05/25/2011
I often say that the blogosphere, and now social networks, are comprised of many worlds. Each world has its own community norms and of course citizens. My main drag is social media marketing biz. I've been hangin' for several years, have made some great friends and even feel fairly comfortable "socializing" with people who I don't know.
Last week I had a unique and wonderul opportunity to venture into a social media village that I'm on the fringes of .. Food. Once upon a time I wrote about food for BlogHer and on my new social destination All The Single Girlfriends Friday is .. Foodie Friday complete with recipes, memories, reviews, wine. Great fun .. do check it out!
So when Elisa Camahort Page asked if I would be part of BlogHerFood11, as a member of the programming committee and as the moderator of a panel on social networks, it took less than a nano second to say, "Shut up Girlfriend!"
One of the interesting things about stepping into a new world, is you don't know the players. A-list people are quite the same as Kathy Griffin's On The D List folks. As a new comer you make judgements based on kindness, sharing, knowledge exchanges and the humor of the momement. On the other side of the street, sometimes hangin' with friends, ego or yup .. kissing up gets in the way of meeting new people. But I digress .. that's a post for another day.
Food Bloggers Rock .. and how they can party! We danced the night away at the closing party at Atlanta's Tabernacle. Thanks to BWS for the photo.
The discussion I led, with 3 uber food bloggers, Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan, David Lebovitz and Jaden Hair ranged from defining social media to tactical applications of Twitter and Facebook to content.
David Lebovitz told us that he believes there are no rules .. that social networks should just integrated into your life.
Love how Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan uses Twitter .. for casual conversations to work out words like a gym. While for her, since blogs have more space, they seem to be a more formal communication platform.
Jaden Hair shared her 3 rules for Twitter: 1. Tweets must be useful, entertaining or both. 2. Tweets should promote others and 3. Tweets connect with friends.
What I found interesting was Not creating a strategy for social networks seemed to be the theme for several panelists and audience members. Jadin told us that although she did have a marketing strategy she doesn't when it comes to relationships (as it involves social networks).
To misquote Shakespeare ~ Me think thou dost protest too much.
Perhaps they call it by a different name or to stay with the Shakespeare theme "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Unless you are born under a lucky star, to grow a site to the extent and success that David, Jaden and Sara Kate have accomplished takes some thought and planning. In my book, yes, in social networks too.
For my new Foodie Friends like ..
OvenLove GarlicGirl Another Marvelous Meal BreadExperience Jennifer Chandler EvilShenanigans TheQueenofTarts CopyKat
SoupChick MarysBites RetroFood LifeChef Return To Sunday Supper
LoraKrulak TheBetterFishBlog CatchingPearls MamaSays
.. and those who are new to social networks and want to build out your presence in the Food World, Business World, Fashion World .. or any where else don't let the "marketing" terms trip you up. Don't be lulled into thinking that if you Tweet or Like or Comment it's enough.
You have your profiles up on the social networks. Now what do you do? Here is an easy 4 Step Social Network Strategy. Ooops Girlfriend, said that "s" world .. strategy again!
1. Content Direction - Take this from your blog which is based on your passion and interests. For example, if you write on vegan issues you probably won't be passing along information about pig roasts. However, you might drop a tweet or update or post about the health issues concerning pork.
This also includes the "voice" you use. If you want to be the "Lady Gaga Bad Girl of Food" your tweets will reflect that as well.
Dropping a few tweets and updates about the mundane helps people know who you are beyond your content.
Frequency. There is no magic answer but try different times of the day/night.
2. Audience - Develop a sense of the people who Follow or Like you. If you write about desserts your followers will be people who share that passion. Click into their Twitter stream, Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles to learn their interests.
Even though some folks might love your topic, often their social network content won't reflect the focus of your content. Reach out and ask what they'd like you to offer.
It goes without saying, content your audience finds valuable will bring RTs and comments leading to .. you got it .. more quality Followers and Likes. The challenge is find out the What (as in what do they want and like?).
3. Success - You define what this means. Is it building relationships? Is it expanding your awareness? Is it finding resouces?
How will you know when you succeed? The answer may not be in the number of Followers, Likes or Connects. By the way don't get caught in the bigger is better trap. "Who" is more imporant than "how many."
