We’re doing a small research project with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) and the results are spawning plenty of discussion about online branding.
I’m attending two events on personal branding in the next few weeks, which means it must be the new “it” topic in social media. I thought I’d get things started by sharing my three “rules” for blending personal brands with company brands:
Personal affiliation
Rule 1: Don’t ignore the fact that people know you are the (wo)man behind the curtain.
Judy-Anne Goldman manages CFCA’s Twitter account and other social media efforts. Though her name only appears on 3.7% of the websites in our project, many people in the Kansas City community associate Judy with the CFCA brand – especially the online portion.
As the social media manager for Spiral16, I know that my personal brand is directly attached to our company. My personal Twitter, personal blog and social network profiles are directly connected to my work at S16 and probably influence a user’s perception of our company. When it comes to Spiral16, my name appears on 14.7% of websites mentioning our company – only 10% less than our company president.
If it’s your job to manage online identity, your personal brand will overlap with your company’s. Judy embodies the qualities of CFCA in her personal networks without overwhelming you with her work. Just as on my blog I will share bits from Spiral16 once in awhile, but only if I feel that my audience will find the post worthwhile.
Acknowledge that you are part of the corporate effort. Full disclosure will definitely get you somewhere.
Build trust through authenticity
Rule 2: Online relationships aren’t fake. Build trust and rapport with every interaction.
Maintaining an authentic Web presence is an important part of building relationships with your customers and audience.
Shane Adams, Kansas City blogger and internet marketer, recently authored a post on the importance of being genuine, and his conclusion is fantastic advice for those assuming the role of online corporate mouthpiece:
Now that part of my job is applying my knowledge of the web and social media to a large organization like Cerner, I only see the crossover between personal and business becoming more pronounced. This may rub some people the wrong way. But there are some of those people who use “online monikers” and “web personalities” and even their participation in social media isn’t entirely genuine.
The challenge as a marketer like myself who also uses the web as a personal outlet is to always remain authentic. Anyone who has ever met me in person knows that there’s no difference between the real-life me, @shaneomack, Shane Life blogger, and the corporate marketer I am. In fact, for anyone to suggest otherwise is insulting.
When you attach an accessible human to a brand online, you create an instant spokesperson. This begs the importance of authenticity in your online identity management.
Maturity is a must
Rule 3: Show your true colors in a professional way.
While you want to be genuine, you also want to be mature. Censor four-letter words. Avoid R-rated topics. You get the idea…
For example, if you’re managing the Twitter account for a large company or news organization, you don’t want your Tweets to sound like they came from a 13-year-old Jonas Brothers fan (i.e. OMG Tweeps! Doesn’t this link make you ROFL?)… but you also don’t want to plug an RSS into TwitterFeed and call it a day.
Consider your message. Then consider language for communicating your message that isn’t poisoned with marketing speak… if it is, your audience will see right through you. A good example of authentic business to customer relationships comes from EMBARQ_Joey, who includes some personal messages, but concentrates on customer service.
People are watching you just like they are watching your company. If you aren’t legit, eventually someone will figure it out. Is creating the person you want to be (rather than being who you are) ever justifiable?
What are other good tactics for merging online identities? Leave your responses in the comments…
Shane
- 4:39 pm on 04/13/2009
The thing that I’m still trying to come to grips with is those who manage to maintain several online identities. While Cerner has not yet ventured officially into the Twitter realm, I know that the crossover between personal and professional might be a little more difficult for them. I forsee them having a policy like Zappos or Embarq where people representing Cerner on Twitter will be prefixed or suffixed by a “Cerner” notation.
Someone like me who is in online marketing and social media might not maintain two accounts (it’s gotta be EXHAUSTING to do that), but I imagine that customer service and client engagement types may be required to do so by corporate policy. Ultimately, it’s a conversation that has to be had at a pretty high level at a company the size of Cerner or Embarq. You definitely need to get executive buy-in if you’re going to start representing your organization in a public forum like Twitter or Facebook.
Still, it has to be real. That’s the most important part.
Gary Doyle
- 4:50 pm on 04/13/2009
I think we’re slowly evolving to a time when our personal brand will be more important than our corporate connection. Consider the world of professional sports. Terrell Owens’ brand follows him from team to team. For good or for bad, he carries with him all of his experiences with previous teams. Our personal brands will begin to have the same impact. There was a time when poor customer service was attributed to the company when it was an individual that created the interaction. Before, people could hide behind the brand of the company with a certain amount of anonymity. Now that we are gaining more open interactions, our personal brand will potentially sway people in the future as we change jobs and make it impossible for us to create a persona that is radically different from our true selves.
