Masterful Marketing » Personal Brand

Marketing – Always On 24×7

Debra — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:43:55 +0000

As many of us get into summer activities, one thing we need to remember is that as a small business owner, we are always creating an impression of our business, affecting our brand and reputation. Whether we are out to dinner with family and friends, socializing at the golf course, tennis courts or beaches, how we behave at all events, whether fun or business oriented, is something we need to recognize as part of our marketing activities.

What encouraged me to write this post was something that happened at a business golf outing I recently attended. All the people at this function were either small business owners or people who worked for small businesses. The group of men playing behind us became loud, rude and somewhat obnoxious. Their behavior was not something that encouraged me to want to get to know them and their businesses. My reaction was:

“What is your business? I don’t think I want to do business with you.”

Reminders for small business owners attending social events

Remember that you are marketing your business 24×7. Regardless of where you are you should be “networking” with people you meet.

Everything you do makes an impression. Just because you are at a casual social event does not mean you can behave badly.
Limit your alcohol intake. I know I probably don’t need to say this but over indulging in alcohol rarely has a positive effect on your business.
Socialize with your colleagues. Notice I said socialize rather than network. At a fun outing, you are relaxing and getting to know people socially.

The above reminders work for both physical events and online social networking. Remember to socialize with your colleagues on Facebook and Twitter when possible to show a personal side that helps complete the entire picture of you. People want to do business with people. Give people a reason to get to know, like and trust you.

When we started our businesses, most of us probably didn’t realize that when we are out and about, we are always sending a message and creating an image for our company. Unlike being a public official or celebrity, we may not always be recognized, but bad behavior is memorable. People will remember the person who treated them badly or behaved unprofessionally. Don’t give people a reason to not do business with you.

What are your tips for small business owners at social events?

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Social Media Marketing – Myths or Reality?

Debra — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:41:25 +0000

In a recent Business Week Viewpoint article called “Beware Social Media Marketing Myths“, Gene Marks highlights what he feels are 5 myths of social media marketing that small business owners should be aware of. Although all 5 of these statements as he describes are myths, I believe this article is misleading to readers on the value of using social media as a channel to build visibility and awareness for your business and personal brand. So let me weigh in on these 5 myths of social media marketing.

Myth 1. Social media sites are free

Reality: This statement is not a myth but a gross understatement of the value of social media. There is a significant cost in time which is an issue if small business owners do not know how to use these tools to market your business as you will spend a lot of time and get nothing in return. But, nothing of value in this world comes for free and you need to invest some type of resource – time or money – to get the most out of them. Think of social media as a channel in which you are able to communicate your value to your ideal client. You must spend time meeting people in these social media sites, building relationships and hearing what they have to say. As Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) pointed out in his keynote presentation for the Social Media Success Summit, it takes sweat equity to be successful using social media.

Myth 2. Social media sites are a great place to find new customers

Reality: Social media sites are a great place to meet new people and build strong relationships. Will these people ever become customers? Not necessarily, but the reputation you develop on social media sites goes a long way to building a brand that attracts your ideal client. Establishing quality, compelling profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter help you get found more easily by those who are looking to acquire the products and services that you offer.

Myth 3. You need to be on all the big sites

Reality: To make the most of your time, you should select the social media sites that make the most sense for your business. For most business owners, LinkedIn is a must. Some of the niche social networking sites mentioned in the article that are targeted at business owners such as Intuit’s Small Business Community may make more sense now if you are catering to a demographic that for the most part is not on the more “cool and trendy” sites. But I would highly recommend you establish your personal identity on the major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr now and take control your online identity and reputation rather than letting it develop through what others say.

Myth 4. Social networking sites are for marketing

Reality: Saying social communities are not for marketing is like saying networking and word of mouth will never get you business. Unless you are one of the many who think marketing equals pushing your message into the face of everyone which is frowned upon in both online and offline networking venues, social communities are great for networking and developing relationships and ultimately creating visibility for your expertise. And remember, great customer service increases the value of your brand in the eyes of your customers which helps strengthen your credibility. The key to networking (both online and offline) is utilizing the VCP model: visibility + credibility = profitability. You can easily educate your prospects and customers on the value you offer by the value you provide those you interact with on social networking sites.

Myth 5. Social networking is the future

Reality: Social networking sites are a means to an end, not the end game. Although the platforms will shake out technologically (as does every technology), getting comfortable with social networking sites to develop your personal brand will not go away, even if the platform changes. Believing that social networking is a vanishing trend is dangerous and there are many business owners utilizing these channels to market their businesses successfully.

Marketing using social media should be part of your marketing plan and not a replacement for other more traditional marketing efforts. Newsletters, seminars, partnering, and yes, the telephone, are all ways to have a conversation with your customer. But ignoring social media is not a strategy for success. The best way for most small business owners to market their business is to get involved in social media now as it is a process and not getting the process started is basically suicide. Why give your competitors an edge, making your business anonymous and relinquishing control of your future?

