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.
