I have a dilemma. I have a blog about Gen Y topics with nearly 1000 subscribers. I started a new blog about marketing and consumer insights this week, and I am worried about transitioning my personal brand. My second blog is far more important than my first one because it’s the platform for my company, but my first blog is how I made my name online.
Since we always learn the most from each other, here are my questions:
1. How can one person stand for two different brands?
Research shows that the best brands have a simple and clear message. Having two brands makes this nearly impossible, because if you can’t consolidate the two brands to begin with, they are likely two very different and separate messages. I worry that by trying to stand for two brands, I’m actually mixing two messages that don’t go together.
2. Is it better to shift my brand image or try to represent both brands?
Both are difficult. Many companies (if not most) who try to shift the brand image they’ve built end up shifting themselves into extinction. I would prefer to shift my brand image to become a marketing expert, but most of the community I’ve built on my previous blog is Gen Y bloggers and other human resources professionals.
Trying to represent both brands on various social media outlets (for example, Twitter) is difficult as well, for the reasons I outlined in #1.
3. How do I keep everyone happy?
It is clear to me that marketing is the direction I should be going with my career. But because so many people know me as a Gen Y leader, I have to maintain the personal brand image I have, at least for awhile. Some people will cross over and be interested in the topics on my new blog, but it’s likely that I’ll lose some of my current community.
Also, my current brand image as a twentysomething conflicts with the brand image I want to establish, as an expert. People discriminate against age when it comes to experience.
I’d be interested in hearing your answers to these three questions or any other thoughts you have on this topic in the comments section!
Author:
Monica O’Brien is a Marketing Consultant specializing in marketing strategy and consumer insights at the juncture of new media and traditional marketing. You can also follow her on Twitter (@monicaobrien).
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Why not seek the intersection of your two areas, marketing to Gen Y? This would give you a highly targeted niche and you could definitely become a recognized expert. I posted recently about how this worked for me in two seemingly VERY different areas: http://lauriefoley.com/2009/03/psychic-bloggers-and-pork-chops/. It’s working out brilliantly!
It is not such a hard dilemma.
You write both blogs which means there is a common denominator in you that drives you to do this. This denominator that defines you should become clear in your profile, where the marketer should now emerge stronger.
Think about what happens when a company merges a product with another brand and they go through a phase of dual branding with an umbrella brand ? Well what you need to go through in my views is a similar process.
Find your umbrella brand – your GenY blog should be aligned with that and so should your marketing blog.
In your profile everywhere you should integrate the idea of being a Marketer first with a passion for understanding GenY.
Then slowly you can shift the focus and transfer / grow & enrich your personal brand.
Regards,
Jean-Philippe DIEL
Monica, I think you have brought up an interesting aspect of starting a personal brand at a young age. Surely a personal brand will evolve over time as a person grows and a career transitions.
I like the above suggestions. I would encourage one brand with a clear focus. Experts for marketing to Gen Y are clearly needed. Rather than seeing a conflict, I would encourage you to ask: “…how does my current brand image as a twenty-something qualify me as an expert?” (how does it not?) Look at how you can take the brand you have currently built in the direction you want to go. Then, you can be the expert for other twenty-somethings who need to do something similar!
I like the idea of marketing to Gen Y as it would use both brands and yet still give you a clear focus. It seems as though that would be best at least for a while when you can go more marketing. You will have built up your base and then you can slowly work towards the marketing side.
Definitely do not try to do two separate brands as that will just diminish both of them as you will never have the time/focus to give to both.
Monica, excellent thoughts and questions. You have worked hard to build your Gen Y brand and do not want to mess that up.
I think the best idea is to slowly integrate marketing into what you have been doing- gradually, but surely. As much as the brand is about what you are covering, is the fact that people like what you have to say and do.
Monica, I do not claim to have all the answers, but let me share personal experience that may be helpful.I read a course in my undergraduate that I didnt like but entered into it through wrong counsel.Even as that I believe that what is worth doing is worth doing well so I put in all energy and became the best student with awards. I was noted and people believed I should take up a tecahing appointment in the department but when i weighed what i wanted to be with where i was then, I decided to go after my heart .
For your case, You were fulfilled as a generationY expert but once more, you want to pursue a new meaning of life and be recognized as a marketing expert, I think it is easy, use the platform you already have as a foundation for where your heart is.
strategically begins to move your brand as generation Y expert to marketing expert of GenerationY and from there to Corporate marketing guru. It may take some times but it is achievable. Given that personal branding requires we make sacrifice to strengthened what we want.
Hope it make a little sense?
I am finding it difficult myself as I am in the same dilemma. However, depending on the industries, someone can be “health expert” expanding their skills in the area of maketing. I do believe that places like Twitter, where you may have a username of symbolism versus your birth name it may be hard to deliver a new message to the masses.
But our journey in life will take us down many different paths and as Yinka stated “use the platform you already have as a foundation for where your heart is.”
Thank you everyone who replied! I think everyone has the right idea. I will definitely consider transitioning my Twenty Set blog to Gen Y Marketing and my other blog to just marketing. Eventually they will probably merge. Thanks again for the input!
Monica, I think human being can have one aim only. Who have more aims will arrive at nowhere. I have questions only, no answers for you. What’s your unique life’s aim? Be an expert or something another? I think, personal branding is how to sell yourself only, not how to live. Business world want you to sell whole yourself. Are you for sale as human? Doesn’t your community need any higher human idea than you as expert?
Wow Monica, you hit a great issue right on the nose. I have my own version of the same problem where some of my products (healing tools) which are very related may turn someone off others to my other tools and overall message. I have a great amount of time invested in the various paths and want to put them out there but need to walk a fine line.
What I am about to do is redesign my web site and listing them all as tools under my master brand. Each tool (sub-brand) will have its own blog path. For one of the products which are the most confusing, I will use a title name for my self related to the product which includes my name. I am hoping this will help someone who finds me through a search engine distinguish it is a lighter more experiential and whimsical side of my work.
I cannot say yet how this will work but I have a bunch of interrelated products I want to roll out but have had a very hard time with this issue. Good luck making your transition.