Personal Brand Value or Bust

The wagons are circling. Every agency, corporation, publication and social campaign is amending its Q4 and 2009 game plan. New value propositions are taking shape in recession's dim light. Editorial calendars and ads are being nipped, tucked.

A fine time to consider your own ROI. Social PR practitioners (all employees), like our corporate bodies, need to earn our keep. While the economy hangs in limbo, call an early Auld Lang Syne to anything less than a clearly defined personal value proposition.



"A personal brand is your reputation. Pure and Simple," so says Ross Kimbarovsky of crowdSPRING. It's the culmination of online and offline digital escapades. The outcome of which - ideas, creativity, connections and energy - builds social capital (a.k.a. your brand equity). Your brand equity is leased by your company.

More than reputation, your personal value proposition channels your identity and personality into a meaningful, measurable value. The reason your company will want to keep you.

Consider the same factors for an enterprise's strategic value prop, with a personal twist. This should be easy - social media is by and large a Downfall Darling.

• What is the unmet need of your target market (the company)?


• How are you different from "competitors"?


• Why and how does your performance successfully increase leads and operation efficiency?


• How are you going to build your market share (value) among your target segments (boss, peers, direct reports).

Ultimately, your personal value proposition is what you do in tangible business results. Jeremy Epstein put together some starting KPIs for personal brand value. Shonali Burke (guestblogging for Kami Huyse) reminds us that ROI is about more than impressions.

Scarcity drives innovation, and competition. Don't let your value proposition go slip sliding away.

[Image credit: Mac(3)]

This is a cross post of my October 14 post on The Buzz Bin.