Personal Branding Weekly – Your Insincere Brand

  • 3 min read


All business is personal and is built upon your relationships with individuals. People carry forth (or don’t) the mission of the brand in daily actions. A company’s brand is the mission in action put forth by a conglomeration of many personal brands.

I took the time to trace that relationship because so many brands are vying for and aggressively competing for customer loyalty. And, while temporary loyalty can be bought sustained loyalty takes relationship.  A good, strong, consistent, trustworthy relationship.

When someone says “thank you” and their face and demeanor don’t match, we don’t believe them.  The same goes for when someone says “thank you” and they’ve never told us thank you before but now they need us for something.  It’s all so insincere.

Personal brands who are not sincerely delivering on the company’s brand promise result in that company not being trust “worthy” of loyalty.  This disconnect is too big for people to be loyal.

Think about it. Have you ever worked for someone who’s never said one nice thing to you, or done once nice thing for your or even cared to ask about you, your family or your life and then suddenly they become so sugary sweet that you’re wondering what gives?

Often, you find out later that a report was needed, a special favor, a connection, a hook-up or something. It doesn’t feel like genuine appreciation. It feels like manipulation and it’s steeped in insincerity.

I worked with someone like that.  Constantly texting and questioning my very abilities by micromanaging every step, he would nag me all through the day for information, meetings (to soothe his mind), question and revisit and rehash every decision and then he would send me a text “I appreciate you so much! I’m so grateful for you.  I have a meeting with a client in Minnesota. Will you go with me to pitch to them?”

Did you feel the insincerity?  Me, too.

You have people and businesses in your life like that.

And, we could rant together about that.  Yet, instead let’s flip it to make sure that you aren’t doing anything that can be perceived that way and that we are consistent with our personal brand values over time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you consistent in your connection and appreciation of people (colleagues and customers)?
2. Do you see past the task or transaction and see the person?
3. Do you genuinely want to work with or do business with this person, group or company?
4. If you want someone to be loyal to you are you already loyal to them?

This week, as you manage your own personal brand we shared these insights:

If you sincerely want to assist or support other people’s development and growth then you’ll find these tweetable tips helpful and ready for you to tweet.

• Some of the best leaders are typically those who don’t need to dominate others. http://ow.ly/tpWTH [tweet this]
• To make your business card worth holding on to, turn it into a coupon or rewards card for a discount or free offer. http://ow.ly/tpX4J [tweet this]
• Top impress your new boss, be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm on the first day is a great way to start your new job. http://ow.ly/tpXap [tweet this]
• The most efficient way to self-promote in an interview is to allow the conversation to become a give and take. http://ow.ly/tpXjf [tweet this]
• Do your research when deciding on obtaining certifications, as some are hot in certain markets and not needed in others. http://ow.ly/tpXBm [tweet this]
• Question of the week: are you moving forward with your brand? http://ow.ly/tpXLW [tweet this]
• Vital issues that are typically frozen out from communication revolve around workplace behaviors and expectations. http://ow.ly/tpXVd [tweet this]
• Regardless of your calling, someone is going to lead the charge; no group can do without. It might as well be you. http://ow.ly/tpYhx [tweet this]
• Before you make a career move, make a list of what you would like to change about your life – not just work. http://ow.ly/tpYsC [tweet this]
• One of the most common things people do when they’re afraid is make excuses about why they can’t do something. http://ow.ly/tpYwO [tweet this]
• Didn’t get the job? Don’t be afraid to ask for their feedback so you can improve upon for future interviews. http://ow.ly/tpYNu [tweet this]
• Focus on improving yourself in your spare time as a way to enhance your career potential. http://ow.ly/tpYWS [tweet this]
• What’s most important about references is that you ask permission before putting names on your reference list. http://ow.ly/tpZhc [tweet this]
• How can you cross-serve? The retention of your clients will increase if they have more services or products with you. http://ow.ly/tpZAt [tweet this]
• Stand up for who you are and what you can contribute to reset your peers thinking on how you may work together. http://ow.ly/tpZTb [tweet this]
• Make time for side projects by staying focused and managing personal deadlines throughout the day. http://ow.ly/tq02F [tweet this]
• Getting connected and active in LinkedIn Groups can increase the career and business benefits you can derive. http://ow.ly/tq0wP [tweet this]
• The unexpected, genuine, timely, sincere thank you means much more than promises of its pending arrival. http://ow.ly/tq0Ee [tweet this]
• As influence marketing evolves, it’s important to stay on top of the latest trends and be personal with your audience. http://ow.ly/tq0LJ [tweet this]

Lastly, I’ll leave you with this video that expands what I began with – Is your personal brand perceived as insincere?

Why Employees Don’t Want to Be Appreciated Just for What They Do from Paul White on Vimeo.

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Picture of Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.  Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat- a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

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