(UPDATED 8/13/08 approx. 7:20 a.m.: Revised the headline to reflect new thoughts on the subject had this morning. Original headline was: “When should personal branding take a backseat to corporate branding?” and added some additional points at the bottom.)
Paul Chaney has a great post with even better comments on personal branding. Go over there and read it, if you haven’t already. I’ll wait…
Okay, welcome back!
In your reading, you probably saw what I think is a great summary of the benefits of personal branding — and the problem with personal branding. It was a comment by Chris Brogan:
“[P]ersonal brands are best when used in synergy with an organization that understands them…. I think that Jason Falls is a god amongst men, and if he quits his job tomorrow and joins Jaiku, I’ll leave Twitter in support. “
Personal branding has tremondous benefits to the employer of the person.
Robert Scoble was almost as synonymous with Microsoft (before he left) as Bill Gates is.
Steve Rubel probably brought more recognitiion to CooperKatz while he was building Micro Persuasion than the firm had before (and since?)
But, when each gentleman — and I’m sure many other gentlemen and ladies — left their respective company, they took their personal brand with them. They didn’t “leave” it with their employer. Heck, that personal brand is what made them so valuable.
So, while the employer definitely benefits from the personal branding effect, it loses some of its own business branding when that employee leaves. Just like Brogan said of Jason Falls: “[I]f he quits his job tomorrow and joins Jaiku, I’ll leave Twitter in support.” (I don’t mean to imply that Falls works for Twitter; just meant to show the potential power for a personal brand.)
For a business to be successful in social media — and personalize, put a face on the cold, hard corporate image — it must establish its own blog or other social medium. It’s that simple.
Look at the tried and true Bob Lutz at GM FastLane Blog. Or, the original Randy at Boeing. Or, more recently, look at Dell’s Lionel Menchaca. These are corporate blogs — with a personal front. Not personal blogs that give a by-product benefit to the corporation.
However, when Randy Baseler left Boeing, did “Randy’s Journal” and Boeing have the same perception? Or, did it take some time for the new Randy to establish his — and hopefully enhance Boeing’s — brand?
When Lutz and Menchaca and other corporate bloggers leave their respective employers, how much will the company suffer? That’ll depend on how closely those bloggers are associated with the company, who else is blogging (and their personal brand), and the strength of the corporate brand.
I’m not being critical of either personal branding or definitely not corporate branding. But, companies tend to last a lot longer than individuals do with those companies. Personal branding ultimately benefits the person. Companies should take advantage of that, but don’t be surprised when that person leaves — and there’s a social, personal void.
-Mike
