The Case Against Branding Yourself
Despite the common advice to brand yourself, sometimes branding can limit you from doing everything you want to do or being your most authentic self.
What I watched: “Laurie Anderson Interview: Advice to the Young,” interviewed by Christian Lund at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, May 2016. Posted June 2, 2016.
One of the most common refrains you’ll hear in discussions about your professional endeavors is to brand yourself. This is particularly prevalent when advice is given to self-employed or freelance professionals, but it’s increasingly also given to those who collect a paycheck from an employer. Here’s an example of such advice.
Branding is important because, while you do want to be well-rounded, it is valuable to be thought of as being outstanding for something. That something is your brand. It serves as a shortcut to defining your competencies. It provides identity and self-value.
I’m not going to come right out and tell you that branding yourself is bad advice. Maybe sometimes it’s good advice. Perhaps in some instances it’s helpful. But let me suggest that it can also be self-limiting. It might cut you off from exploring beyond the confines of your brand.
Among some within the career advice field it probably sounds like heresy to dissuade people from branding themselves. I understand that. Again, I’m not saying it’s always a bad idea, but I just want people to reconsider and ponder whether it’s best for them.
In the video I reference here in which the iconic, undefinable artist Laurie Anderson is interviewed, she’s clear that she’s attempted to avoid the limitations of branding herself. She used the Multimedia Artist identifier for a long time but by her own admission that phrase is essentially meaningless (which is what I’ve thought anytime I’ve seen that phrase before).
I would say for young artists, be loose. I really was quite happy with calling myself a Multimedia Artist. It is a meaningless term. It is meaningless. But it will give you the freedom to do various things…
So, if you define yourself, make it vague because there's so many forces that are there to push you in certain directions and they’re traps.
If you must brand yourself, consider a branding identifier that’s as broad as possible. For example, I’ve often called myself a Writer. Luckily, it’s a broad category because there’s all kinds of writing. But I’m also a speaker, community organizer, teacher, and much more. I’ve at times used the label Communicator to try and encompass all of that, but it’s not precise either. Is a community organizer a communicator?
This is why I usually refer to myself as a Generalist. Might that identify me as so non-specific that someone looking to hire me or consume what I’ve created passes me by? Maybe. I’m willing to deal with that because the freedom that stating I’m a generalist gives me is more valuable to me than the few extra gigs or eyeballs I might get by narrowing my range of interests.
That said, I’m also lucky enough to be in a position at this point in my life that I’m not overly dependent on income generation. Sure, I work. My writing helps pay the bills. But I don’t need the large corporate income I once did. That means I’m fully aware some reading this might have professional aspirations or needs that necessitate branding of some kind.
Anderson’s advice is to young artists, but I contend it applies to most of us to varying degrees.
Even if you do decide to go ahead and brand yourself, don’t let it define you. If you find that practicalities force you to brand yourself to employers, customers, or clients, fine. Just don’t adopt the confines of that branding definition. Call yourself whatever you want but realize you’re so much more than your brand.
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