S1 E17 Branding
Episode Audio
Erin Chancellor shares what she’s been learning about branding in L&D.
Connect with Erin on LinkedIn.
Transcript:
The following transcript was auto-generated and may contain typos or spelling errors.
Amy Petricek
Welcome to the share what you learned Podcast. I'm Amy patristic, a learning enthusiast and the host of the show. The share what you learned podcast is designed for learning professionals to share something they're learning in the field of instructional design. Today, I'm talking to Erin Chancellor. Erin, welcome to the show.
Erin Chancellor
Hi, Amy, thank you so much for having me. This is just This is fantastic. I am enjoying talking to you so much. Thank you so much for inviting me on.
Amy Petricek
You're most welcome. We've been gotten carried away chatting before the recording even started. So I feel like we've lived a whole life. And now we get to share it all with you all. Let's let's reminisce on our conversation. Perfect those like just 30 minutes ago. Yeah. Okay. Erin, tell us who are you like, what do we get to talk to you about today and anything else you might want to share about who you are.
Erin Chancellor
So I'm happy to come on and chat about personal branding and professional branding, which I've gotten the opportunity to really reflect on and talk a lot about in recent months, because I recently just changed my career actually coming up on the one year anniversary of leaving one career with the goal and ambition to move into corporate learning and development at Thanksgiving. So I'm a recent career changer and new in the field of learning and development. I'm right now I'm a curriculum developer for a tech giant. And I just found this niche talking about online authenticity and branding. One of the things we were talking about before we hit record was how pivotal that branding is in the job search.
Amy Petricek
And so I'm really hopeful that that's one of the takeaways some of our my guests get at the end of this episode is like, what are some nuggets of personal branding to help me moving forward in my job hunt? Because I don't, I think people kind of forget that there is a personal brand element, in particular with instructional design, I would argue, in most job hunting, but instructional design, specifically, you're creating content, you're building work samples, you're putting them out on a portfolio, and how are you going to mold that all together? It's through a brand?
Erin Chancellor
And how are you going to represent hopefully, through those work samples through your eye for design through your particular style, but who you are, because like we were saying, You coming into your new role, everyone, you're being hired as a person, there's so much going into that outside of can you use a particular elearning authoring tool, like you're you're a whole person, and you're going into learning, development and instructional design, how can everything that you're doing connect with everything that you're doing?
Amy Petricek
Well, I think what you're pointing to is like, there are technical skills, you can have some instructional designer, those are absolutely 100% important, but my stance is like you're going to be the best fit for the job. If you have the work ethic fail, they're looking for the team player mentality that they're looking for. If you have these other personal characteristics that align with their company, their vision, their way of doing things, that's when it'll really be a good fit. And finding ways to communicate even those little pieces or nuggets along the way is going to be important for determining for both the employer and for you. If this is a good match, definitely. So let's take a step back and go to the very beginning. How would you define branding? And or what does branding entail? And I don't know that I've ever personally had to answer this question. So I feel like I'm gonna learn a lot from whatever you have to share.
Erin Chancellor
Like I said, I've been talking about this a lot. And I think it's very interesting. And it's kind of a niche area for me.
Amy Petricek
Do you have maybe some elements you could share of what makes good branding?
Erin Chancellor
So one of the most important things for branding, in my opinion, is consistency is predictability and authenticity. And so what I mean by that what all of those sort of boils down to in what you post on LinkedIn, for example, it's important to have in let's see, like consistency, the same colors, logo, and font could be a way that you make yourself and your brand recognizable for everyone who's scrolling through LinkedIn, and you know, happens to see something pop up with, I would like to think for me, it's my logo.
Amy Petricek
That's what I was thinking in my head. I was just going to call that out like it's the evening with the see and there's some pink in there.
Erin Chancellor
Yes, I'm on pink colors. So I'd like to think that when people see those elements, they think, Oh, this is coming from Erin Chancellor. Right? Does that make sense?
Amy Petricek
Yeah, I think almost sounds almost like you're saying identifiable if I your E and your C which will have to like link to your LinkedIn page or something like that so people can see it and know what we're talking about. Anytime I see that whether it's when you were producing work for Teaching a path to L&D. Or on your own personal page, I always you didn't have to say created by Erin, chances are I would see that and go Erin created this. Oh, that's so cool. Good job, Erin.
