How (not) to build your brand

I knew the question was coming as I made the 20-minute drive to my hometown dentist today.

I didn’t expect it to come in a triple-decker, however.

First it was the receptionist. Then the hygienist took me to her station and asked the same question. When she was finished with me, it was the dentist himself asking. They all wanted to know, just like everyone else who learns I’m graduating in May, “What’s next?”

“Well, that’s the big question!” I replied with a patent cheesy grin.

I don’t know what’s next yet, and I’m fine with that. The journey of figuring out the answer was supposed to be, in part, what this website is about. Before that the mission was supposed to be about creating a community of mentors. And now it might go through another revision, as I mentioned in my last post.

Clearly things are taking some turns here, so I decided to take a look at the challenges I’ve found along the journey of building my personal brand. Even if I’m still figuring out how to make it all work, I’ve earned some knowledge that’s worth sharing for anyone in the process of trying to build their own brand.

Here are the five fatal mistakes that will ensure a personal brand fails:

1. Not having enough images
I’ve resorted to using stock photos with creative commons licenses for teaser images in blogs several times. (Please note that copyright infringement is always a “Don’t!” Check the licenses on every image you even think of using in your site.) Even though the stock images work well for what I’m writing about, I wanted all of the content on this site to be original. Going to stock photos felt like settling, so I’m making a resolution to use my own from now on. (Yes, I did make the graphic above! Something simple can be better than nothing.)

You will need to think visually as you build your brand. Be prepared to take photos all the time — even of things that seem commonplace to you. Learning Photoshop won’t hurt if you want the option of creating your own graphics. Thankfully there are fun resources like this video to help you brush up on your skills.

2. Not making brand-maintenance and upkeep a top priority
Answering the “What comes after graduation?” question tends to take precedence in my mind these days, along with finishing my senior year, working three part-time jobs, volunteering, taking a role in student organizations … and so on. We all have these lists, so make sure building your brand is something that you can keep up with. If it drops to the bottom of the list, it’s going to get rusty and outdated. In the fast-paced, viral world, that just doesn’t cut it.

3. Not constantly seeking out feedback
The main point of building your personal brand is to represent yourself to the world. You are your own ambassador, and when you’re presenting yourself online it is quite literally available for everyone to scrutinize. Make sure their furrowed brows are in appreciation of your innovative ideas, not your half-concocted ramblings. Find the people in your life who are willing to be honest editors and ask them to give you feedback about what you’re doing well, what you can improve on, and what you should just stop.

4. Being too cautious
Your personal brand is guaranteed to leave people curious in the wrong way if you don’t come across as the well-rounded human that you are. It’s important to be professional, but don’t be afraid to share the serious stuff along with the funny stuff. I think the Web is transparent enough these days to highlight the fact that we’re all imperfect, and we might as well embrace that by taking the risk of cracking some cheesy jokes.

I’m pretty sure  everyone who does know and love me does so for the combination of geek and goofball in me, along with the passion I carry for what I do. If that kind of mixture is part of your personal brand too, share it! The human connection is priceless, even if it’s being created online.

5. Not having a defined mission
This is the biggest fatal blow to any brand, even if you have avoided the other mistakes. Hopefully you know your mission because you know yourself. You need to make sure it’s clear to everyone else, too.
Refining a mission too many times guarantees people won’t know what to look for when they visit your site. If people don’t know what to expect when they’re going somewhere, chances are they won’t waste their time coming back to figure out what it is — unless it’s the funny yet inspirational “Get to work” site.

The bottom line:
Creating your website and building your personal brand is supposed to be a fun process that allows you to share your best assets with the world — current friends, co-workers, future employers, clients, and everyone else included.

If you’re going to start building your presence online, know what you want from it and stay on top of it. If you fall off along the way, at least you can write a blog post about how you’ve turned what felt like failure into a set of lessons you’ll never forget.