded by Penny Jones, who is a vibrant conservationist and member to many eco-clubs (The Ernest Journal, 2016). Her idea was to make perfect T-shirts using organic cotton without any impurities. However, her brand was quite monotonous, and she had the idea of including other three colors: black, gray marl and navy to the collection (The Ernest Journal, 2016). She had a concept of authentic self where each person will manifest themselves without worrying about fussy uncomfortable and poor quality clothing. Her plan worked but not for long since the organic yarn supplier was out of business in 2010. Jones had two options; close the factory or use non-organic materials. Luckily, she found an alternative by partnering with Danish investor who makes it possible for her to continue with production (The Womens Room, 2014).
The Concept Of An “Authentic Self” And Ethical Implications
In the first example, the Secret Agents could not reveal their identities as it would harm the sale of their products. It is quite a challenge not to own up to a successful brand because it will alter the brand’s success. However, it narrows down to the decisions one makes towards their brand and what they value the most. The concept of authentic self in such scenarios favor the product more than the makers. Social media becomes the determinant of the success of a product. Hence, the agents had to weight their options and opt to remain anonymous for them to rip good profits.
In the second example. Penny Jones had a reputation to maintain, which was the selling point of her products. When faced with the organic yarn problem, she had to juggle between maintaining the integrity of her company or cheat her way to success. The esteemed customers might feel the difference in her products and spot the fraud in it. In such situations, the brand image is more popular than the products and the alteration will lead to a shift of customer base. Her choice to stick to the brand values cost her a few years out of the business but maintained her image. It paid off once she revived her company. The choice people make have their consequences but what matters more is whether a person understands the choices made.
In both cases, the participant adhered to professional standards. They had to play with their brand’s identity and integrity as viewed in the social media. They forfeited their selfish interests for the benefit of social media. Despite experiencing losses, the decisions made paid off in the long run, and their image stood firm. Such situations help one to understand the choices made and the harsh reality when faced with a dilemma. Some companies or individuals do not recover from their losses, but at least they stuck to their brand.
Recommendations
In the first scenario, the Secret Agents would have to improve on their identity by introducing their brands in a way that would sell their images. However, it is quite a tricky situation as discussed earlier, when they tried to reveal their identity. Their strategy should be more of mystery which will keep people yearning to know more about them. Creating interest in social media makes it quite easy for a person to uncover their images. They should have a backup plan just in case their image alters the brand’s identity. In the second scenario, Jones should ensure she has a variety of suppliers just in case one of them fails. She ought to create a network of suppliers and incorporate them into her business. Lastly, she should plan ahead for the rainy days as a way of securing her company.
Conclusions
References
Chernikoff, L. (2016). The 'Secret Agents' Behind Cult T-Shirt Line Conflict Of Interest Reveal Their Latest Collection. Retrieved from Fashionista.com: http://fashionista.com/2013/01/the-secret-agents-behind-cult-t-shirt-line-conflict-of-interest-reveal-their-latest-collection
Hyder, S. (2014, August 18). 7 Things You Can Do To Build An Awesome Personal Brand. Retrieved from Forbes Enterprenuer: http://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2014/08/18/7-things-you-can-do-to-build-an-awesome-personal-brand/2/#deebac361cc4
Meijer, P. C., Korthagen, F. A., & Vasalos, A. (2009). Supporting presence in teacher education: The connection between the persoanl and professional aspects of teaching. Teaching adn Teacher Education, 297-308.
The Ernest Journal. (2016). The WHite T-Shirt Co. Retrieved from Ernest Journal: http://www.ernestjournal.co.uk/the-white-t-shirt-co/
The Womens Room. (2014). At Last! The Perfect T shirt from The White T-Shirt Co. Retrieved from Thewomensroomblog.com: http://www.thewomensroomblog.com/2014/06/05/the-perfect-t-shirt-from-the-white-t-shirt-co-at-last
Thompson, L. A., Dawson, K., Ferdig, R., Black, E. W., Boyer, J., Coutts, J., & Black, N. P. (2008). The intersection of online social networking with medical professionalism. Journal of general internal medicine, 954-957.
Welty, M. (2013). Conflict of Interest Goes Beyond Designer Parody T-Shirts at NYFW. Retrieved from Complex.com: http://www.complex.com/style/2013/09/conflict-of-interest-nyfw-show