What do you think: Myth or Reality?

Small Business Marketing on the Internet

Debra — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:31:28 +0000

Getting found on the Internet is one of the most cost effective mechanisms for finding new business, yet many business owners don’t have the time to figure it all out or the budget to hire someone to do it for them. Using the Internet to market your business has its complexities like all marketing strategies, but understanding the basics can go a long way towards having new customers find you when they are in need of your services.

There are two valuable avenues available for marketing on the Internet – Internet marketing and social media marketing. These are two different, but very related and overlapping strategies.

Internet marketing is using online media to execute more traditional marketing techniques such as advertising, direct marketing, and public relations. Social media marketing uses the Internet to create relationships via conversations, networking and word of mouth marketing techniques. One could say that Internet marketing uses “push” marketing and social media marketing uses “pull”.

Using the Internet to Get Clients

To start down the path of Internet marketing for your business, you need to understand what you want to accomplish with marketing on the Internet. Just like all other marketing programs, before you decide that you want to “do” Internet marketing, you need a plan. And, like any marketing program, if not planned properly, you can spend a lot of money with little result. Figure out what you want to accomplish with Internet marketing and if your target audience is using the Web to find the services you offer.

The following simple diagram gives you a roadmap to help you implement these strategies without becoming overwhelmed.

Develop Your Web Presence

The first thing to do is to invest in a good web site or blog optimized for search engines. You may be thinking, “Well duh”, but I still speak with many business owners who really don’t have a web property of any kind. And if they do, their web site was created by a friend and has not been touched for a few years. The following tips will help you get started:

Regardless of whether you choose a web site or a blog, consider having it created in WordPress. In the past year, I have been converting the web sites of most of my clients to WordPress. Even if they don’t need a blog right now, they still have a flexible site where they can manage the content for themselves. In a very timely post, Shama Hyder lists the top 10 reasons for using WordPress for your web site.
Get a great design that is easy to navigate and consistent with your brand.
Build your web site and continue to work the content so that it reaches your ideal clients with the precise message that resonates with them.
Write regularly on your blog with content that appeals to your target audience. A blog without regular posts lose its readers quickly.
Purchase the domain name for your company name and your personal name. You will take control of your complete online reputation. Both domains can be pointed to the same site or blog initially. Matt Dickman has a post on Owning Your Digital Identity that suggests you not only get your domain name, but secure your ID as soon as possible for all social media sites now.

These are only basic tips to get started. If you are not sure how to proceed, get help from someone who understands this space and can mentor you through the process. In addition, this is only the first in a series of posts about marketing your business using the Internet. There’s a lot more coming in future posts that cover many of the topics in the diagram.

How Not to Get Business

Debra — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:31:03 +0000

In this era of social media and our ability to effectively connect and build relationships with so many folks around the world, why do some people think that by filling out my contact form, I would ever consider outsourcing client work to them?

This is a really big pet peeve of mine!

A few times a month, I get several emails similar to the following from people using contact forms on my web site. Some come from freelancers and some from college students looking for work.

This bothers me because it’s:

Totally impersonal and solicitous, showing no interest in me or my business other than looking for work
Inappropriate since my contact form is meant for people who may be interested in my services, not the other way around (if I were hiring, I’d have a careers page)!

(Bob Smith is an alias so sorry any Bob Smith’s out there!):

email: bobsmith@bobsmith.com
first: bob
last: smith
company: bobsmith.com
telephone: 508 555 5555
message: Dear Team Vista, (Really personal greeting)

I am contacting you to offer my services as a Freelance SEO Copywriter.

My name is Bob Smith and I’m based in Boston. You can view a few writing samples on my website here: http://bobsmith.com/

I am very dedicated and available to start work immediately.

I can write any type of SEO article that you may need me to write and I can also include screen shots and images via Flickr’s creative commons in your articles if you so desire.

My rate is US$35/article for any article between 300-1200 words. I also write blog posts of the same length for US$35/blog post. Please feel free to mark my rates up to your clients.

Let me be very clear – this does not build trust or make me want to partner with you. Most business owners are careful about who they select as subcontractors because it reflects on them. I’m sure this person is a very good writer, but it shows no initiative to build a relationship with me.

Before you will ever get people to trust you enough to hire you as a subcontractor, you need to first develop a strong personal brand and make yourself visible to me via social media.

Find out more about me by visiting my LinkedIn profile (it’s clearly posted on all my web properties).
Start reading my blogs to understand my areas of expertise to see how you could add value.
Join my community via MyBlogLog, follow me in Twitter and take an interest in what I do.
Start writing your own blog and make your knowledge and expertise visible.
Comment on my blog with intelligence and relevancy.

