As the use of social media increases, there is a growing need to
balance your personal brand with the corporate one.
For instance, as the leader of an economic development organization, you
may be a “free agent” that needs to maintain a strong personal brand to become
noticeable to future employers. You need
to demonstrate your experience, competencies and value. Your professional image
and reputation are important.
On the other hand, too much emphasis on your personal brand could get
you labeled as someone who is not a team player. Your current employer, especially, wants to
know you are concerned about organizational and community results, not just
your personal interests. Too much
emphasis on the corporate brand though, can leave you unprepared to take
advantage of new opportunities.
Because
of these conflicting interests, striking a balance can be difficult. It takes care and a diligent effort to make it
work for you and your employer.
Social
media in particular, has helped demonstrate the need for balance between personal
and corporate branding. Social is a tremendous
tool for community marketing and engagement.
Those Facebook pictures from your college frat party however, can seriously
impede the credibility of your organization’s efforts.
If you're on the staff of an EDO, your first duty is to your employer. Don’t spend their time building your personal
brand. There is value though, in the EDO finding ways
to attract those with strong personal brands. They
can impact the community’s reputation and results.
What do you think? How do ED pros balance career and organizational
interests? What issues do you see? Are
there those who have done a particularly good job at balancing the two? We’d love to have your comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment