Mirror mirror on my screen.
Hey, I get it. If you’re anything like me, talking about yourself or ‘blowing your own trumpet’ can be uncomfortable. This can manifest itself in many different ways such as job interviews, group introductions, and family reunions. Especially family reunions.
Wayfinding, but for our personality.
Behavioral and personality-based research is a big deal. It’s at the core of digital marketing, which makes it ten times as engaging, addressable, and connected when compared to other channels.
A detailed report by RPA entitled “Identity Shifters” captures how Gen-Z does exactly that; shift their identity. This is just one of the thousands of decks and research regarding personality traits for digital marketers, like ourselves, to use and put to work.
I did a project with the NSAC for Tinder regarding capturing the identities of 18–24-year-olds. As one of the most influential generations so far, gaining their elusive loyalty and trust through behavioral and personality studies has never been more complex. Let’s talk about the tools that exist to make our lives easier.
Testing waters.
The industry standard has always been the Myers-Briggs Test, which involves 4 categories (Analysts, Diplomats, Sentinels, and Explorers) and then getting granular across 12 different subcategories.
The Fascinate Test has a much more direct approach when it comes to personal values, branding, and specificity. The tests consist of 49 different archetypes, all of which carry their own outward and inward processes that you can take advantage of.
I’m a huge self-help person. My personal favorite publications include most of Jared Diamond’s books that lay out a process for dealing with high pressure, so having these ‘identifiers’ or tools really help me to put the pieces of my mental puzzle together. A mental Rubix cube!
While these two tests might have different applications, we can use the information from both to help ourselves become more internally aware of the social presence we give off. I’ll focus on my Fascinate Test results next, as I’m a campaigner (ENFP).
Did I pass?
I think I did, for the most part. The test was very straightforward and after each page, I became more certain of my answer. It felt like the questions were becoming more and more relevant to me rather, and I knew what I agreed with and what I didn’t.
I’d like to say that I fair understanding of my moral compass, my principles, and my personality, but still the curiosity of what could be revealed kept me on my toes. My archetype is, funny enough, titled “The People’s Champion”. You can view a rundown of what this means below.
With passion and power being my triggers, and being dynamic, inclusive, and engaging within my archetype, I can clearly see a connection with my ENFP persona. What did shock me was Prestige for my dormant trigger.
Prestige has always been a foreign concept to me. At the beginning of this blog, I wrote about how boasting can lead to uncomfy situations. Knowing when and how to communicate my brand and capabilities without sounding like “that guy” has been tricky, and this test had confirmed that.
The most constructive feature about this test, to me at least, was the contextual report on how to activate this trait, and how to mitigate those situations where you may feel like you might not be at your best. Take a look:
This information felt right. It made sense to me and I know where it’s coming from, and the constructive information that it supplies is so much more actionable and allows me to have a plan on how to work with my newfound revelations.
Lights. Camera. Shane.
“But wait, there’s more!” — Billy Mays, advertising genius.
The Fascinate Test also gives you a full rundown of how you can use their information to make yourself more appealing, or rather, fascinating. This section is titled “Specialty Adjectives” and gives you plug’n’chug words to use, a framework for an elevator statement, and at last, what’s your most valuable trait.
Not dining in - my takeout:
I feel much more confident in myself knowing where I fall short. Having that reassurance of knowing when to push and when to pull through this test revealed so much more than what I had expected. I thought it was just going to be another “Buzzfeed quiz” where it lays out the information that I thought I already knew.
It came to my surprise when the most insightful aspect would be where I lacked the skills to grow, the places on my back that I couldn’t itch, the pain points.
Refining and optimizing all day is one of the few things I enjoy about digital marketing. Always asking myself “what’s the next step we can take to make this disruptive?”. This experience made me realize that I had never asked that question about my own brand, about my own personality trait.
I plan to get in uncomfy situations more, and really explore what my “prestige” complex means for myself and my brand. Starting with making sure I don’t sound too overtly “know-it-all”, which upon a quick consult with a colleague of mine, is something that I can come off as a way too often.
Here’s to growing and learning. Next week’s installment should be sure to be less about me and more about the industry. My first step in humbling my narrative.
