Episode Summary
We’ve entered a new B2B marketing era when people want to work with people, not with faceless companies, says Dave Gerhardt, a Chief Marketing Officer at Privy. Dave was always passionate about marketing. He is an example that hard work, constant learning, and dedication lead to success.
In this episode of the Rep Your Brand podcast, Dave Gerhardt discusses the importance of building a personal brand. Dave shares his story and reveals how creating a personal brand was not his initial goal. His passion for marketing inspired him to initially think about launching a blog. Instead, he started a podcast called Tech in Boston.
Dave also believes people should have side projects and consider them the best source of knowledge and sharpening skills. He also says building a brand is not everyone’s goal, and he respects that.
Dave also mentions the best time to transition from a consumer to a creator is now. First, you need to find your voice, share what you are doing and then build an audience. He is also writing a book; the title is Founder Brand. ”It’s all about how being the face of your brand and sharing your work is the single best thing you can do to build the brand.”
Guest Profile
- Name: Dave Gerhardt
- What he does: Dave is a Chief Marketing Officer at Privy, a company dedicated to helping small e-commerce businesses grow online sales.
- Company: Privy
- Key Quote: ''It's great to have people that can share your personal story outside of the company.''
Key Insights
- People want to work with people. Encouraging your employees to build their personal brand will benefit the company for many reasons. Especially today, when people don't want to work with nameless companies, they want to work with other people. ''B2B is you selling to a company. ''If you're selling a $12 phone case on Instagram, It's like, 'Is this person credible? Are they an authority on this topic? Are they an expert? Do they have proof, trust, credibility, validation?' What you can do today, if you're a B2B brand, is to have the people inside of your company seen as experts externally to the world.''
- Building a personal brand is not everyone's cup of tea. Dave says having a personal brand is not for everybody, and that's legit. Having a personal brand means being passionate about what you do and wanting to share it with the world. ''I love marketing, and I got to do marketing and I grew my passion for it. But I only talk about marketing on LinkedIn and Twitter. What changed for me in building an audience was, I decided marketing is a thing that would be valuable.''
- The best ingredient in marketing is expertise. As Dave explains, if you are a restaurant owner and offer dishes nobody else has, this means you are an expert. People choosing to come to your restaurant will be based on the reputation you've built. The same goes for B2B marketing. ''All you should do is share your expertise publicly, not as it relates to your company, but be a voice. Share your vision and what's happening beyond and how it relates to your roadmap.”
Even in B2B.'”
Dave Gerhardt
CMO
Privy
Episode Highlights
What a Personal Brand Is
According to Dave, a personal brand means building a reputation, and that’s never worked better than it does today. ”The reason why I think it works so well in 2021 is that the way to build a reputation today is online. Especially the last year where we haven’t seen anybody, there are no networking events. I don’t want people to get caught up in thinking that personal brand means you have to be an a-hole because that’s not true.”
A Personal Brand Was Not a Cause; It Was a Consequence
Dave didn’t plan to build a personal brand. As he explains, his initial goal was to share content about the things he is passionate about. Building a personal brand came along with it. ”I was maybe 24 years old, working at a company called Constant Contact. I started seeing people in this industry, they worked at a company, and they had a blog.
I got into marketing, and I was like, ‘I want to start a marketing blog. I want to start a marketing newsletter.’ I didn’t do it until I started this podcast called Tech in Boston, and that was my first side project. After that, I channeled all my efforts into marketing. I didn’t set out to build a personal brand; I started sharing what I’m doing and what I’m interested in marketing. The result of that was a personal brand.”
People Should Have Side Projects
By sharing his experience, Dave encourages people to have side projects. Aside from the skills, people can learn by doing their day-to-day jobs, having side projects can help them shape their knowledge in the field they want to advance in.
”I was working at Privy, and it wasn’t even in marketing; I was an account manager. What was awesome was having Tech in Boston. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I don’t get to do marketing in this job.’ I was like, “I’m scratching my marketing edge by having this side project.’ I had to learn how to do a website; learn how to set up a podcast, hire freelancers for audio production; learn how to sell sponsorships. I had to learn all those things, and I was able to sharpen my skills outside of my job.”
Is Dave a B2B Marketing Influencer?
Dave considers himself a B2B marketing influencer. It is a belief based on experience. ”I have multiple people that I know that have said, ‘I have gotten multiple clients, million dollars worth of pipeline for video design creative projects because you’ve shared we’re working together on this.’ I’ve built up a little bit of an audience over the last couple of years, and I think there’s some slice of people who listen to things that I say and might go do them.”
When Is the Right Time to Transition from a Consumer to a Creator?
Dave says the best time to start sharing is now. Building a personal brand takes years; growing your audience requires dedication. ”I’m not old in this game; I’m 33. I’ve been on social media for five or six years, but I’ve found my groove in the last year or two. You need one, two, three, four, five years of just putting stuff out. The only reason I have takes now is because I’ve just put so much stuff out in the world.”
