Exit The 2016 Personal Branding Survey Pulsecheck Questions (* - represents optional areas) Question Title * 1. In your opinion, how important is personal branding/reputation management to business & career success? Very Important Somewhat important Neutral Somewhat Unimportant Very Unimportant Reasons Why:* Question Title * 2. Has "personal branding/reputation management" increased in importance over the last 5 years? Yes, it's a lot more important About the same importance as before No, it's a lot less important Why/Why Not?:* Question Title * 3. Are you comfortable with the term "Personal Branding"? Yes, that's what people need/should build No, people shouldn't be brands/should just be themselves N/A, don't have a strong opinion either way Why/Why Not? Alternative terms?:* Question Title * 4. Do employers value staff with strong personal brands? Absolutely, they consider them essential Consider somewhat important Neutral, doesn't really factor into employee value Consider somewhat unimportant Consider no value, potentially damaging Why/Why Not?:* Question Title * 5. How happy are you with your own personal brand right now? Very Happy Somewhat Happy Neutral Somewhat Unhappy Very Unhappy Why/Why Not?:* Question Title * 6. What are the top three reasons to invest in your personal brand? (maximum three choices) Differentiation - make you stand out from the crowd Revenues - creates wealth, directly or indirectly Exposure - enhances awareness and presence Reputation - builds trust and credibility Damage Control - combats negativity/bad publicity/rumours Word of Mouth - build referrals and buzz Networks - fosters connections, collaborations and discussions Leverage - benefits employer/important stakeholders Skills - exhibits your expertise and leadership Self-awareness - clarifies focus & goals Fulfillment - creates a happier you (e.g. personal satisfaction, recognition, ego) Power - elevates personal authority and autonomy Other (please specify): Question Title * 7. Within a business setting, which type of employee stands to gain the most from strong personal branding? (max. three choices): Operations/Production Finance Legal/Regulatory Sales Junior Managers/Staff CEO Senior Directors/Managers Customer Service Executives/CxOs Prospective/New Hires Marketing Entrepreneurs/Small Business Owners IT/Technology Supply Chain/Procurement Human Resources Other (please specify): Question Title * 8. What are the key success factors of a great personal brand? (max. three choices): Affinity - likeable/trustworthy/positive image and perception Credibility - substance/track record to support personal brand Passion - enthusiastic, infectious delivery of personal brand Authenticity - genuineness/transparency of personal brand Appearance - style/tone/first impressions support personal brand Distinctive - memorable, differentiated personal brand Content - interesting/provocative/widely shared media Clarity - coherent/understandable personal brand promise Purpose - noble/higher-order vision/values behind personal brand Commitment - persistence/stick-to-it-ness in personal brand efforts Network - wide/deep/multi-channel presence and connections Other (please specify) Question Title * 9. What are best media/content tools to promote a personal brand? (max. three choices): Association membership/involvement Articles/Guest Contributions to Media Partners Offline Tools (e.g. business cards/appearance/giveaways) Offline Networking Collaborative Forums/Wikis/Q&As SEO/Links Personal Website Blog Direct Outreach to Influencers Presentations/Speaking Opportunities Email Newsletter Authoring Book Awards/third party recognition Social Media/Networks Podcast/Webinars/Webcast Video/Photo Sharing Media Appearances Other (please specify): Question Title * 10. What are the most frowned upon/negative aspects of personal branding? (max three choices): Absorbed - solely in it for themselves Erratic - no consistency of focus/tone Sameness - looks/feels like everybody else Lazy - not willing to put in time and effort Shameless/over self-promotion Valueless - not enhancing follower/fan's lives Too much time spent on themselves vs. bigger purpose Lacking authenticity/fakery Boring - does not provoke interest/provocation Unethical behaviours - (e.g. spamming/backstabbing) Absence of credibility/substance Tone wrong - (e.g. too serious/too casual) Out of sync with employer/partner brand(s) Other (please specify): Question Title * 11. Within social media, rank the following websites/platforms for building your personal brand importance (1 being highest importance): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Youtube N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Quora N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A LinkedIn N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Medium N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Snapchat N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Pinterest N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Slideshare N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Vine N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Twitter N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Wikipedia N/A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 N/A Facebook N/A Question Title * 12. Think fast, who do you immediate think of as (and why, if you have a reason): A "great" personal brand A "horrible" personal brand Question Title * 13. What forces may drive the rise of "personal branding" the most in the future: (max three answers): Enhanced technology/limitless connectivity Enhanced ability to measure personal brand appeal Organizational acceptance of strong personal brands Younger generations driving more open, social culture Ease in building/scaling large personal brand audiences Ability to monetize personal brand Entrepreneurship as an aspirational career focus Increased globalization Rise of freelancing/free agent jobs helped by personal brand reputation Other (please specify):* Question Title * 14. Will you be investing more time/effort/resources into your personal brand over the next five years: Yes, a lot more Yes, a little more About the same as I do now No, a little less No, a lot less Why/why not?:* Question Title * 15. What is the best habit you have seen/used for building a personal Brand? * Question Title * 16. Your Contact Details: Name Email Twitter Done