Erin Chancellor
Yes, that is exactly what I'm talking about with the consistency. I love it. So one of the things that was that really helped me brand myself and that I recognize in other people's posts is their color choices and their font choice. So that's one like identifiable visual way that you can recognize that someone you follow has put new content out there, and it was made by them. The other part of branding that I think is really important to touch on is the actual content itself. You know, what are you choosing to talk about? How do you respond to other people's posts, like what voice and tone is coming through in what you share? That's a part of branding too. And it's actually making me think about the anecdote you shared with me about share what you learned what we you know what we talked about like that, that branding that word watch up, it communicates so much? How personable how casual? How come as you are the invitation to be on this podcast and listen to this podcast? What do you think like? What are your thoughts on like, the actual content?
Amy Petricek
Say more about what you mean, in terms of content?
Erin Chancellor
Let me see if I can explain this. When I think of content, I think of who do I go to, for what so there are people in our learning and development community who are really good about sharing the most recent tech tools. And the best things out there in regards to graphic design, or authoring tools. You know, they're known for being that person who's going to give you the latest and greatest information on the tools themselves. So we follow them for that we know them for that we love them for that there are other people out there who we know we can go to for some straight up raw, honest opinion. And it's part of their brand. And we know that we're going to get it from their posts, and from their perspectives and for what they put out there. Or for me, I'm still kind of figuring this out on my own, like as Erin Chancellor, what is it that I'm putting out there, but I really think that what I'm coming to find in my content that's coming naturally from me and organically from who I am, is that I want people to see me as someone who uplifts other people and encourages and supports others. So my posts will bring that to the table. That's what I mean by content.
Amy Petricek
When you say content, it almost sounds like you're saying, What is your what's your thing?
Erin Chancellor
Yes, what is your brand, so I would say your content, Amy, especially when it comes up when it's around the podcast, when it's a Friday, for example, there it is the share what you learned post from a you know that some that vibe that that openness, that it's a Friday TGIF just stop on in and share something you learned, you know, that's part of you and who you are online, that's what you put out there. Maybe content isn't the right word, maybe it's just maybe it's not a word, maybe it's just what you put out there. It's consistent, you know, you're known for it. And it's awesome.
Amy Petricek
When I'm thinking about when you say that is that part of that consistency piece is also being consistent with the content that you put out there. And so for me, the content that I'm putting out there is sharing information. And so most of the things you see me posting are going to revolve around that theme. And thus by seeing consistently, Amy's posting X, Y or Z on LinkedIn, about sharing information with others, I'm creating a brand even in the consistency of the types of content I'm putting out.
Erin Chancellor
Absolutely. And I really think when we think about people that we've networked with, that we've connected with across learning and development, I mean, I can just I can name names and tell you what they're putting out there. And if I have a question about this, I know exactly who I'm going to because they consistently and authentically put their self out there.
Amy Petricek
I love that you're saying this because I think so many people think their go to is were the first words out of your mouth color schemes and fonts. You know, I think that's those are the go to thoughts on like, this is how you brand something. But I think you're almost taking the blinders off and opening up our vision or a vantage point, a perspective of branding is so much more than that. And so what are ways you can create that consistency, maybe outside of colors and fonts, which is really exciting to think about.
Erin Chancellor
And I think it happened for me. I know I just mentioned I feel like I'm growing. I just mentioned that I would love my brand. I would love to be seen as someone who uplifts others and shares shares other people's stuff. I'm of the mindset, you know, sure I could just say something or perhaps there's someone else who has already said something and could really benefit from it being shared. You know, like I've got, I'm in that mindset right now. But I'm back to the beginnings of my personal branding experience, I identified myself as a plant lady, really early on, because the first elearning example that I created was how to take care of a spider plant, and so to, you know, a lesser extent, and it's always going to be there, and it's definitely going to stay, I'm always going to be associated with plants, you know what I mean? And that was like, that was one thing that I mean, that really kind of helped me give direction, even in making elearning samples. And, you know, doing all of this stuff, I had to stop and think to myself, What is something that I'm an expert on already, that I'm the subject matter expert on that doesn't have to do with work. That's not like a job or career thing. I'm trying to, I was changing my career, you know, what is something that I'm really good at, and I could talk about and teach someone about, and it was, it came down to plants,
Amy Petricek
Even your portfolio is a way to showcase your personality, which is broader than just the resume, it's this is it kind of goes back to that initial comment of like, this is what you're getting with me as an employee, and you get like a flavor of who Erin Chancellor is outside of, of who she is, and what she'll be bringing to the table as a person, which is really fun. Yeah. Is it fair to say that what dove you to feet into branding? Is this career pivot? And if so, do you want to elaborate on that at all?
