2009: The Year of the Personality?

I just responded to a request for a prediction for 2009 from Joe Pulizzi, founder of Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs. His question, which I throw out to you, is this:

"What is your prediction for how brand marketers will create and distribute their own content in 2009?" How would you answer this question?

My answer follows here:

In 2009 we'll see more brands developing a personality or a persona to represent the core values of the company. This 'persona' will be responsible for most of the brand's blog content and social media messages.

Cutting edge companies like Razer, the computer gaming hardware developer, have been using their founder, RazerGuy, as spokesperson for years. Other brands will find or create a persona to embody the spirit of their company. How else can companies connect and build relationships unless there is a person with a real personality?

As The Blog Squad, my partner Denise Wakeman and I have realized the importance of a 'persona' to connect with people and to represent what our company does. Fortunately, we're real people. I pity those companies that are going to have to invent a persona - that will never work as well as authenticity.

Rohit Bhargava hit the nail on the head with his book Personality Not Included. I predict that 2009 will be the Year of the Personality!

This may be one of the instances where a solo professional has an edge over big companies. At least you don't have to worry about choosing a person to blog for the company and do Twitter tweets and Facebook notes.

And yet, many professionals aren't putting their best face forward. Some are still writing in the 3rd person and aren't comfortable speaking directly to readers and "I" and "you" pronouns. Worse, many haven't developed a persona that adequately brands what they do.

Have you? Do you have a moniker or an avatar or a nickname that brands you? A good example would be Bud Bilanich, the Common Sense Guy.

In the earlier example I gave, RazerGuy, he just happens to be my husband, Rob Krakoff. So I know how this all works on a corporate level. It's just as important - and even more so for independent consultants, authors and speakers. Sorry, but your name isn't enough.

You cannot afford to be anonymous or bland. The easier you make it for readers to remember you and what you do, the better results you'll have from everything you do, including all sorts of content on the Web.

<end of rant>

But maybe you have another prediction for 2009...please share!

Comments

[Rohit]

I'm officially printing out this post and putting it on my wall! Seriously, though, I think you guys are on to some great stuff and the work that you're doing to help your clients find their personalities and use them for promoting their businesses and blogs is great stuff. You know I'm a big admirer of all your and Denise's work ... and I'm sure I'll continue to see some great stuff from you both in the new year. Keep rocking!

[Rob Leavitt]

Interesting prediction. I certainly agree that brands need more personality, but I'm not sure I go all the way with companies literally having a single "spokespersona." That smacks a bit too much of the traditional advertising and PR mindset to me. I work mostly in B2B, and the challenge there is helping many people to have more authentic conversations with customers, partners, analysts, etc. both online and in person. Certainly they should all be in the same general direction, and reinforce the overall personality of the firm, but clients and others want to interact with a great many experts, not just some "personal" representation of the brand. For example, I just had "McKinsey" start to follow me on Twitter. I think they're better served having a real individual follow me (which it probably is), but "Mac McKinsey" wouldn't feel any more personal to me.

[Patsi aka The Blog Squad]

Thanks, Rohit, for the encouragement and for all your great ideas that inspire us in the work we do with our peeps.

Rob, you raise some interesting questions! We specialize in helping individuals so I wouldn't know how to address the multi-layers involved when a company starts using Twitter, for example. It's all about relationships and you can't have those unless they're personal and authentic. "McKinsey" better have another real name and cough that up at some point or he's toast!

[Mark Nagurski]

The idea of personality in both content and social media is something that I've been thinking quite a lot about recently.

We write content for businesses, and, as best as possible, try to adopt a style and tone that is in keeping with their business 'personality'.

Of course, in writing content we are also, to a large extent, helping to shape that personality.

Ideally great content helps give a company an authentic voice - so I wonder how outsourcing content creation affects that voice?

Is it any different to having one blogger speak for an entire organisation or retaining a marcomms agency to develop promotional materials?

Who determines a brand's personality?

[Rod Sloane]

Patsi

I think you are spot on with this concept and especially like "You cannot afford to be anonymous or bland."

This is an idea that CEO's need to embrace both on and offline.

They need to show-up both offline and online.

[Home Base Holidays]

The very nature of blogs seems to encourage the idea of writing that shows the personality of the author, and it is great to think that this may put us small entrepreneurs at an advantage over larger companies that may have to manufacture a 'voice' to represent the core values of their businesses.

What I'm not so sure about is whether you need to always have a nickname (sometimes these just seem like gimmicks). People respond to real people they can identify with and, provided the content on the blog is relevant and well written, it should attract a loyal readership.

BTW, when I first started my business (still run from a home office) in the '80s, I couldn't help saying 'we' when the reality was it was only me and the dog! Now that so many people run small enterprises on the internet, it seems an advantage to be the 'I' that customers come to know and trust. It should be reassuring to know that when you call a small company you will get personal attention rather than be put though to an anonymous call centre with a dozen options to choose before possibly reaching someone who might be able to answer your questions.

[Patsi]

I hear your point about those clever nicknames. sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. reality is who the peeps are and their real names. I have a hard time feeling close to some one called "online marketing newbie," even though I like what she (he?) leaves in a comment.