A couple of weekends ago, my teenage kids walked out of the house yelling back to me that they were “going out to take some photos.” This seemed unusual enough for me to stop them and ask if I heard correctly.
“Yes, dad, to post,” they explained, exasperated. “For our brands."
And then they rolled their eyes at me — no effort at all to hide their condescension.
That’s right, my kids need to maintain their brands. And, while that seems crazy to me, I know I’m the dinosaur here. As you can read in this issue’s cover story, “6 Secrets of Branding” (page 14), your brand — whether personal or professional — is increasingly at the heart of your identity.
In many ways, the word “brand” is a 21st-century way to refer to your “reputation” — except it’s much more complicated than that. Brand connotes an emotional element: Your clients may choose you as an advisor not just because they heard you were competent or trustworthy, but because your attitude toward travel appeals to them.
People have always preferred to work with someone who shares their views, but now, customers want to know this about a business before they ever contact it.
One way to think about this is that your brand reflects your voice — and that voice should be authentic and consistent.
“I believe that it’s important for the advisor’s digital life to be in line: their LinkedIn posts, their other social media content, all of it,” said Mary Pingpank Clifford, director of marketing for Valerie Wilson Travel, who is quoted in the story. “It should all be purposeful and serve to create a distinct travel ‘voice.’
That might sound daunting to some, but the point is to present “the true you” through your social media and marketing efforts — so if you’re working too hard to develop a brand personality, that’s probably not a good sign
“I think if you work in travel you probably have a big personality,” said Eric Hrubant, president of CIRE Travel, another source in the story. “Let that shine — within reason. People can tell when you’re not being authentic.
If only I’d had that advice at the ready so I could impress my kids.