If you want to build relationships pay attention to the people who RT (re-tweet) and the Likes on specific Facebook updates and Linkedin commnets. Reach out to these people through your @s RTs and comments in their streams, as well as in yours.
4. Have fun and don't get overwhelmed. Take a clue from David whose strategy is "To have fun and to write things that interest people."
Keep in mind that understanding the what and the how of strategy do not take away from the Fun!
05/19/2011
It is not slickness, polish, uniqueness, or cleverness that makes a brand a brand. It is truth. ~ Harry Beckwith
In the old days .. pre Internet .. pre social networks, who you were was confined by space and time. If you stumbled and fell only the people in the room saw. Oh sure the water cooler gossips might be working overtime but it was soon forgotten and life went on. The same went for your successes.
With the onset of the digital world all that changed. As the saying goes,"Google has a long memory." Your online bread crumb trail never goes stale. All those little pieces build what is in vogue to call .. Your Personal Brand. How you stand out from the crowd. But you knew that.
What I was curious to explore was what women who work in a corporate world think of personal branding and how they use it to build their reputations inside of their job and outside as well.
I asked five successful women if they would share their opinions and use of personal "social media" branding. In Part 1 of Social Media Can "Help" Build & Promote Your Personal Brand Amanda, Em. Laura, Nancy and Naz discussed why they felt it was important to develop the brand called you. In part 2 they talk about authenticity and how they align the brand promise of their organizations with their own values .. or not.
Please meet the women who graciously shared their insights.
Amanda Coogle - Sales Consultant for PulteGroup which is a large, nationwide homebuilder. I am currently responsible for the marketing and sales efforts at a Centex branded community in the Coastal Carolinas Division. Facebook Linkedin Twitter Foursquare
Em Hall - Communicator who specializes in digital strategy, social media, and online marketing. She helped strategize and implement award-winning marketing campaigns at two of America’s most trusted nonprofits and currently works in the transportation industry. Facebook Blog Linkedin Twitter Portfolio
Laura Bennett - CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. I am an actuary, entrepreneur, mother, and world citizen. I left the corporate world to get out of insurance and to get my MBA, but my odd combination of actuarial skills and entrepreneurial leaning led me to the underserved and underpenetrated world of pet insurance. Facebook Blog Linkedin Twitter
Nancy Schburt - Global Brand Professional for IBM who has worked for IBM full-time for 13 years on a contract basis. Blog Linkedin Twitter
Nazanin Weck - Marketing professional who draws from 15 years of industry knowledge and professional skills, I develop concepts for and design creative marketing and communications material for the parks and recreation industry. Linkedin Twitter
Diva Marketing/Toby: We all have many facets to our personalities. How do you adjust your personality and values to the public forums of social media and still stay authentic and your ‘true self?’
Amanda Coogle: The way I handle that aspect of social media is that I keep the platforms separate from each other. I think that linking your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn profile is a great option – I just choose not to link them because my tweets are normally not real estate related. Each social media platform represents my ‘true self,’ but I cater the content to each individual platform.
Em Hall: My goal when creating my online persona was that anybody I meet in person should be able to recognize and connect my real-life self with “EmilyHaHa.” I love meeting people from Twitter who I follow or who follow me. And I’ve met up with about half a dozen of my regular blog readers to ride Metrorail or Metrobus together; we start chatting like we’re old friends! I never want to exist just in the virtual space, so it’s important to me that my “true self” is the same online or off.
Laura Bennett: I don’t adjust my values or personality; I just leave certain aspects out. So for example, I don’t talk politics, my negative opinions of other people, or about personal issues. I talk a lot about things I care about and my business and pet insurance happens to be a big part of that.
Nancy Schubert: I don’t adjust my personality and values. I don’t generally post about personal issues or positions I hold on topics outside my profession. I try to be very careful in positioning the brand known as Nancy Schubert. I don’t speak out on every public forum. I’m very selective in what I say and on which topics I speak.
