I'm reading a fascinating book on personal branding called 'Platform'. It's written by arguably one of the most well known branding experts online - Cynthia Johnson.
And while this post could easily become a 1000 word article on how awesome the book is, I'll save that for Friday's @Dtube feature :)
In the first chapter of this book...A massive nugget grabbed my attention and I wanted to talk about it today...Rather than wait for Friday...
The topic of personal branding is often misunderstood and I loved this point that Cynthia made...And best of all, I can see how this message can be brought to your journey here on STEEM and help you...Build a better personal brand!
Did you catch that?
Personal branding is about making people...More authentic.
It's about growth, autonomy and being an individual that ATTRACTS others...Not by some fancy slogan or marketing message. But by being AUTHENTIC!
I've seen this play a vital role in my development way before I jumped into STEEM. I was a big fan of the 'personal brand'. I waved that flag wherever I went and screamed on the top of mountains that people needed to focus on building their brand.
My old slogan was...Build your brand and build your list (email marketing list).
The issue was that I tried to get people to come up with a fancy logo for their company or brand, and left it at that...I figured, as long as you 'looked good' and had a professional image, everything else would fall into place.
That is just not the case!
Personal branding, which I'm learning much more about, is developing an authentic image not for the sake of 'selling more fidget spinners'...But for building lasting relationships with people!
Here's what Cynthia had to say about that approach to personal branding...
No fake it until you make it! No empty promises...
Just being authentic and actually CARING about those around you.
Imagine if that was your personal brand and what you were famous for here on STEEM?
Someone who actually cares for others and their journey...
See this isn't just a good marketing plan, it's the right thing to do. When we focus on showing up everyday, delivering value and adding to others, our personal brand becomes what the author is talking about here.
Cool story Jon...But how does this relate to STEEM?
Community!
If you have been reading my blog or following my journey on STEEM for any amount of time, you will know that I'm huge on...People!
I believe that if we focus our attention on building the relationships with the PEOPLE here on STEEM, everything else will fall into place.
So that comes in the form (for my journey) in...
- Rewarding people that engage with me and the @SteemSavvy community with @SteemBasicIncome units. I believe that our hard work and engagement should be rewarded and if we can find a win-win scenario, we should support that. And SBI provides it in my opinion.
form of featured interviews and articles- Highlighting different members of the @SteemSavvy community in the
- Answering questions and working hard to grow people's Steem Power to 300 via the #RoadTo300SP
- Hanging out on Sunday and Tuesday via live streams and videos...Talking STEEM and sharing experiences with others.
But most importantly...Showing up every day and letting people know...I'm here if you need anything!
Is it working?
Who knows LOL
Seriously though, I'm not keeping score on what people think my 'personal brand is'. I'm too busy trying to add to others STEEM journey. And that's why Cynthia's points about personal branding are so important to me.
It's not about a logo...
It's not about an awesome web design...Or fancy marketing message.
It's about people. Community. Relationships.
And being there for others as much as you can. That's authentic to me. No secret agenda. No snake oil salesman tactics. Just being there for people.
That's how I feel we should be building our personal brands...Right along side each other!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://plus1daily.com/the-issue-with-personal-branding/
Best way to build brand
Yessir. You just can’t beat it. And you can’t fake it. Steem has some amazing people here. Appreciate you man!
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Jon, your are becoming a legend in building an "authentic" brand here on Steem. No doubt about it :)
appreciate that man. thanks for the comments and support.
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Authentic works, because in the long run, truth always prevails. Live in truth and people will know what they are getting---and being authentic attracts the right customers, not just random people.
absolutely. perfect way of saying it.
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This post hit home for me! You've known me for years now & know this is what I believe in as well. I cannot say enough about being real with people & stress that being your authentic self is truly the only way to go. People can sense fake images or personas very quickly & it helps no one.
Also, no one can bring the world exactly what each of us can, because each & every one is unique & have unique gifts. Caring about others is so important in this mix. That is what the Steem community has given me. We have become a family.
Thank you for writing this, Jon. This will resonate with a lot of readers & personal branding like this is not talked about enough!
thanks for the comments jenn. appreciate that very much. and appreciate all your support and engagement. that’s a huge win in my books for a successful steem journey
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Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without your support. ❤
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honored! you’ve been crushing it and leading by example. so glad you fell for the steem trap lmao 😂
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Lmaooooo. Yes @jonolson I fell for it, hook line & sinker. All your fault 😉 He he. 💞
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Thank you for this very interesting article.
This is a very important message I believe especially coming from a book that treats about Personal Branding. Most of the time such books tell you what you should do and how you should do it to be able to fit a form that was maybe successfull for the author of the book.
I think that authenticity is not so easy to achieve because we often don't trust our instincts. I see a lot of people on steem who write a post every day, even when they have nothing to say. They do it because the book (Possible Titles: Be successfull on social media, How to become an influencer...) that they are reading told them to do so...
Authenticity means to act and live how you really are. If you care about others this will also bring you more attention ... So I believe that the successfull Personal Branding is when you give more than you take.
that’s a great point. it’s something i have done in my years of creating content...i speak on camera the same way i would if i’m
sitting in front of you. if i mess up, i don’t do many reshoots. i just keep going. it’s not the most ‘professional’ approach and i do my best with editing etc.
but it’s me :)
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Personal branding is the key to success. That's why I never changed my photo over the years now. It's combined with me and when I engage with someone he or she will remember this.
legendary for sure ;) yeah man i think i’d do a double take if you changed that image lol
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Thank you for this post! I am totally agree with it... and it always comes in my mind that sentence: "Sharing is caring" and Steemit platform is ideal to implement it.. and that can be done only if we are honest and authentic
Only that way we can be "more human" and we can grow like better person...
appreciate the comments :)
and i agree. this is the perfect place to build a personal brand. i think at times it’s too good to be true lol
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Great points made! People started to make the distinction between the carefully built but fake image (i.e. brand) and the authentic you. It sometimes goes beyond personal branding into the companies branding, but it's more obvious for individual branding.
dude you’d love this book. so many nuggets and things that speak to so many business minded individuals. one of the better books i’ve read on the subject.
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If STEEM gets millions of users, who will new people look at? They will be looking at accounts of active dolphins and orca's. People that have been here and done that.
But like when i arrived and followed the whales, most of them i have unfollowed as they were in-active or fake. Now the people that i look up to are the ones here every day because they want to. People that have built a brand i can respect and copy. Same will happen in the future. The trick is to do it for the right reasons and people will follow that.
agree so much. i followed a bunch of the bigger accounts here as well when i first joined. unfollowed because they never engaged or responded.
what a wasted opportunity. and i for sure won’t make that mistake lol it’s all about engagement to me and respecting people that take the time to leave comments.
people first. always.
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It basically comes down to trust, if you feel that a person is honest and authentic, then you trust them, and that's the kind of people we all want to do business with, thanks @jongolson.
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yup. agreed and people are smart. they can smell the snake oil salesmen a mile away.
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Personal branding improves the goodwill of a person and improves the trust of customers on the you.
indeed. it sure does :)
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Sounds like very interesting book. Cannot wait for the full book review on this one.
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only about 50 pages in and i can already tell. it’s a classic.
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Being more Aunthetic and a good relationship with people is all I learn about personal branding.
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agreed. it’s all about people and how we respect and treat them.
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Communities helping one another for the better.
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absolutely. and can’t think of any better way to grow a steem account
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Absolutely spot on!. Thanks for this info Jon!
thanks man. glad you enjoyed it :)
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cheers bro, keep the great bits of knowledge coming.
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I think more are realizing the importance of genuinely sharing experiences and thoughts. Whereas in the last the focus related to content and rewards, I think the survival instinct of the community has stepped in and fostered a more supportive and engagement oriented focus to add value to the ecosystem. Those who are genuine are being rewarded for their leadership in outting forth the possibilities of the Steem blockchain.
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that’s a great point. at the end of the day we all wanna see steem win. i’m excited for this community and encouraged by the amazing people in it.
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Simply put, branding is the equal of, knowing, liking, and trusting. Lol even though I don't know, like, or trust some places but I still shop there. Whaaaaaaat? Lol
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example in that book really hit home for me. mcdonald’s or burger king. pepsi or coke. pc or mac. you read those and you ‘prefer’ one brand over the next. because they are generally the same product. but emotionally you prefer one over the other. thats a powerful brand :)
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I think being truly yourself and authentic is the way to go to grow a personal brand. You have to live with the feeling that some people might not like you, but that is not really a problem right?
Live for yourself
that was a huge issue for me over the years. i wanted everyone to love me lol
but realized that just can’t happen.
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But, you are one step further and made the conclusion it won't work. From there on you can just win. Made the same process :) Still fighting that it won't happen, but I guess once you realize it, you will get your true self and more adoreable :)
Keep up the good work brother
For sure need to improve self for personal Brand. Rais your value people will follow you automatically. 👍
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yeah man. like attracts like. so if you are leading by example and adding value daily, you will attract the right people.
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Continue updates 👌👌👌Good knowledge @jongolson
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thanks very much. glad you enjoyed it.
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Thanks for this post. I've been studying personal branding and it often seems like an exercise in image-making, not exactly authentic. I think Socrates had it right with "To thine own self be true."
i’m sure that works for some. and there are more than one way to skin a cat lol
i just like to put ‘myself’ out there. i put my community first. and the chips may fall in my favor because of it.
who knows lol
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