Chris Brogan's Brand U.0 Is "Helpful"

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I first heard about Chris Brogan over a year ago. Since then—he's become a textbook example of how a single person can build a HUGE audience of literally thousands of people who TRUST him and look to Chris for what's next and why. If you are interested in building your own personal brand—listen carefully to what Chris has to say and start with the basics. Be "helpful".

DA: Do you believe that people can actually act like brands? Why or why not?
CB: I believe they can, but boy is that water choppy. Brands are things, and they involve a connection to a visual or audio queue (when we hear the Intel bong, or when we see the Nike swoosh). People who attempt to brand themselves by simply using visual or audio queues run the risk of coming off as fake or contrived. And yet, there are ways that I believe people can engage in the practices AROUND branding in such a way as to derive value and meaning in a genuine fashion. 

DA: You have literally thousands of people following you on a variety of social networks—what was the first step you took to build such a strong following?

CB: Be helpful. It's what I spend the most time in my networks doing. Find resources for other people. Find things people can take action on in their own lives that will change how they do business. Simply, be helpful. Oh, and it doesn't hurt to be humble, loving, and to embrace people as the most important part of the equation.

DA: How has building a personal brand helped your career?  Have their been any downsides?

CB: There are plenty of people out there in this space, such as it were, talking about the same things. This isn't that different than the fact there are hundreds of thousands of software engineers, bazillions of lawyers, tons of doctors, etc. By building a personal brand, it's given me an opportunity to be a "known entity" in a sea of people selling the same things.

There are downsides for the companies who choose to partner with a personal brand. I call this the "Age of the Half-Owned Brand," I talked about it http://www.chrisbrogan.com/threading-some-trends-together" What this means is that companies who choose to raise up a brand, or hire one, are sharing equity with someone who may or may not be around several months down the line. Coke never worries whether Sprite is going to walk away after an investment. 

DA: How about your personal life—can you share any pros and cons?

I'm very fortunate to be able to travel a lot and meet amazing people. I enjoy speaking in front of audiences, and then spending a lot more time getting to know the people of the organizations where I do my stuff. The benefit is that I can share what I know, get really specific with the people present, and then build relationships that we can both call on (in either direction) later.

The drawback is that I'm a dad, and I have a wife and two lovely young kids and all this travel can really grind one down.

DA: What's the one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to create their own "Brand U.0"?

CB: Be a brand, not a logo. Don't go for flash and weird tag lines. Instead, go for being something that people recognize. Starbucks isn't that green logo. It's quality coffee (very strong coffee, too) and the whole "third place" setting. That's what you're buying. The logo just points out where it is.

DA: Do you think "all of this" is a bubble or something more?

CB: I think this is a gentle bubble that surrounds a new way to communicate. This is email 20 years later.

DA: You come across as very likable. How important is this to who you are?

It's everything to who I am. I believe that by being likable, I'm also very employable. Strangely, we like doing business with people who we like. I'm never fake about it, but I do work at being someone the community can embrace. There is no "Chris Brogan" without being a guy that pretty much no one can talk smack about.

DA: In terms of a personal brand—who is your hero? Why?

CB: Specifically in terms of personal branding, my hero is Jeff Pulver. I feel that he has consistently shown who he is, what he stands for, and does so in a style that stands out in the environs where he operates. For over a decade, Jeff has stood for disruptive technologies, especially in the Internet space, starting with his co-founding of Vonage, and his successful VON conferences. From the specifics of branding, Jeff has "Pulver purple," a color with a distinctive Pantone number, and he's known for wearing Hawaiian shirts, even into important board meetings. I learned a lot from Jeff and continue to execute with him in mind when I think about community experiences.

DA: If you were to sum up the brand of Brogan in what word—what would that be?

CB: Helpful.

DA: Tell us one thing about Chris Brogan that we might not already know.
CB: You might not know that I went to the Breadloaf Young Writer's conference in Vermont instead of attending my prom, and that my girlfriend and I square danced in blue jeans while everyone back at school waltzed in tuxes and satin. Nerd much? Yeah!