Oprah, Madonna, Hillary Clinton. These female icons carry immeasurable marketing weight. The voices of these women are written in stone, as their personal brands have permeated the Internet and beyond. Even as they have evolved, these brands have been concretized in the consciousness of society in general, let alone their contributions to the historic implications of the feminine brand – and the power of the female voice.
The web is the vehicle, but the portals and organizations working toward boosting the feminine brand and voice are exponentially growing. For example, The Women’s Media Center which is working toward making women more visible and powerful in the media. It’s backed by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Carol Jenkins – solid brands. Certainly the Huffington Post, while offering up a mixture of male and female voices has put some heavy hitting female brands on the map. BlogHer.com was one of the first out of the gate making such contributions. Now look to Slate’s new venture The XX Factor: What Women Really Think to do the same.
The theme of personal branding has been a consistent thread of discussion here at WorkLife Nation. In a time when many are struggling to keep their jobs, are looking for one, or are starting their own businesses, some career experts are touting the benefit of boosting one’s personal brand to stay competitive.
Personal branding is not a new concept, but the Internet has changed the landscape. For women in particular, perhaps the web and social media in general have leveled the playing field. That’s why I was happy to write the following article for Personal Branding Magazine. You can learn more about the on-line magazine by clicking here.
The Evolution of the Feminine Brand
Legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith fell victim to the budgetary ax at The New York Post in February. The 86-year old continues to write her nationally syndicated column and has a substantial web presence. Smith has lent her name or “personal brand” to Women on the Web (WoW) as one of its founders. The popular site tackles everything from fashion to politics through the female lens.
Smith is practically an institution. At WoW, she is joined by the likes (and brands) of Lesley Stahl, Whoopi Goldberg (also of ABC’s The View) and Miss Manners – Judith Martin. Their voices are respected and ideals transparent. There’s a page on the site entitled, Change the World. And that, says branding expert Elsie Maio, is just one illustration of how the power of the feminine brand has evolved through the Internet.
“The feminization of business is upon us. I don’t mean womanization, but the ascendance of values that our culture has associated with the Feminine,” says the Founder and President of Maio & Company, a business strategy and branding company which coined the term, “soulbranding.” “The Feminine’s natural impulse is to nurture, care for and include the collective,” says Maio, adding that women are no longer afraid to publically embrace those values, talk about them and associate them with their brand. “Compartmentalizing our humanity is what got us into trouble, integration is the key and you see it in women’s branding trends.”
Eileen Tanne of WomensEducationCenter.com agrees that the strategic branding of women is evolving. Tanne has marketed to women for more than 16 years and has worked with Ms. Magazine and Gloria Steinem. “Generations ago, professional women had a very tough time branding themselves partly because they were uncomfortable with self-promotion,” Tanne says, adding that the male dominated media venues made it difficult to have a strong voice; not so any longer. “The internet offers women the opportunity to control how we want to be perceived and how our voices are heard.”
The female brand in particular, is getting a jolt from the increase in women owned businesses, says Barbara Litrell, former publisher of Working Mother magazine. “Women have been running businesses in great numbers since the 1970’s, but they are branding themselves more confidently now, as they support one another in partnerships, thus enhancing their own brands.”
Ultimately, branding is now about presence, platform and personality, says Kim Weiss, the Communications Director for book publisher Health Communications Inc. “Women tend to be personality driven and appeal to the personal part of their audience,” says Weiss who says women are taking their personal stories to the internet generating more interaction.
Case in point, the use of strategic social media fueled by a dynamic heart wrenching story lead to the successful branding of HCI author Laurie Perri, who blogs at the highly popular CrazyAuntPurl.com. “Everyone is hanging their shingle out, but no ones going to click on you unless you give them a good reason to,” says Weiss.
