I honestly don't know that answer, although my comments above and in this post may lean otherwise.

So let's open this up to others: If you're in PR/marketing/advertising, are you falling behind if you're not branding yourself?

I do find a lot of value in what you say about staying out of the way of the enhancement of our clients' businesses. Certainly, we play a major factor in that enhancement, but I think we can all cite instances where some within PR/marketing/advertising have actually done a disservice to their clients by trying to somehow make themselves a part of the story.

Fact is, our story is best told when our names are never mentioned in a story. That's when I believe we know we did something right. It's when your name starts getting out there for some reason or other than you should worry.

And you're right: We need others in place who aren't so concerned with building their own brand, but are concerned with building and enhancing the brand and reputation of their company, as well as that of their clients. That balance – and it is certainly a tricky one to maintain – is what can be the difference maker between very successful service agencies and just mediocre ones.

Thanks for chiming in.

You see it especially in politics and sports media. PTI and the spin-offs it's produced are a perfect example. The media, similar to PR Pros, are more inclined to be the story these days, it's the shift in the landscape we're seeing right now. Right, or wrong, it's the way we're moving.

I do find it uncomfortable and awkward at times though, because I was taught, like many of you, that I should be in the background as a PR person. But, the question is, as a PR person, if you're not branding yourself, are you falling behind?

The basic premise of PR will always be the same – you get results for your clients or company, and you try your best to stay out of the way. I think that SM has given many PR people an avenue to get some credit and praise lavished upon them, something they have desperate craved for a long time. From my standpoint, that's a negative, and Keith's point is a valid one, if you're serving yourself and not your client, you're not doing your job. You should be making them famous, not yourself, even if it is “in the process.” The second we lose sight of that is the moment we stop being effective at what it is we're supposed to be doing – focusing on the brand that pays us, not our “own.”

To answer Keith’s question, yes. The self-proclaimed experts do offend me. Experts? Really? How can you be an expert at something that is less than 5 years old? Everyone knows that we’re seeing the infancy of social media. Keith also makes a good point. If you are an expert, why don’t you have your own agency or firm? It’s because most us wouldn’t know how to run it successfully. We lack the necessary experience.

It doesn’t matter how much you’ve learned about social media from Chris Brogan or Brian Solis, they can’t teach you how to operate in a business environment. Reading a blog isn’t the same as having first-hand work experience. We need to realize that even though we might have a better understanding of social media than our employers, we need them to bring us along just as much as they need us to bring them up to speed. I just don’t see how we can consider ourselves experts yet.

Thanks again for chiming in. Great to read some insight from a very knowledgeable source in this field!

However, I think the word “understand” is key there. Notice, neither of us have said that we need to be the CENTER of attention or of the technology. I don't think those of us in a service industry should ever be at the center of something if we are serving others. To me, that goes against the giving back nature of this business. We are here to serve others, and yes, while it is important that we experiment in how to do this, I don't believe we should make it a point to use what we recommend to our own personal advantage.