My experiment into the effects of live footage on personal branding.
The questions is: How real is too real? Since a personal brand is about your professional self, I can automatically assume that a look into personal parts of my life is too much. What I cooked for dinner and what movie I'm watching are not professional activities...so, what is?
Since I do a lot of consulting work online from my home office, that would be the best place to be transparent about my professional self. The most transparent medium I can think of is live video. So, with the help of Twitcam, I will be broadcasting every moment of my professional day. Note: My feed is video only. Some of the conversations I have while working are privileged information, and I don't want to violate any NDA's.
Every time I start the feed, my Twitter followers will be notified. My Twitcam feed can also be viewed through my blog homepage. I'll be putting up a poll to see what viewers think about the feeds' effect on my personal brand.
So, leave me a comment. What do you think? Does my live-stream detract or add to my personal brand? Would you be more or less likely to hire me after viewing my feed?
3 comments:
Just last week I launched the idea within my company to install a webcam on our design department. We actively promote total solution delivery, which includes problem identification and full design service. Some will say: Yeah right, but how does that look like, are you really that professional in designing? You can describe it in words, and describe it again, but why not show it? Don't be afraid, show how professional you are.
In case of Amanda, I think she really has the guts. This webcam experiment shows customers something about her character. You like it or you don't. If she is heavily smoking cigarettes: you like it or you don't. This is who you hire. You don't have to decide on someone pitching in your office and playing a game just to get your project.
Amanda, some companies will not like it. But the companies that will hire you now, are the ones that fit you best (and vice versa). Have you already asked on of your current clients about how they feel?
Good luck!
Emiel
Hi Amanda...my new Brazen friend :)
Concerning video feeds, I think this could promote a stronger personal brand because you're providing a larger glimpse or your life. (how you act/react to things, compose yourself, what you look when thinking, speaking, standing, what you dress like, how you look like on a daily basis, .etc) Video is more personal, and so it would give more insight about who you are....hence personal branding.
But the critical question I would pose, is "Will people react strangely based on my habits/actions?, and will this negatively effect me in the future?" If people see you talking about social media while you're drinking a beer at home, will they take you serious or red flag you immediately? Will companies hire you if they know that you are creating videos wearing pajamas or looking like you just woke up? Would they fear that such public profiles could potential damage their own?
If you feel that the positives outweigh the negative reactions, which there will be people thinking this is strange, I would go for it! I'm going to try doing some live feeds as well. :)
Look forward to chatting!
@Emiel- Thanks for the encouragement. I do want people to hire the real me, pimples and all. I have not talked to my clients yet, but I should. We'll see what they have to say.
@Mikey- Great points! Thankfully, I don't drink while on the clock, and I usually get dressed each day. However, you are right that some people are going to be wierded out or not get the point of a feed of me working. (Not very entertaining, I know.) But, do you think this level of transparency could help me eliminate some clients/companies who would not be a good fit for my anyway?
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