Erin Chancellor
It's absolutely correct. And at the time, when I changed, I decided to change my career. And I took the leap, it was in the height of the pandemic last year, figuring out how to navigate a virtual remote world and field of learning and development, LinkedIn, networking, meeting people and really make myself stand out. Because there are so many job seekers, I just I had to figure out how to stand out among all of the thumbnails and posts that everyone was scrolling through. And I think that's where personal branding, just naturally organically came about. I had to.
Amy Petricek
So we've been talking about branding, in terms of personal branding, which I think is really important. And that was your deep dive into branding was like girl needs a job, and how can I set myself apart? Like, I think that makes total sense. What would you say is the role of branding within the learning and development field? Or maybe our organizations like I think in particular, you and I work for tech companies, those companies have brands? And so how does, how does all of that mesh together in the work that maybe you or I do in the day to day for someone who might be newer to the field,
Erin Chancellor
I would have to say taking the visuals aside, right? The the colors and the font and the logos taking that like peeling? What did you say peeling it back, I love that. Let's open it. Another layer going in another layer to that I would think comes back to what I was calling content earlier and what you put out there, your voice, your tone, your word choice, your punctuation choice, your emoji choice, all of these things are a part of branding and then deeper dive, like even further into that what what are you doing that's authentically you and that's sustainable. So I think what I'm trying to get at talking about this is there many more layers to personal branding than he would think than having a conversation aren't there like it goes much deeper, I see our online network and community of people as an open book that I am reading, and some characters make me feel one way or some characters make me feel another way or I love and I'm loyal to others.
Amy Petricek
I'm thinking back to what you were as you were talking about the layers of branding I'm thinking of so within our own companies I we have our own you know, you call it out color schemes and fonts and things like that, that we use as we're designing learning experiences. I think another piece I was thinking of as you were saying that was you also have this option or opportunity to have a personal brand within a larger brand. So for instance, there are products or learning experiences that teammates of mine have built and without knowing who actually built it, I can look at it and know who it is like oh this person always uses graphics like I can tell it to this person this person they have this particular interaction that they like to do and they really get at and are their storyline person like so you know, this is definitely their work and so it's I was thinking as you were talking about personal brand and also like the brand of a company but they're both are true in our jobs, but there's also this opportunity to marry them together in some regard you know, maybe in your like logo example with your And you see, okay, that doesn't work at work. But there are flavors of things that just really resound. This is Erin Chancellor's work or This is Amy Petricek. It's work and people can see that and identify that. And so not only can you maybe tell story, like you were saying before in the external l&d community, but there's also some opportunities to tell a story internally with our companies as well.
Erin Chancellor
I love that so much. And I hadn't really thought about it like that before. But you are so right. I wonder what's characteristic about my my work? You know, I don't it might come down to, oh, geez, I really don't know I love this. It's such a great thing to think about,
Amy Petricek
You should totally ask your teammates, like, what, what is identifiable about my work? Or what stands out about? How do you know it's my work at the end of the day,
Erin Chancellor
My voice might come through I love writing, you know, so it may be
Amy Petricek
For myself, I would say it's the graphics that I use, there's just there's a style, I tend to like really enjoy. And then there's also I mean, kind of embodying the wathca, or the like, really accessible content is one of the things I would say that identifies My brand is most anyone could take my courses and understand the content, you don't have to be I build internal learning content. And so like, you don't have to be a part of that team to understand it's pretty accessible to anyone who might take the course even if the intended audience is this particular team.
Erin Chancellor
I love that. That's awesome.
Amy Petricek
You've definitely been deep down the rabbit trail of branding. And I have brought such a wealth of information to this conversation. But let's for people who are getting jazzed about learning, I mean, Erin and I have kind of been on the edge of our seat for this recording. And also prior to we've just been having a blast, talking about branding and pivoting into instructional design. But what are some good resources for other people that might be on the edge of their seat? who want to learn more about branding?
