An interview with Justin Foster

You’re educated and at the top of your game.  You have the credentials.  You’ve done the hard work and put in the time.  You’ve proven your ability and determination and drive.

So why isn’t business through the roof?  Why aren’t you receiving the promotions you deserve?

The missing piece just may be branding.

In a world over-saturated with talent, it’s more important than ever to differentiate yourself in a very intentional and authentic way, says branding expert Justin Foster.  This holds true whether you’re a solo practitioner, an employee, or the founder of a company.

In today’s interview, Justin explains the difference between personal branding and self-promotion, tells us how branding applies in the corporate world, and exposes several elements you may be overlooking in your personal brand.

Justin provides corporate and personal brand consulting through Price Associates and is the co-founder and CMO of Klowd.com – the creators of SlideKlowd, a cloud-based presentation platform.  His first book, Oatmeal V. Bacon: How to Differentiate in a Generic World, was published in 2011.

Justin has been Whit’s brand coach since early 2012 and has played an instrumental role in helping Whit grow his consulting practice.

A Discussion with Justin Foster, Branding Strategist

Q:  Why is personal branding necessary?

Justin: First of all, everyone has a brand, whether we like it or not. Since we all have a brand, why not work to create an intentional brand?

The whole purpose of branding is to differentiate. That’s why you need to differentiate your personal brand – because we all have competition.  It doesn’t matter if your competition is for a promotion in the corporate world, or you’re younger and are trying to get into a particular college, or you’re a startup and trying to raise money. And of course, the more competitive your environment, the more necessary it is to differentiate yourself.  If you’re the only one that sells water in the desert then maybe you don’t need to differentiate your brand, but in most cases, the higher the intensity of the competition, the greater the necessity to brand.
The third piece is that you are the only brand you have 100% control over.  You can control every aspect of your personal brand.

Q:  How does personal branding apply within the corporate world?

Justin: In the business or corporate world, your brand is manifested in influence.  You may not have a fancy title or formal authority, but you can gain influence if you have an effective personal brand.  A lot of people grind away trying to get into a titled position or a position of authority without realizing that effective personal branding is an important piece in getting you to a position of influence.  Certainly title and authority play a role, but you can reach that stage and have no one respect you.  On the other hand, you can have no title and no authority, but have respect, and then you’ll stand out in the marketplace.

You’re always going to have competition and branding is like a vacuum: Somebody’s going to have to fill it.  What often happens when you’re not intentional about your brand is that you get dis-positioned and the loudest person wins.  We’ve all been in corporate situations where a person known as “butt-kisser” was the one who got the promotion.  People get angry about that, but if you didn’t proactively do anything to brand yourself, then that’s what will happen.  Thus, the necessity for differentiation.

The specific tactics you use in the corporate world may also be different than those you’d use as a solo business owner.  If you’re a solo business owner, then your branding strategy might be manifested in web content or speaking engagements.  On the other hand, if you’re a corporate person who is trying to grow influence and grow your brand instead of growing a company, then your personal branding tactics would involve contributing in volunteer programs, providing workshops/trainings where you position yourself as a thought leader, or getting an article published.  The tactics will vary, but they’re all based on the strategy of actually being willing to be different and be awesome.

Q:  What are some common myths about personal branding?

Justin:  The biggest misconception is that personal branding is self-promotion.  The difference between self-promotion and effective personal branding is simply this:  Self-promotion is trying to create the perception of your awesomeness even though you’re not awesome.  Personal branding is taking what makes you uniquely awesome and amplifying it in a way that resonates with people and that moves people.  I refer to it as “amplified authenticity.”  What you don’t want is to be inauthentically amplified – then you’re just the loud guy that everybody knows but no one likes.

The second misconception is that personal branding is only for celebrities.  You can certainly learn a lot about personal branding – good and bad! – from celebrities, but we all have a personal brand to develop.

The third myth is that you can create a personal brand through some sort of a tactic.  For example, ”creating” a brand on social media.  It’s no different than in a business brand: You don’t create a brand.  You put into place the ingredients that create a brand: offering, message, presence, etc.

The fourth myth is that branding is only for extroverts.  I’ve heard quiet people say:  “My actions speak for themselves.” or  “My resume speaks for itself” or” My Ph.D speaks for itself,” No, it doesn’t! All those things are ingredients of a personal brand, but they don’t constitute one on their own. They get turned off by over-promoting, loud people – mistaking loudness for personal branding. Even if you are introverted, you still need to put it all together in a way that differentiates you and amplifies your awesomeness.

Q:  What are some things that are often overlooked in a personal brand?

Justin:  First, your own attitude and your spirit are an essential piece of your personal brand.  If you don’t believe that you’re awesome in an authentic, grounded way, then you have no foundation for branding yourself.

The second thing that’s overlooked is personal style.  This is most common with people who are highly skilled in their field and believe it doesn’t really matter what they wear.  I always challenge them with this: if we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, then why do books have covers? This comes back to being intentional.  It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be yourself, but it just means that you have to think about what you put on and look your best.

The third thing that’s often overlooked is fitness level.  Being a little more fit and being a more in-control, more disciplined version of yourself is always manifested in your brand by being a happy, more confident person.

The fourth is that kindness is often overlooked.  Kindness is almost always the ultimate differentiator, and that goes to the heart of influence: serving others.

Lastly, the fifth is the role of technology.  Every innovative person I know who has a great personal brand is an adopter of technology.  If you roll into a meeting and you’re all dressed up and you’ve been hitting the gym and you feel confident in yourself, but then you pull out your 2002 flip phone and your old laptop with Internet Explorer 6 on it, it’s a leading indicator that something’s off!

Q:  I can really feel your passion for the topic of branding as we speak, and I’m curious – where does this passion come from?  Why are you so passionate about branding?

Justin:  My passion for personal branding is ultimately about matching talent with passion and packaging it in a way that helps amplify your authentic awesomeness.  Because if you’re awesome – and we’re all awesome at something – then the world deserves to get the very best version of you as a brand.

Sam Philips, the man who discovered Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash and the founder of Sun Records, said, “If you’re not doing something different, you’re not doing anything at all.” So why would you cover your “bacon” in “oatmeal”?