How to maintain your personal brand while serving as a corporation

A powerful personal brand is beneficial on many levels. He singles out a designer, developer, marketer, etc. against the background of other specialists in areas where competition is high. It functions as an advertising agent who works for you 24 hours, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, providing new and interesting job opportunities.

At the initial stage, creating your own brand is based on the consistent performance of quality work. Therefore, comments and participation in discussions on the forum, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, as well as the publication of articles and even books will further strengthen your status as an ideological leader.

However, “the idea of ​​a personal brand is often associated with independent practitioners,” says David Armano. And for independent professionals in this issue there are no conflicts, because they are busy promoting themselves, their skills and knowledge. However, for professionals working for corporations and online agencies, balancing between a personal brand and a corporate brand becomes a problem.
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Many reasons for disagreement

As an employee of a corporation, you are not publicly representing yourself, but a company. The opinions, theories, and experiences that you put on display are attributed to your employer. If you make some controversial statements, it will not sound like: "John Smith said ...", but like: "John Smith, the leading developer of company X, said ...". Add to this the risk of disclosing private or sensitive financial information, so it is not surprising that many corporations are not interested in promoting individual employees (not belonging to top management) outside their company.

These same corporations are only now beginning to realize the power of the social network and do not understand the need for an external "ambassador of the corporation". Colleagues within the organization can also cause controversy, as they begin to ask whether a non-public employee is a “workhorse or demonstration horse,” as Christian Crumlish, head of consumer department at AOL, calls it. If the company's benefit is not obvious compared to personal gain, outrage can cause a person to start protecting his activities.

Crumlish also believes that some companies fear that if their best employees are visible, competing employers may lure them to their homes. Even this alone can cause an organization to resist the advancement of individual workers.

Finally, if a specialist works for a less promoted brand, there is a risk that a personal brand will eventually eclipse a corporate one. If this is not a cause for concern for large corporations, start-ups, where one or two high-class professionals work, may face this problem.

Overcoming these obstacles

These problems may seem complicated, but there are several special ways to reduce risks. By following these tips, you can convince your employer that he is not in danger if your personal brand will develop and encourage your participation in public events.

Make your employer a star.

To remove concerns about the fact that you are going to promote your own brand, along with the brand of the employer, let us know who your employer is and what you are acting for. Any documents that you make public should contain the company's brand. In addition to promoting your ideological leadership, all online profiles (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), as well as blogs should contain information about where you work. Finally, all customer relationships should be visible to minimize the risk of conflict of interest or favoritism.

Luke Wroblewski, formerly chief designer of Yahoo! and Ebay's lead designer, who often speaks at many design conferences, assured that all of his presentations were under the brands of Yahoo! and ebay. Like Wroblewski, Kramlisch also made sure that during public appearances he was also considered the “face of Yahoo!”.


Participation in conferences is a good way to promote a personal brand and strengthen your status as an ideological leader.

Stimulate the development of your colleagues, share knowledge

Conferences, meetings and other advanced career opportunities will provide incredible learning opportunities. Since you are a representative at these events, you must also be a participant. The opportunities for learning and growth are enormous. It is important to learn this knowledge and return it to the organization by sharing with colleagues.

This knowledge sharing has two forms. The first is to share the specific knowledge that you acquired during the event. What are other representatives discussing? How does this relate to the questions your team solves? How can this be applied? These are specific elements of knowledge that you can learn from other representatives.

The second is the exchange of experience with your colleagues on how to become more successful and active in your profession. You are probably not the only person in your organization who is interested in the further development of your personal brand. Sharing this knowledge with colleagues who were not present at the conference, as well as your technicians about how to become more active in this direction, will help minimize any envy that your colleagues can develop and put you in the position of a mentor.

Your employer - the ideological leader

When trying to convince your managers to allow you to participate in public forums on behalf of the company, it is important to remind organizations of the benefits that a corporate brand will receive. Active participation in professional forums and conferences gives the company the opportunity to get ahead of competitors and, in many cases, build communication on a specific topic. The perception of your employer's brand will improve, as adjectives such as “modern”, “innovative” and “supportive” (new thinking) will be associated with it.

In addition, both the business development department and the personnel department will benefit from this strengthening of the corporate brand you are promoting. Each external interaction of the company's employees provides an opportunity to strengthen the company's public image . Tweets and blogs about work and the processes taking place in it, make the image of the company more humane and attract higher-class employees as well as potential customers.

At first, this may not be too obvious to your employer. Be sure to demonstrate these benefits. Positive feedback about the company in messages on social networks, blogs and meetings will contribute to the development of the company's management. When applicants show interest in the company, be sure to find out where they learned about it. Every time when a public appearance or ideological leadership in professional forums will be mentioned, you need to let management know about it. If it is possible to quantify (in monetary terms) these references, they can also serve as a good incentive.

Highly professional workers, attracted by the power of the word, are much cheaper than those who are sent by the agency to work with staff. Also, let your business development department evaluate the source of attracting new employees and customers in order to understand how many were attracted in this way. Each of these workers or clients has a monetary value that, when counted, can justify the cost of your participation in various events.

Be bold but modest

In some companies, management may not see a direct benefit from the development of your personal brand. In these situations, it may be more effective to simply ask for forgiveness, rather than ask permission. Write a blog post on a professional or highly specialized topic. If this causes a discussion and a positive attitude towards your employer, report it to someone.

Participate in the next seminar and make a small presentation of your ideas. Someone left a comment on this? Share this with your boss. There was a heated discussion in your blog, which had a positive impact on your employer? Report this to the advertising manager. Demonstrating the success of your modest activities and publications should arouse some support from your boss. However, be careful: do not forget to check with your company's policy about such activities, as advised by Kramlish. You do not want to violate the corporate policy of the company, which could put your career at risk.

Choose the right employer

If creating and promoting your own brand is so important to you, then you need to consider your employer in terms of whether it supports your goal. Did the leadership support you as your own brand developed? Is the corporation aware of the benefits that it brings the promotion of your ideological leadership beyond its borders? If the answer is “No,” it's probably time to evaluate the new features.

Becoming an independent professional may be the easiest way, but this is not acceptable for everyone. In this case, how does your potential employer relate to the empowerment of his employees? This question needs to be clarified with the employer from the very beginning. Justify your expectations in a conversation and, if possible, engage in public activities that will develop both your own brand and corporate brand. There is no more effective way to develop a personal brand, being a corporate employee, than to make it one of your job responsibilities.

Conclusion

Ultimately, for the development of a personal brand, “a company must receive more benefits than an individual”, according to David Armano. If this balance is broken, you should consider becoming independent. This does not mean that you cannot create, develop and maintain your brand within the corporation. In fact, a personal brand can play a crucial role in the success and development of your career. Respect your employer and his policies, but find creative ways of self-promotion, while representing your company. The promotion of a personal brand stimulates the promotion of a corporate brand. This creates a more "humane" image of the company and makes it more accessible. It stimulates people’s desire to work in it and stimulates positive feedback. With the right approach, it will be a win-win option for all interested parties.