Erin Chancellor
Yes, okay, I have some good resources to share. And I wanted to I want to bring up and tell you, Amy and the listener is that I didn't really know what personal branding was as a term, you know, that it was a thing until I found brand and personality archetypes. So the idea behind that is that it's we're delving into the realm of psychology here. And the fact that there are different types, I guess, different personas of people out there that have certain characteristics that define who they are, how they work, how they speak, and what you know what they put out there. That was a very short, very broad explanation of archetypes. I just wanted to share that I'm going to go into Shared Links, where you can go in and learn about them further. And let you know that when I took this quiz that I'm going to share, I found that I was my top tier archetype was the lover. And my secondary tier was the stage so much about how I present myself online, who I interact with how I interact with them, the words I use the exclamation points, I use the certain emojis so much about what I was doing that was authentically me made sense, because I was falling into the realm of two different archetypes. And once I defined that, once I had that I said, Well, you know, what, then to make this more sustainable for me to give myself some guidelines and what I'm posting and what I'm doing. Do you know what I'm saying?
Amy Petricek
I think you're trying to say that it clarified that content piece that we were going back to
Erin Chancellor
Yeah, before they clarified so much of what I was putting out there, just across the realms from my color choices to everything else, just to have that clarification really changed my mindset. I am branding myself as this person and I'm going to keep it up.
Amy Petricek
That sounds like a great resource for people who are trying to figure out their brand or trying to put words to their brand. I think that's what makes branding so tricky, is that it's hard to put into words. It's like well, it's the E and C you know, like that's, you know, that's a piece of the brainer, it's like it's the plant thing you know, and like so I do feel there is some challenge in it but I think almost what that brand archetype helped you with was to get clearer and to get a little bit more concise about what it is you were wanting to communicate about Erin Chancellor
Erin Chancellor
When it for example, you you mentioned words that I've been thinking about this recently that I I always call people sweet friends. Sweet so and so sweet. This and that it I just naturally do it. Part of what that showing in the archetype that I fall under the the lover the word choice to say sweet friend, I think that it's pretty, it could be considered a part of my brand now because I say it so much.
Amy Petricek
It's just a nice little touch on the end, you know, just completes and rounds out the brand. I like it.
Erin Chancellor
It's so this is such an interesting conversation. Oh my gosh, wow, I feel like we I honestly, I feel like we have to circle back to this conversation, you know, a couple months from now or something because we're both going to have had so had so many more fireworks like go off and just be like, oh, yeah, yeah,
Amy Petricek
One of the things we said before we hit record was in a lot of ways brands are evolving, always. And so you were commenting, Amy, you your brand kind of came into my vision at this point. And then I shared like, well, I'd actually been like, started it maybe like six months before that. But I was clarifying and refining it. By the time you saw it. It was more polished at that point. But there was definitely like some evolution that happened. And so I think that's again, what you're saying is we'll need to come back to this in six months. Because if your brand is ever defined and done, I don't know if that's really branding. I don't know. No, no, either. Branding is always evolving. Yeah, it really is.
Erin Chancellor
It's fascinating. Wow, well, I'm always gonna love plants.
Amy Petricek
She's like, that's a non negotiable.
Erin Chancellor
We'll see what happens.
Amy Petricek
Erin lets go ahead and transition over to the Rapid Round I'm going to start off with learning is and you finish the sentence.
Erin Chancellor
Awesome.
Amy Petricek
I'm eager to hear your answer to this one. Erin, when you're mustering up the courage to learn something new, What song do you put on?
Erin Chancellor
I don't put on a song, I use an episode of The Office count as a song.
Amy Petricek
For sure. There is definitely an identifiable theme song. And sometimes you need that thing in the background while you're working, which is I've definitely done that with the office so guilty. You're asked to do a brand new task with a skill set you do not have Where do you turn?
Erin Chancellor
I suppose the first thing I would do would be to type it in the Google search bar and see what comes up. And then after that, find a person someone in my network to ask
Amy Petricek
I'm probably similar, like know enough to know what questions to ask someone. All right, last one without learning.
Erin Chancellor
Without learning, we would all be very, very bored.
Amy Petricek
Erin, what's the best way for my listeners to be in contact with you after the show?
Erin Chancellor
Oh, um, I would love to connect with everyone on LinkedIn. I'm Erin Chancellor. There's a little flower at the end of my name, send me a follow I also I love Twitter. I'm also ErinChancellor, their same name.
Amy Petricek
Well, thanks so much, Erin for sharing all about branding and l&d with us today. I also want to give a shout out to you my listeners for learning with us. Until next time, stay open, receptive and kind.