The books shown on the left are by Brandon Birkmeyer. Click on the cover to order.

This interview was conducted by Christine Kinori on August 11, 2024.

Christine Kinori:   In the introduction, you talk about how developing a reputation is at the heart of personal branding. What advice would you give to those trying to rebuild their reputation?

Brandon Birkmeyer:   In personal branding, your reputation starts with your intention. You can’t build anything without a vision and a plan. For anyone trying to rebuild their reputation, there are three important questions to answer: Where have you been? Where are you now? And where are you going? These three questions are important because your reputation is based on the truth of who you are. As you start to rebuild your reputation, the goal is to leverage your history and experience, while recognizing your current circumstances, and building a path towards your future goals.

Christine Kinori:  In Chapter One, you mention that success is determined by patience, not performance. You also said quick wins show your value. What instance in your life has working smart instead of hard helped you?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  We live in a world where our performance is commoditized, so by default we are forced to wait our turn and be patient. I wrote this book for people who are tired of being patient and waiting for their seat at the table. It takes initiative to stand out from the crowd and get recognized for the value that you bring. Everyone works hard. That’s not a differentiator. My recommendation for getting recognized at work is to start with quick wins that help you build trust in your organization. Those quick wins open doors for more chances to take on bigger projects with higher visibility. In my life, I’ve always worked hard. But that hard work didn’t pay off until I started working smarter, focusing on building value in the organization, while also investing in my own growth and development as a leader.

Christine Kinori:  Your book heavily delves into using social media for personal branding but we all know how dark and competitive it can get on these platforms. What negative experience have you had on social media that threatened your brand? How did you deal with it?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  Social media is one very small part of personal branding in my opinion. Social media is good at grabbing our attention and creating viral moments. My problem with social media is that it’s not a great time investment for the average person. For people just getting started building their personal brand, I’d rather you focus on expressing your voice in the form of thought leadership content on a longer form channel such as a blog, a podcast, or a YouTube channel. The biggest threat from social media is the time it takes away from you doing more impactful things such as building relationships at in person events or working within your organization to identify and solve problems.

Christine Kinori:  Still on social media, it can take a lot to always give content. Most content creators experience burnout at some point. Is this something that you have experienced and how did you overcome it?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  Yes, as a content creator, I’ve experienced creative blocks and sometimes don’t feel inspired to share content on social media. My solution has been to map out a content plan long before I’m creating content. And then I take that plan and find time to make a lot of content all at once, when I’m feeling creative. This helps me not have to feel creative all the time and I’m not under the pressure of meeting some recurring daily or weekly deadline. Also, I really enjoy recording video podcasts. In fact, most of my social media content is pulled from my longer form podcasts and repurposed as short form social media posts and video clips. Therefore, one longer recording turns into many social media posts, saving me time while still being an enjoyable experience.

Christine Kinori:  In your interview with Roberto Blake, he says content is cloning. In a different context from the one Roberto talked about, what are your thoughts on AI and how it might affect personal branding on social media?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  AI is making personal branding easier. It’s a great tool for anyone creating content online. I’ve used AI to help organize my thoughts, to brainstorm topics, and to summarize key points from my longer content. The best part is that AI makes content creation more accessible to anyone and everyone. Your job is to express yourself, be creative, find your voice, and share your ideas. Then let AI and technology help you refine and deploy those ideas into the world.

Christine Kinori:  In your chapter on Escaping Sameness, you mentioned how recruiters and future clients use social media to check online presence. While it is understandable that one has to be professional on sites such as social media, don’t you think it is unfair to expect one to be professional on other personal sites such as Instagram and Facebook?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  Like it or not, people will search for information about you online using Google and social media. I advocate for everyone to take control of their presence online. If you have personal social media accounts, you make those accounts private and close them off from prying eyes. More importantly, think about what else you can put online that helps people find you and tells your professional story. If you google me, you aren’t just finding my Facebook page, you’ll find podcast episodes, business articles, video interviews, award recognitions, social media commentary, public speaking engagements, and much more. All these online breadcrumbs are social proof that support my professional reputation.

Christine Kinori:  Your book talks about how to be a good leader in personal branding but doesn’t touch on bad leadership on the same. What would you say are the common mistakes one makes when trying to create a personal brand?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  The most common mistakes I see in personal branding are waiting too long to get started or getting started in an inauthentic way. First off, most people never get started actively developing and managing their personal brand. It just happens to them rather than them taking control of what they say and do. On the other side of that, some people try to manufacture a personal brand that isn’t aligned with their true identity and purpose. We don’t want people sharing fake versions of themselves with us. We want to see people expressing themselves more often, sharing their commentary, insights, and perspective.

Christine Kinori:  What inspires you?  Is there something you have learned recently after finishing the book that you wished you had known before?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  I’m inspired when I see people living up to their full potential. I’m excited when I see people who are passionate and energetically pursuing their goals. For me, I’ve learned that when I get bored or am feeling stuck, it’s because I’m not challenging myself, investing in myself, and growing. We’ve all been overworked, overextended, or just plain tired. To break that cycle, you must invest in your own personal development and put yourself front and center for the opportunities that you deserve.

Christine Kinori:  What can we expect next?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  Next, I’ll be spending a lot of time with organizations and their rising leaders to implement these personal branding practices from the book into talent development programs. And I’ll continue to support entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants through my content, coaching, and training programs.

Christine Kinori:  What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned from writing this book?

Brandon Birkmeyer:  In writing this book, I’ve learned that we all must find our own way on our path to success, but that there are lots of resources and people along the way to support us. We just have to open our eyes and accept help. I hope that this book is a helpful resource to anyone looking to grow their authority, influence, and credibility. I look forward to seeing more leaders get recognized for their genius and truly valued for their worth.

Christine Kinori:  Thank you, Brandon, for taking the time to do this interview with me.

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