Your Personal Brand is a Self-Portrait

In a way, personal brands are similar to corporate brands. Both require the right tools and appropriate effort to be built the right way in order to have a story told without really telling it.

My post on Jose Canseco's irremediable personal brand is one of my most-read entries. In this post, I want to share my thoughts on a few examples of personal brands I admire plus share details about my go-to tool used for developing my own personal brand.

PERSONAL BRANDS I ADMIRE 

Over the past year, I've come across the work of two unique individuals that has made me want to learn all I could about these people. I think that's the level of interest all personal brands should strive to reach. It's certainly what I want my personal brand to accomplish.

Casey Neistat is a filmmaker that does a masterful job of incorporating his flair and fearlessness into his work. You may know Casey from his viral video that captured the reaction (or lack thereof) of New Yorkers when he tried to steal his own bike. Another showed what happens to cyclists when they obey the law and stay in the bike lane.

Casey has a very active YouTube channel, which features his daily vlog. In addition to being cutting-edge, perfectly edited and so sharing, Casey's vlogs are inspiring. It's difficult for me to admit that a person younger than me is inspiring but...he totally is. We're in a lot of the same spots in life and the following clip shows the same urge that I've been feeling lately.



I'd summarize Casey's personal brand by saying he's all about daring athleticism, passionate creativity and pushing limits while being conscious of his relationships. He's a relentless worker whose many talents contribute to the success of his amazing projects.

#tbt that time @jcrew asked me to make a movie about their Traveler Suit and I wore it surfing. lost a good pair of sunglasses that day

A photo posted by Casey Neistat (@caseyneistat) on Apr 2, 2015 at 10:23am PDT

Anthony Bourdain has become better-known for his television shows than his accomplishments as a chef. Netflix introduced me to Anthony by way of his show, Parts Unknown, and I've read his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, that kick-started his media career.

In all of his shows, Bourdain comes across as achy and rarely wrong but also lovable. It's not really "my way or the highway" with him but his critiques of odd cuisine do have a hint of "I enjoy this and if you don't, there is no hope for you." Above all else, Bourdain is very knowledgeable about many topics (he's even an accomplished fictional crime novelist).

I am a foodie by no means but Parts Unknown has really enlightened me. The show's visuals and each episode's adventure is clearly influenced by Bourdain.


Bourdain's personal brand features heavy doses of knowledge, culture, experience and attitude. It's perfectly understood why corporate brands (like a Scotch distillery) are now lining up to get his endorsement. Of course, any blessing Bourdain gives to a product will have to be done his way.

Via @BalvenieUS . A taste of what's coming from #RawCraft series .

A video posted by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on Feb 5, 2015 at 4:55pm PST

MY #1 TOOL

The best personal brands seem to appear as if they fell into place without much direction. But, some effort is required - especially for those of us that don't have a team of publicists at our command.

You already know to establish your presence with various social media profiles and perhaps a website. But it's important to be efficient and make the many branches of your personal brand accessible from a central location. For me, no other tool has helped with this task than my about.me page.

Think of an about.me page as a compact, less-corporate version of a LinkedIn page. Capable of being fully customized, about.me pages can feature beautiful background photos, fonts, colors and other design qualities that make your story stand out. Add "apps" to your page that will link visitors to your social media accounts and then use those apps in an about.me HTML widget on your website or blog (as I've done in the sidebar). If you act fast, you can customize the URL of your about.me page and feature it on your email signature, resume, business cards and other locations that will be sure to attract visitors.

WHAT YOU MAKE IS WHAT YOU SEE

I see personal brands as self-portraits. The work you put into developing your personal brand gives insight into to way you see yourself. I'm not as outspoken as I should be so I've really benefited from digital tools like my about.me page to share my talents, interests and credibility. I felt very vain when originally building my brand but a little vanity is required when telling your story, I guess. Along the way, I've learned new skills that I use in my job as well as improved my ability to tell my story.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to reach out to me - I'd love to answer your questions or learn who's personal brand inspires you


{Top Photo: Courtesy}

A Personal Brand that Can't Be Saved

I write a lot about corporate brands but I also have an interest in personal brands. More often than not, professional athletes provide great examples of personal brands gone wrong.

