Transparency, truth and being real; all the rage now in personal branding and marketing and as it should be.
This is not really a new approach. We are though taking it a lot more seriously now when it comes to choosing who we want to align ourselves with and who we want to invest in.
The web, online and social media platforms have forced this. There are so many predatory, unscrupulous and dishonest people preying on people that it’s really up to me to be authentic and up to all of us not take people at their face value immediately. We all need to spend time building the “like, know and trust” factor and be patient about earning it.
What’s perceived is believed
I have always been fascinated with the phrase “perception is reality” because it’s so true. What people perceive is usually what they believe, and it is based on what they see, hear and think. Our authentic, consistent communications from the get-go, both in person and online is always the best approach for building that positive perception from the beginning.
There is no clear origin of this phrase that I could find, other than it coming from the Gestalt School of Psychology and thought from Germany in the 1920′s.
Wikipedia: Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt – “essence or shape of an entity’s complete form”) of the Berlin School is a theory of mind and brain positing; the operational principle of Gestalt is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. The Gestalt effect is the form-generating capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves.
How do we build that brand and branding authenticity from the get-go?
- Brand Authenticity and Consistency is when we demonstrate who we are and what we stand for with consistent actions and thought.
- Brand Leadership and Legacy is our consistent commitment to tangible community activities that deliver our core values in making the world we live and work in a better place.
Here are some great examples of this brand and branding legacy.
- Comedic genius Bob Hope who entertained our men and women in the military for years with his USO tours.
- Comedic genius Jerry Lewis and his MDA Jerry’s kids telethons.
- Oprah’s 25 years of service bringing difficult and previously unspoken about issues and challenges to the public through her Oprah TV Show platform and her school for girls in Africa.
- Cocoa-Cola’s long standing partnership with the Olympics and Special Olympics.
Why create your own obstacles?
If perception is reality, then why not do it right from the beginning? Why waste time on a wrong motive campaign disguised as something it’s not that will only fail quickly and probably brand you as a phony forever. That usually turns into an irreparable image to repair.
Be real, caring and kind from the beginning and that will be your reality from the beginning and for a long time.
Author:
Deborah Shane is an author, entrepreneur, radio host and expert. She is the heart and soul of her business education and professional development company, Train with Shane and is in her third year of hosting a weekly business radio show on blogtalkradio.com. She writes for several national business, career and marketing blogs, and websites including smallbiztrends.com, careerealism.com, Internationalbusinesstimes.com, Smartbrief.com and blogher.com Her new book Career Transition-make the shift-the 5 steps to successful career reinvention is available now on amazon.com. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogtalkradio @Deborah Shane, or visit www.deborahshane.com.