Justin Gardner
- 5:39 pm on 04/13/2009
I think what Gary and Shane have said so far about this are spot on. Social media makes transparency an absolute must, because that person will have to eventually interact offline. And if the online and offline don’t sync up, well, goodbye personal brand.
Also, the idea that people will be able to take that brand from place to place is already happening, so I think the evolution may have been slow, but it’s really starting to ramp up. Look at a guy like Robert Scoble who pioneered a lot of what we’re talking about right now just a few years ago at Microsoft. And he was able to take that brand and move it on to other ventures. Still, I think the personality has to fit the culture, otherwise it won’t work. And it’s up to both parties to recognize what is and isn’t a good fit.
One last thing Whitney, I think you have to add another rule to this and that is: You have to live it. For instance, why do we all know each other in KC and beyond? Because we’re on Twitter, make connections on Facebook/Myspace and are active and engaged bloggers. And I’d say it’s A LOT harder to fake the day in, day out participation in social media than it is an authentic voice. Of course, if you’re looking at that as part and parcel of being authentic I think you can keep the three rules.
Great post!
whitney
- 5:45 pm on 04/13/2009
Totally agree with your fourth rule, Justin! Nice addition. I guess I’m so used to keeping pace each day I forget that it’s a lifestyle adjustment for a lot of people.
Eric Melin
- 11:13 am on 04/14/2009
I agree with Justin wholeheartedly. I am still adjusting to that lifestyle, and I’ve been blogging online for close to four years. Being active and engaged online is a challenge, but once you get into the swing of things, you just kind of learn the rules. I am constantly surprised by the things that my followers and sitegoers find interesting. The more you monitor the feedback, the more you can figure out why people are listening to you. Being engaged is not just important, its essential to being able to give your audience what they want.
Judy-Anne Goldman
- 8:45 am on 04/15/2009
Great post, Whitney! Like Shane, this is a topic I’m growing into, figuring out 1) how personal to be with my work Twitter accounts (@CFCA and @Zamboanga); 2) how much I can share my CFCA enthusiasm on my personal @lacajag; and 3) always being conscious that I’m associated with CFCA and making sure my tweeted views aren’t in conflict with their values.
I’m lucky, though, working for a nonprofit that isn’t afraid of trying new and untraditional ways of doing things, and it’s an organization I believe in. But I have to laugh with Eric. It can be surprising what my/our followers love or are indifferent to. Keeps it real! Who likes predictable?!
Another thing about nonprofits, as Justin says in his comment, “the personality has to fit the culture.” Social media is a natural fit for nonprofits, which are all about relationships and transparency, so many people working at nonprofits are living their organization’s message.
Your post gets to the heart of creating a solid online presence. The rules resonate in face-to-face, print…all communication, really. It strikes me that success in social media is the ability to cut through the technology and go right to the relationship.
And your rule about maturity is cutting edge. I feel like the “I’ll tweet/write/say it just because I can” issue, (i.e. the Memphis/FedEx incident), is boiling under the surface of social media conversation right now. Gary makes a statement in his comment about Terrell Owens’ brand following him “for good or for bad.” In marketing, you can make the case that the only bad publicity is no publicity. The lines between what we can say and what we should say can be blurry right now in the early, “lawless” days of social media!
Overall, I think that social media is a gift for companies. It’s an easy and early-21st century embodiment of individualized service and putting the customer first. But with any power (particularly, the power of the “pen”) comes responsibility…and ramification : )
Justin Gardner
- 7:04 pm on 04/15/2009
Judy, I think the opportunities for engagement that social media offers are varied, rich and nuanced, and we’re all much luckier to have these new avenues open to us. So in that sense, it’s a “gift.” However, I think an important distinction here is this new space is neither free nor easy, especially since the idea of increased transparency is hard to convince people of, both internally and externally.
On a strictly personal level I’m looking forward to being involved in the maturity of this space, especially since there are so many great opportunities to make connections that were never possible before. For instance, I’ve met every single person in this thread and that never would’ve happened if not for all of these new ways to socialize. And if meeting new people and sharing ideas doesn’t excite people about the possibilities of social media, I’m not exactly sure what will.
Judy-Anne Goldman
- 2:06 pm on 04/16/2009
Great points, Justin. I totally agree!