Nazanin Weck: I may adjust the “tone” of my conversations based on the public forum and not so much my personality. My values and interests remain the same regardless of what forum I am on, I may hold back on some personal opinion depending on the conversation, but the overall message will remain the same. That being said, to maintain my “personal brand”, the majority of public forums, and social media outlets I am involved in are within my realm of expertise and interests therefore, there is no need to really adjust my values.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Does your management know about your digital presences and are they supportive? Have they put any limitations on you?
Amanda Coogle: Yes, my direct manager does know about my digital presence. She is supportive of my networking efforts because it is also great exposure for my company. I do, however, have a company laptop that provides some limitations. Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare along with most other social media websites are blocked which is perfectly fine with me. I am at work to focus on my sales and my customers, but we do have access to LinkedIn though.
Em Hall: My bosses have always been supportive of my non-work online activities, and are often quite active on social media themselves. I think that marketers these days really get the importance of having staff members who understand and are fluent in the language of social networking.
Laura Bennett: I am the management so yes and no :) I am the face of Embrace so I am very cognizant of what that means for Embrace whatever I am saying. I did have a well-meaning investment advisor once tell me that I shouldn’t mention that I read and like Deuce on my corporate blog so I deleted the post I mentioned it. It made me think about the message I was putting out and nothing to do with Deuce and whether that is or is not appropriate for me to like (I do like!), it’s more whether it was consistent with the message of the blog. Actually the post I deleted was on Heather’s dog Chuck so it was relevant at the time. You won’t catch me pulling that off now!
Nancy Schubert: My management is somewhat aware of my sm involvement. Yes, the company strongly supports employee sm involvement, but I don’t speak about my company on the web.
Nazanin Weck: Being in the government industry, while management is aware of my social presence, they do have certain limitations that must be followed. These limitations are nothing out of the ordinary and just good practice to keep that impeccable “online reputation”. Some great advice I once got was to “never put anything out in the digital world, you would not want your mother to read”. Beyond that, they are supportive and excited that I am able to utilize my “online presence” to network and further our marketing efforts.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Has there ever been a conflict in the way you present yourself in the digital world and the values of your organization/the brand you represent?
Amanda Coogle: My company represents value, a quality product, and the ability to be the customer’s ‘Builder for Life’ with our three brands: Centex, Pulte, and Del Webb. My personal brand reflects the same representations. I am a reliable source with valuable information to offer, and I consistently deliver quality work and knowledge. Because of the value and quality I deliver, my brand sends the message that I have the ability to be a source for life.
Em Hall: As much as my online presence supports my career goals and – I believe – helps make me a better employee, I keep the personal and professional strictly separate in that I’ve always blogged/Facebook-ed/Tweeted anonymously or under a pseudonym at the organizations where I’ve worked. At work it’s all about the organization’s mission and brand. It’s a fine line to walk, and of course people often figure
Nancy Schubert: No. My personal brand is me – not my company, not the organizations to which I belong.
Laura Bennett: No, we are one and the same. That’s how Embrace was founded – on the core values that my co-founder Alex and I had from day one out who “the woman behind the curtain” is, but I think it’s completely doable. Plus, I only work at places that align with my personal values and interests.
Nazanin Weck: I would say that my “online persona” is in line with the values of my organization, it is one of honesty and integrity. The difference is perhaps that my “personal brand” is more creative and tries to utilize the latest trends while the organization I am with, being government, lags behind in that department but I see that as a challenge to overcome and the ability to use my “online brand” to further the goals of my organization.
More to come!
05/05/2011
Social media can amplify your personal brand, but the presence itself cannot be a substitute for a personal brand. ~ Rajesh Setty
Personal branding is a sizzling hot topic. However, some say personal branding is little more than a Kimbaya campfire "feel good" song. Other people, like my pal Geoff Livingston, take an even strong position and believe personal branding is contrived and fake.
However, in a world where information about you and how you present yourself is as easy to find as a mouse click, your online presence is an important aspect of your "resume."
Whether you call it your digital footprint, online identity or personal brand, the fact remains potential and current employers, clients, colleauges and co-workers have more pieces of the puzzle to base their perceptions about you personally and your professional capabilities.
As we in marketing well know .. perceptions impact purchase and loyalty (job offers, promotions, project opportunities, relationships).
A few weeks ago I had the honor to speak at Possible Woman, a conference created by an innovative and creative women who has a strong personal brand herself -- Linda Wind. My topic was using social media to put your best foot forward.