Growing up, baseball was my favorite sport because of all of the stats associated with the game. I spent countless hours looking at the back of baseball cards. So when a guy named Jose Canseco became the first player in the long history of baseball to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, he simultaneously became my favorite player.

Jose played on the west coast well before the age of social media. Other than daily highlights on ESPN and what was covered in newspapers, I only got brief glimpses of him. He was taller, stronger and faster than other players of the day and his off-the-field issues only added to his "bad boy" image. More success on the field lead to more money...and more trouble away from the diamond. But all the negatives didn't matter - he was awesome and I was one of many who waited for hours for a very-late Jose to appear at a baseball card show in Montgomery more than 25 years ago.

At the height of his prowess, Jose and the A’s played in three consecutive World Series. Only Kirk Gibson’s game-winning homer from 1988 overshadows Jose’s grand slam from the same series.


On August 31st, 1992, Jose was traded from the Oakland A's. Jose learned the news while in the on-deck circle during a game. When I found out about the trade, I was baffled. The A's trading away the best player in the game completely blew my mind. Looking back, however, it's clear to see that Jose's contract and salary had become a burden. It was strictly business and a factor that would cause Jose to be shipped to and from many other teams during his remaining time in Major League Baseball.

Even though he continued to produce, Jose never stayed with teams very long after that initial trade in 1992. Eventually, it seemed no team wanted anything to do with him. Where he was once a rising star, it was as if he was being blackballed from the game after many linked Jose to the growing issue of steroids in professional baseball.

After such accusations, there was no way Jose could parlay his playing career into a television job like so many athletes are able to do. When a person's reputation (or brand) suffers this level of damage, that person must select the appropriate way to respond. Jose opted to write a tell-all book in 2005 in which he not only took credit for introducing steroids to baseball but also identified a lot of players and former teammates that used steroids. This decision made Jose an even bigger villain in the eyes of baseball fans.

Jose was no longer an athlete but he still had an athlete's desire for fame and money. The book release was timed nicely with an appearance on VH1's reality series, The Surreal Life. Unfortunately, Jose squandered this PR opportunity too. If the book caused people to see Jose as a cheater, I remember the show made him look like a womanizing jock.

As money grabbing opportunities dried up, Jose turned to stints with semi-pro baseball teams, celebrity boxing and appearing in (fake?) TV ads for Old Milwaukee. Each time a new story developed about a baseball player using steroids, Jose did all he could to squeeze his name into the headline. But by this time, everyone had stopped paying attention to him.

Surprisingly, Jose hit the ground running at the dawn of the social media era. Unsurprisingly, he failed to use these new tools and his large following to his brand's advantage. Jose really is his own worst enemy on Twitter. He smartly promoted his Home Run Tour in the summer of 2014 only to follow those tweets up by challenging Shaquille O'Neal to a fight, something he does frequently.

Jose made the headlines again recently for yet another boneheaded mistake. He accidentally shot off his finger while cleaning his gun. I’m really starting to think that Jose has always been a loudmouth weirdo - we just didn't know it because media wasn't as prevalent during his playing career.

Jose will never get elected into the baseball hall of fame because of his admitted steroid use and he has made no effort to make amends. He fully embraces his train wreck of a life but still claims to be a victim.

Sick of the media and how the edit my life To make me seem like the bad guy
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) November 7, 2014

Jose's had plenty of opportunities to bounce back but there's no way he can ever save his personal brand. However, I’m still a Jose Canseco fan. I no longer collect baseball cards but I did buy his rookie card a few years ago, after its value had plummeted from hundreds of dollars to next to nothing. Nostalgia has certainly helped me overlook his crazy, post-baseball life.



Top photo {Courtesy}