How To Double Down on Personal Branding in 2022
A proven 3-step approach to personal branding
Recently I took the Marketing New Realities and the Personal Brand class by the great Mark Schaefer as part of my MSc High Tech Entrepreneurship at Harbour.Space University. There were many brilliant concepts covered. But the core centered around how the world increasingly emphasizes this fact: A brand's credibility and existence now rely on what customers say and do rather than what the brand wants them to do.
Before going into my three main takeaways, let me share two case studies I felt were quite impactful to myself and the broader class.
The North Face — Question Madness
What an ad! This campaign portrays the uncomfortable and scary truths. Something not often seen from big brands... pain and broken bones are ugly, but they define the daily lives of extreme athletes. The North Face knows this and shows the entire world they understand exactly who their customers are.
Further, The North Face decided to take a user-generated content (UGC) route with a strong focus on empathy which translates directly into a sense of belonging with their core audience. Because of this, they literally did not need to put any product front and center. Rather, their brand and product is the athlete — no matter where they are. As a result, their entire brand now resembles the safety and support system that allows athletes to survive extreme conditions — which translates into their secret sauce:
- The customer is the hero.
- The customer is the marketer.
- They helped people belong.
Heineken — Worlds Apart
Phew! What a shocking video and context. Mark posed some great questions to this case study. Who is the target audience? Why would this sell more beer? Let’s get into what I think about it...
The target audience is those who think our differences are greater than our potential to connect. It's a beautiful analogy to the way the world is seemingly trying to divide us among our identities. And it offers the antidote: Heineken Beer. Heineken is treading a thin line between encouraging alcoholism and highlighting the culture it enables.
I personally believe it is clearly the latter. As a beer consumer myself I can relate to the environment filled with deep conversations that occur in a typical pub, bar, or even at home… I think you know what I am talking about. So the answer to the second question is also very clear to me: this campaign would definitely sell more beer. Its message is inclusivity from all political or ideological ends.
My 3 Main Takeaways
Building on these two case studies, I collected three main takeaways that resonated most with me. Now, if you know me, then you understand how much I love mental models and processes. So, my takeaways are designed for a personal branding beginner (like myself). And personal branding begins with producing inhuman amounts of content… the following points relate to a process I have identified from this class and am applying to myself. They are meant to be applied top to bottom. Let’s get into it.
1. Apply AIR with your initial content
I know it’s cliche, but content is king! Simple, right? Not really. Creating content that actually connects with people is difficult. AIR makes this easy:
- Authentic = Are you real? Is what you’re sharing honest?
- Interesting = What value does it add? Is it tangible?
- Relatable = Does it connect to your target audience?
People believe and trust in what they see and experience. AIR relies on consistency and trust. The key to AIR is community-driven.
Be of the community, not just in the community.
Once you nail AIR, you create acts of advocacy that will move customers to connect and communicate with other customers. This only comes from creating and sharing content, increasing buying decisions as a result.
Mark says this best:
“Know who your super sharers are and tailor your content angle towards them.”
I say in addition, you need advocates, not followers.
2. Define your customer island
Personal branding is the marketing of today. And marketing is about all things human. It’s about emotions. So you should aim to create the marketing of no marketing: enable your customers to create and share your/their stories. Do this by understanding what they are into. And once you define that, you can group them into customer islands (imagine a Maldivian atoll as a reference), where the name of the game is word of mouth (WOM) marketing.
This might seem very difficult, but there is a simple solution: Think about creating talkable stories and approach the following types of influencers: celebrities, creators, and advocates. Each has its unique use case and its effectiveness will depend on your application.
Once you understand your customer islands and which influencer type you need to gain access to each, you will receive feedback from a whole range of customer segments that were totally agnostic to your personal brand. Beautiful, right? So analyze carefully and choose wisely.
If you create your personal brand, you create your island. And those who identify with it, will come to you.
Mark categorizes customer islands under human-centered marketing, which he built a beautiful manifesto for. Check it out here.
3. Leverage RITES to scale your content
Expanding on the ideas of customer islands and creating your first consistent content series with AIR, I loved this model as a way to scale bigger and broader as a creator. Once you’ve ticked all of the five RITES boxes, you will be able to connect with your island like never before:
- Stay Relevant
- Be Interesting
- Be Timely
- Be Entertaining
- Become Superior
Mark goes on to state that your personal brand is a business. So, as with any business, you should know that the customers are in control. Even more so in the age of personal branding. Be wise and make your personal branding efforts less about ego and more about the people on your island. RITES allows you to discover and frame the type of content you need to grow your personal brand to new heights.
The internet is all about giving away value and enabling others.
Coming Full Circle
I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did writing it. Needless to say, the ideas put forth are interpretations and learnings I took away from Mark’s class. However, the approach and condensation of them are my own. My hope is that you receive the same amount of value as I did. Thanks so much for all of these concepts Mark Schaefer. It's been a pleasure!
More insights from Mark’s class
- Marketing is all about content. The key to success is consistency.
- Branding is no longer what you tell customers, but what customers tell each other. And that’s pure emotions — the most human company wins.
- If you do not align with your customer's values and beliefs, 57% of people will stop buying or even boycott you based on a misalignment from your position on a social or political issue.
- If you align with your customer's values and beliefs, 23% of consumers will pay at least a 25% premium, 48% will advocate for and defend the brand, and 51% will buy the brand exclusively and more often.
My final realization
Personal branding is here to stay. So why not master it and create the island thousands of people are waiting to join?
How do you do personal branding and content? I would love to hear your thoughts and processes! Let’s connect via @itsjulianpaul! DM me with feedback or anything else. I am just starting out with my personal weekly newsletter with 5–1s. Signup to receive free concepts, tools, worksheets, and announcements here.