To prep for the talk, I reached out to a few women, who hold corporate jobs and are using social media to build and promote their personal brands. Their responses were so rich with tips and information that it makes sense to turn this into a series.
Meet the women who graciously shared their insights about personal branding in the corporate word.
Amanda Coogle - Sales Consultant for PulteGroup which is a large, nationwide homebuilder. I am currently responsible for the marketing and sales efforts at a Centex branded community in the Coastal Carolinas Division. Before my move to Charleston a little over a year ago, I spent the past 5 years in Atlanta, GA working in sales and marketing in the apartment industry. Facebook Linkedin Twitter Foursquare
Em Hall - Communicator who specializes in digital strategy, social media, and online marketing. She helped strategize and implement award-winning marketing campaigns at two of America’s most trusted nonprofits and currently works in the transportation industry.” FacebookBlog Linkedin Twitter Portfolio
Laura Bennett - CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. I am an actuary, entrepreneur, mother, and world citizen. I left the corporate world to get out of insurance and to get my MBA, but my odd combination of actuarial skills and entrepreneurial leaning led me to the underserved and underpenetrated world of pet insurance. Facebook Blog Linkedin Twitter
Nancy Schburt - Global Brand Professional for IBM who has worked for IBM full-time for 13 years on a contract basis. Blog Linkedin Twitter
Nazanin Weck - Marketing professional who draws from 15 years of industry knowledge and professional skills, I develop concepts for and design creative marketing and communications material for the parks and recreation industry. I have gained my experience by holding management positions with 2 large corporations and a local government agency. Linkedin Twitter
Diva Marketing/Toby: How do you define “personal branding?”
Amanda Coogle: To me, personal branding is what you represent to your peers. I do, however, think that one person can have more than one brand.
Em Hall: For me, personal branding is creating a consistent persona across online and offline channels. Personal branding also affords me the ability to build relationships and create new opportunities that exist outside of my full time work. My personal brand is heavily tied to my social media presence, and fosters an environment of interactive and instantaneous communication, which is absolutely essential for a 21st century marketer.
Laura Bennett: The impression a person has about me, whether it be from information they find about me online, from meeting me in person, or through hearing about me through others.
Nancy Schubert: It’s how you present yourself to the world – usually, professionally. I think of it as product marketing with me as the product. To be effective, it should follow the same rules of branding that marketers use. It should be accurate, consistent and geared for your target market.
Nazanin Weck: To me, personal branding is an extension of our personality. It is what others visualize when they hear your name. Our brand is a representation of what we stand for and what we practice on a daily basis. This is what sets us apart from the crowd.
Diva Marketing/Toby: As a women working in a corporate environment, why is it important to develop what Tom Peters termed “The Brand Called You”?
Amanda Coogle: In today’s competitive job market, it is extremely important for women working in a corporate environment to develop a professional brand for themselves. The candidates in today’s job market have really upped the ante for everyone – they are more educated, connected, and experienced than before so it is extremely important and almost necessary to differentiate yourself from your peers.
Em Hall: I decided several years back to adopt “EmilyHaHa” as my online persona, or brand. I performed improv comedy for many years, and like to think that my sense of humor is a defining personality trait.
While I definitely have lots of fun at work, and all of my jobs have had offices where a good sense of humor was a key element to a successful team, my personal brand allows me to extend that even further. I love nothing more than being the first person among my networks to share cool, quirky ideas or places or things, and EmilyHaHa is able to do that without constraint.
Laura Bennett:
Whether you like it or not, you have a brand so I believe it’s important to know what that is and stick with it. Being a woman is a part of my brand in the male-dominated world I work in (insurance and venture capital funded company) just as much as my British accent, my ultra-short hair, and my personal connection I like to have with the people around me is. I leave the impression I want to leave with my “audience” and it’s consistent in everything I do.
Nazanin Weck: As a woman, we face many challenges in the corporate world, and as I’ve noticed even more in government. Developing “your brand” is extremely important in setting yourself apart from everyone else. Without this “brand”, one is just a job title and limited by the expectations of such job. Being “branded”, opens more doors and allows for better career opportunities.
More to come!
