Building personal brand is super important for a number of reasons. I’ve decided to do this as a video blog post as not many of you will know what Paul looks like. Hopefully, its not toooo bad.
I’ve realised just how difficult it actually is to talk when you are looking down the barrel of a webcam! Hopefully, as time goes on I’ll get better at it. Video is going to get big in the coming years, so it’s time to get in on the action now. Especially with mobile devices being better at streaming video, than they are at displaying large chunks of text.
Why personal branding is important.
Firstly it separates you from the crowd. Many bloggers shy away from showing their mugs on their site because they feel that it “exposes them to the world” or they are naturally shy, and find it difficult to look at themselves without feeling self conscious or conceited.
The other side of the coin is that your visitors will feel more connected with you personally, and therefore will interact more deeply with your site, and your content.
Us humans are great at recognising faces, and associating faces with other things such as web addresses, is a great way to make you more memorable. For example, think of a few large companies. Microsoft. You think of Bill Gates. Apple. You think of Steven Jobs. EasyJet – You think of Stellios. However there are plenty of companies who hide behind a cloud of red tape and make themselves invisible. The unfortunate thing about that is that you can be blindsided by someone else who pops up and makes themselves much more accessible.
“I wandered lonely as a cloud“ – springs to mind. Old Wordsworth nailed it.
What can you do about it.
Stop hiding away, show us what you really look like, and be proud of it. Doors will open, people will say hello in the street, you’ll be presented with more opportunity than you can deal with. There’s not really any point in having an audience, if they don’t know who you are, and what you are about.
It’s time to bite the shyness bullet.
Make photo’s of yourself accessible to other bloggers, Darren Rowse’s Twitter profile is a great example of how he is leveraging what he has got (or not got in this case. hair. to leverage his personal brand.) Sorry Darren. No offense. Most people already know what he looks like, and associate and connect with him because of it.
A few simple things you can do. Make sure your twitter profile at least shows your face. Remember how babies recognise the first thing they see as their mother? So too must you associate your face with your site to make it memorable. Ammending your graavatar to do the same is also a wise move.
Let me know whether you enjoyed the video in the comments, or whether I should go back to good old scribing. It’s soo much easier to collect your thoughts when you are able to pause, and edit your posts. Video is a completely different animal.
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 9:49 am
Paul
I love the honesty and the fragility of this piece (if that doesn’t insult your manhood too much!). People definately want reality and this demonstrates that you are a real individual, with a character and your own thoughts. Therefore, a real live person, who they could work with.
I love the vlog format online. I make more use of video-tutorials than reading a how-to piece. I only wish I was brave enough, though I have been practising!
Dawn Baird
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 9:55 am
Hi Dawn
Think it’s fair to say it was fragile. Aren’t we all at the start of something new? Hopefully as time goes by I’ll get more comfortable in doing it, and the awkwardness will disappear.
Paul
Paul Anthony
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 12:39 pm
Good post here highlighting why personal branding is important. Since your brand is what you stand for, people will get to know you distinctly by how you brand yourself. When you create a website, such as yours, people will judge you based on what’s available to them and they will either be attracted or repelled by it. If they are attracted to it, then you might get a new business opportunity!
Dan Schawbel
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 2:45 pm
Well done for taking the plunge, Paul!
Using video has been in the back of my mind for some time now. I need a better webcam, so will search for one next time I’m out shopping.
It’s funny, in your article text you write: “Many bloggers shy away from showing their mugs on their site…”
I think you showed a little too much of your mug (at the beginning), and be careful not to set it down too close to the microphone. ;)
I did laugh out loud at your human cloud bit, though! Haha.
Good on you again.
Off-topic, and as you use WordPress to power your blog, had you considered installing the ‘subscribe to comments’ plugin? It’s one of the first I’d go for with every new blog launch. Without doubt.
David Airey
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 2:59 pm
@David – haha. Yes and as my sister says “If you must drink your tea on camera – at least do it with one which doesn’t have a massive chip out of it”
I would have to recommend Logitech’s Quickcam Sphere AF Web camera – its a pretty expensive camera, but I love some of the features you get with it, including face tracking.
As per the WordPress subscribe to comments plugin – I haven’t looked into it, but thanks for the heads up. Might be a worthy one to implement.
thanks again for stopping by.
Paul.
Paul Anthony
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 3:53 pm
I had to take a second look for that big chip in the mug to register. Haha.
Thanks for the web cam recommendation, Paul. Do you use the built-in mic, or did you buy a separate one?
I wonder if you’ve considered editing your video (having a fade-out at the end, or a title at the start, for instance). Nate Whitehill has done this quite effectively with some of his video blog posts from last year.
David Airey
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 4:01 pm
I use the built in Mic – it seems to be quite good.
I haven’t looked into the editing of things, but that is plannned for the next post, when I’ve a bit more time to work on quality.
I’ll be able to push the video out with something such as TubeMogul, if I can get my branding in at the start or the end of the video. Hopefully that will result in additional direct traffic.
Paul Anthony
linky
posted:February 10, 2009 6:04 pm
Hey Paul,
You beat me to it, though I’ve nothing interesting to say.
Fair play to you for jumping right in.
Do you drink beer as quickly?
Michael
linky
posted:February 11, 2009 8:01 am
Hah, thanks Michael. I’m quite sure a round up of the SEO event you are going to would make for some great content.
I’m not a big beer drinker tbh, partial to the odd Vodka now and again, speed is nothing – as a drinking buddy of mind once said wisely -”its a marathon not a sprint!”
Paul
linky
posted:February 16, 2009 12:47 am
Just got around to watching this – and glad I opened it in your blog page, the video didn’t show in rss feed.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot – my avatar is technically me, though not in the clearest sense. My head is sideways and very high contrast. Though it is me, and it’s my universal avatar, so It may be around for a little longer. Until I find (or take) something better at least.
Its weird being strangely comfortable with being recognised by strangers. Sometimes very strange.
Phil
linky
posted:February 16, 2009 12:53 am
Of all the times to get my email address wrong, I did it just then.
Fixed. Gravatar success.
Phil