How to manage your personal brand: 5 questions for Dan Schawbel

Personal branding has been one of the hottest buzz phrases ever since Tom Peters wrote a "Fast Company" article way back in 1997 that turned into the book, "The Brand Called You." The notion is that individuals are all brands -- much like our running shoes and kitchen appliances (though some of us are clearly more running shoe than refrigerator). And from that flows the logic that we all need to cultivate and nurture our brands so they thrive and prosper just as the brands managed by big business.

There's a new kid on the personal branding block -- Dan Schawbel -- and he's taken Peters' principles to their next logical incarnation -- branding in the social media age. I call him a "kid" because at 25, he is also part of the new generation of Internet wunderkinds who have become so adept at spreading their ideas online that they write their first books and hit the morning show circuit when barely out of college.

Now that we are all publishers -- writing personal blogs, answering questions on LinkedIn, updating our status on Facebook or Twitter -- Schawbel has a message that is very much of the moment. Which is that we need to harness these tools in order to convey our personal brand to the world. And once we do that, we will not only find career opportunities, but they will find us. It might sound like hokum, but I'm a believer. Ever since I started sending out email newsletters and built a personal website with a catchy name, I've barely sent out a proposal for work.

After reading Schawbel's book, "Me 2.0," I caught up with him by email with a few nagging questions I had.

Shine: What's your definition of a "personal brand" -- and why do you think personal branding is so essential to career success?

Schawbel: Personal branding is the process by which we market ourselves (our brands) to others (our audience). Personal branding is essential to career success because it allows us to define who we are and position ourselves relative to our expertise and passion, to achieve our dreams. People are always labeling you in a certain way and before you get tagged, you have the ability to convey what your brand is to lead those perceptions. Also, the personal branding process is focused on taking your knowledge and skills and projecting them to the world, in such a way that you're recruited based on your passions, instead of applying for jobs.

Shine: If the whole idea of thinking of yourself as a brand turns your stomach, is there a less self-promotional way you can think about working on your image or personal packaging?

Schawbel: Individuals who focus entirely on self-promotion will fail because people will tune you out if you make life all about yourself, when it should be all about what value you can contribute to them. You actually build a much stronger brand by serving other people and letting people know about it, online and offline. Image management is a process of constant manipulation, whereas personal branding is all about authenticity because you can only make an emotional connection to "real" brands. When I first started thinking about personal branding, I used the term "self-marketing" because I realized that in order to convince managers to hire me, I need to differentiate myself from other applicants. Forget "personal packaging" for a minute. Instead, I want you to think about being the "real you," because everyone else is taken and replicas don't sell for as much. You will get much more satisfaction from being yourself than being like everyone else, and it's a great way to be less self-promotional.

Shine: So much of what you encourage people to do involves creating and managing an online identity. Is there any hope for people who don't want to spend so much time using online tools?

Schawbel: The reason why the Internet is so significant in creating and managing your online identity is two-fold: 1) people are already searching for experts just like you and you'll miss opportunities if you're not visible 2) you can't amplify your voice cost effectively without using the Internet. You can be very successful without using the Internet at all, but it will take a lot longer. Aside from using online tools, I would recommend you get out into your community and become a leader in a special interest group or speak to an organization. You can also do some freelance writing for magazines, newspapers or companies if you have those skills. Without the internet, you will have to rely heavily on your current network of family, friends and other people that you've met throughout your lifetime. What I'm trying to say is that your life will be much more difficult without using tools that make networking comfortable, simple and enjoyable.

Shine: How does this whole branding concept play out differently for those who are self-employed versus those who work for someone else?

Schawbel: It will be different from one person to the next. It's much easier to build a powerful brand when you are self-employed because you will have complete control over the content you produce. When you have an employer, you'll have to be mindful of how you present yourself in public, the language you use, as well as how you update your Facebook status, the bio that you put on your blog, etc, because you are a brand ambassador whether you like it or not. You can hurt your company's brand image, which may get you fired.

Shine: Can people take this personal branding concept too far?

Schawbel: I think Scott Ginsberg has taken personal branding to the extreme and has built a large following, strong reputation and some great "shock value" because of it. He has branded himself as the "nametag guy," who wears a nametag 24/7. He took personal branding to the next level when he got his nametag tatooed on his chest. Although, this might seem weird to some, it was a token of his personality and his relentless pursuit to make people more approachable in life. To answer your question, people can take personal branding too far, but if it's who they are and how they want to present themselves, then it's authentic and it won't hurt their careers.