10 Reasons Why Your Personal Brand Sucks

I always tell people – entrepreneurs, executives,
business leaders, anyone who will listen – that their
personal brand doesn’t really matter. I tell them that
customers pay for products and services, not them. Do
they listen? No, not really. That got me thinking about
why.
I guess we all have an online presence. We have to. Like
it or not, it’s a requirement. And whether you’re selling a
product, building a business, or looking for a new
opportunity, wherever you go and whatever you do, your
online presence is there. So, yes, it really does matter.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of our personal brands
suck. Don’t feel too badly about that; you’re in good
company. I don’t think mine is anything to write home
about either. The problem is there’s simply no manual
for this sort of thing.
Sure there are some books out there, but I don’t think
any of those people have a clue either. Truth is, social
networks and user-generated content are still relatively
new. We’re all sort of winging it, trying out different
things to see what works. And that goes for all of us,
even the self-proclaimed gurus.
That said, as a guy who led marketing at some high-tech
companies, you would think I’d have at least some
intuition about this kind of thing. And while I may not
know exactly what works, since no one does, I do have a
pretty good idea of what doesn’t work. Here are 10
reasons why your personal brand might be doing more
harm than good and some helpful tips:
1. You write like a third grader.
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating for emphasis, but if you
spend any time at all online you know what I’m talking
about. On average, your collective writing skills aren’t up
to snuff. Since LinkedIn opened up its blog platform, I’ve
seen plenty of truly embarrassing posts. Don’t do that.
Related: Know When to Trust Your Gut
2. Too much information.
Everyone knows to keep it simple but nobody does. Look
at an Apple product. What do you see? Two brands: the
Apple symbol and the name of the product. Know why?
Apple knows we’re overloaded with info and can only
remember a tiny fraction of what we see. Pick the one
thing you want people to remember, make sure they
can’t miss it, and minimize the rest.
3. Most of your content is useless fluff.
Nobody says it but we all know it’s true. I guess people
in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones but I grew up in
the highly competitive high-tech industry where people
gave it to you straight. If your work sucked, somebody
told you. If my content were crap, I would expect no less
from you folks.
4. Enough with the inspirational quotes
already.
I’m just going to say this once. It’s your brand, not Steve
Jobs’s, Henry David Thoreau’s, or Gandhi’s. And for
God’s sake, don’t quote yourself. That’s got to be the
most annoying, pompous, self-important thing I’ve ever
seen anyone do. Ever. No quotes.
5. Your picture is lousy.
Come now, surely you can come up with one half-decent
picture of you and you alone – with all your clothes on
and without your dog, cat, kids or better half. It’s called
a personal brand, not a porn brand, family brand, or
cartoon brand.
Related: 8 Great Entrepreneurial Success Stories
6. You have a unique handle…like everyone
else.
Different is not differentiated. There’s a big difference.
Differentiated means in the eyes of your potential
customers or whomever it is you’re trying to influence.
Instead of being different, focus on your value
proposition, what others will pay for because you’re
better than the competition.
7. Hashtags are not personal.
Some of your Twitter profiles are entirely made up of
overused or esoteric hashtags. Some go symbol crazy.
That’s neither personal nor expressive. Do some work
and use your words, people. Come up with a truly
differentiated value prop, not some overhyped BS or
arcane reference nobody gets.
8. There’s no call to action.
Marketing 101, Rule 1: If there’s no call to action,
nothing will happen. Granted, users can like, follow, or
link to you, but if someone miraculously ends up looking
at your profile, why not have a direct link to your
business? No, links to your other social network pages
don’t count. That’s just circular.
9. You take yourself too seriously.
You’re not going to be discovered by some famous
Hollywood director so don’t get all heavy and dramatic.
It’s a Twitter profile, not an epitaph on a tombstone. All
you’ll succeed in doing is making people think you’re
overly sensitive or too self-involved to work with.
10. You don’t answer, “Why?”
No, you don’t want to literally state why customers
should want to do business with you, but you need to at
least get a message across, in as few words as possible,
that answers WIIFM (what’s in it for me), where “me” is
the other person, not you.
One more thing. If you insist on saying you’re a husband
or a mother, naming your spouse, stating that your
views are your own or telling the world you’re a Packers
fan who loves Sushi, you’re wasting space, people’s
time, and an opportunity to get something meaningful
across. That’s what personal branding’s all about.