Personal Branding & The Middle Name

"All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be a head marketer for the brand called You." - Tom Peters, Fast Company

When people ask what my name is, I say "Ryan W. McClellan." Now, I could just as easily say "Ryan McClellan," but there is a reason for that "W" in the middle. My middle name is unfortunately William, which is as bland and decimated as it gets.

Now, why the "W"?

Well, a while back, I did what everybody does at some point in their existence:

.. I Googled my name. I was met with images and Wikipedia articles about a baseball player (second string, no actual play time) with the same first and last name. He dominated the first, second and third pages, and then after that, additional "me's" popped up.

So where the heck was I?

Then, I realized: there are no other known Ryan W. McClellan's, only several hundred Ryan McClellan's. So, boom, I put a "W" in the middle and now, if you go ahead and kindly search Google for "Ryan W. McClellan," you will see that I dominate the first ten pages.

After that, ads start appearing.

Who would advertise a name?

Well, I would...

What Personal Branding Is

Personal branding is a term many entrepreneurs know very well. It is the notion that people connect with people and not businesses, and this leaves us with two choices:

1) We can focus on branding a business name, which functions as an entity most people do not trust as much as you would think, which we will touch bases on shortly (there is psychology behind this, as well, which I will discuss...)

2) We can brand ourselves as an expert in something, a specific type of trainer, or even a specific type of...well, anything for that matter, where we focus less on logos focusing on our businesses and instead, using a personal photo...

Personal branding is the idea that one can be seen in the same light as a company, i.e. that we are an entity in and of ourselves. When we think about personal branding, we have to think about if we have enough background and expertise to do this, but the studies are clear.

Personal Branding Versus Company Branding

According to a 2016 article by Ryan Erskine, there are a few fun statistics:

• Social media examines a 561 percent increase in reach when the company is shared by the brand's employees, not the company itself...

• There, are on average, 10 times more followers from employee brands than the company's actual social media accounts...

• Content shared by an employee has 8 times as much engagement as content shared by the company itself, i.e. a personal brand...

• Brand messages show a re-share rate 24 times more when posted by an employee versus a company, where we really see the truth of personal branding

Personal Branding Versus Company Branding

Now, there is a fact we must all be aware of: people trust people more than they trust companies. This was illustrated in "The Marketing Rebellion" by Mark Shaefer, my favorite author, which is a book I highly endorse. A study in this 2019 book found that 85 percent of consumers will trust a person's face on their profile(s) versus a company logo.

When we think of personal branding versus company branding, there is a psychological tendency for human beings to trust a face over a logo. Personal branding is the art of being seen as a person who is a company, rather than a company that...well, the point is clear. We can get very far with personal branding, and the best place to start is to brand your name.

The "W" That Changed My Life

Back to the "W" in my name, I realized a lot of others (including Mr. Baseball Second String with the same name as me) were similarly named. So, ten years ago, I added that "W." Here is a Google link with Ryan W. McClellan versus Ryan McClellan.

Take a look and see the difference.

That "W" changed my life, and I dominate the first five-to-ten pages of Google by simply adding that "W." It is essential for us to understand that personal branding is becoming more and more affluent. You see, there is a fact amongst us: 85 percent of people trust a face on a social media profile more than they trust a brand. In fact, when we brand a company with a Facebook Page and a logo, there is less engagement than one with, say, a face.

People Trust People, Not Companies

The fact is, people trust a human face rather than a logo. Unless you are Apple or Microsoft, you will see that you actually get more engagement from simply showing a face and speaking in the first-person rather than setting up a page with a logo and third-party content. When you think about the psychology of this, we trust faces.

This does not mean abandon your logo, but it does give us some insight into the psychology of marketing and branding. People trust faces, not logos.

We trust people more than we trust companies. The human mind has a psychological attachment to a face. When we discuss personal branding, we are delving in on the psychology of trust, humanity, and the recognizable social appeal we face daily.

A Business Brand Needs Ads...

But a personal brand needs a name, a nice photo, and one thing more important than any company can ever provide: a human face and a human mentality.

Long story short, a business brand does work...but it is much harder to market a business than it is a personal brand. Take a moment to review my LinkedIn profile.

Yes, I have many Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Pages focusing on my companies, but my LinkedIn profile is as optimized as it gets. In fact, I am so proud of my LinkedIn profile that I often use it as my "website" over www.Circle5Books.com because I can show my experiences, my face, and personal articles that reveal the human-centered nature of "me."

You see, we trust a person more than a company.

This Does Not Mean...

That does not mean avoid branding or being active with your many companies, projects or the like. It simply means that there is quite possibly more activity and engagement on an optimized LinkedIn profile versus a company Page. Again, that does not mean personal branding is the only way to go. However, case studies do recognize that a person's face reveals more trust, more viability, and instinctively allows us to trust that person.

When we trust people, we win every time.

In Conclusion

Brand your name, but link them to ancillary resources such as company pages or websites, or social media profiles. It simply means that the human brain is hardwired to trust a person versus a company. People should be marketing people, and companies should be using their employees as their company advocates.

You will see much higher engagement with a name than a company.

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