Develop a relationship with me first and then, maybe if I need a writer for some client work, I will seek YOU out.

Social media makes it so easy to develop relationships with people anywhere in the world who could potentially send business your way. Don’t turn them off by taking this shotgun, impersonal, almost spammy approach. Take the time to learn about that person, what they may need in the way of resources for their clients, engage in a conversation and develop trust and a relationship that will help both of you in the long run.

Small Business Internet Marketing – Part 2

Push vs. Pull Marketing

Debra — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:20:07 +0000

Someone on LinkedIn last week asked the question about the difference between push vs. pull marketing. The definitions posted for push marketing by various marketing folk were pretty consistent.

Push marketing is when you use various activities to get your message in front of your ideal client. The marketer is in control of what the message is, how it is seen, when and where.

Ok so that coincides with what I term traditional marketing activities. Doing things to make sure your target audience sees or hears your message.

However, I was a bit surprised at some of the answers when it came to pull marketing. First my definition of pull marketing:

Marketing activities that encourage your prospect to seek you out and find out whether you have something of value to offer them. Pull marketing activities build relationships and can include blogging, podcasting, article marketing and networking (both on and offline). Pull marketing uses the law of attraction, incorporating all the components of your personal brand to attract and retain these people as your biggest fans.

But as I read the various definitions of pull marketing, I realized that social media has changed its definition, and probably for the better. Today, pull marketing is about developing relationships that attract your ideal client to you. It shows the value you offer to these prospects so that they naturally are attracted to your products and / or services.

Before social media, pull marketing was viewed quite differently. In an article from MoreBusiness.com dated August 2006, it states that:

Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice the prospect to buy your product or service. Some classic examples are “half off!” or “bring in this coupon to save 25%” or “buy one get one free”, etc.

With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased, time limited value so that the customer will come into your store to buy.

And although that last statement may be true, I view this type of marketing as push as the promotional strategies are still controlled by the marketer, not the target market. Offers such as these should always be included in your marketing activities to draw people in. But they are not pull strategies in my mind.

True pull marketing is based on us being visible where your ideal client hangs out and becoming part of their communities. Greg Verdino says it well:

Pull is not about pulling consumers in; it’s about giving consumers a reason to pull us in. Remember truism #1 – they’re in control; they (not we) decide where they go and what they experience. We’ve lost the right to pull consumers anywhere (if we ever really had that right at all.)

Pull means that we to go to them, join their communities, give them reasons to voluntarily draw us into their personal media experiences. We’re not interrupting them. They’re opting into us.

To get your ideal client to discover you, develop a marketing plan that combines a strong personal brand and word of mouth marketing tactics (both online and offline) to increase your exposure as an expert in your discipline. This will help you attract them to you and make them your true fans.

Social Media Marketing – Myths or Reality?

How to Make Your Blog Stand Out in a Crowd

Debra — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:03:34 +0000

I answered this question on LinkedIn so I thought I would share my answer here with you as well, but with a bit more elaboration.

The way to gain visibility for your blog is to make it an ongoing marketing project. Do all the marketing basics that you would do for any activity:

Pick your target audience
Understand what they need and how you fulfill that need
Speak to them in terms they understand
Provide useful, relevant information

Just as with all marketing, it takes time for you to build momentum and get the recognition that you want. Remember the three phases of relationship marketing: VCP model (visibility + credibility = profitability – defined in your terms of success) and apply that model to your online and social media marketing effort. Your blog is the medium to use to develop relationships with your audience, letting them get to know you, your expertise and your passion. It’s your “home base” for developing a strong personal branding and you need to put in a quality effort so that people can form their opinion of you based on what they see on the blog.

Post regularly (at least 2-3 times a week) with relevant content. Create a plan to get you on track and make a list of topics that you can write about if you find yourself with writer’s block. Just as I did here, use the questions on LinkedIn as food for thought. It’s always easier to write when you have a question posed to you. It’s the conversation starter!

Once you get the blog going and get beyond that first couple of posts, here are things you can do to make your blog more visible and stand out from others.

Comment frequently on other blogs and add value to the community so you get noticed.
Submit your blog to Blogged.com and use the rating to evaluate how you are doing against other blogs in your space.
Create a community on MyBlogLog, add the widget to your site.
Make sure you adhere to good SEO practices on the blog – if you use WordPress, install the All In One SEO Pack plugin
Include video and images as well as text content. If you don’t create your own videos, link to others that are relevant.
Include a link to your blog in every profile you create and in your email signature and make sure your blog is fed to all of your profiles in social networks.
Notify your Twitter followers of a new post via the Twitter Updater plugin to WordPress
Design your blog to appeal to your target audience, embracing your personal brand identity.

But on top of it all, keep at it with consistency. When you think you are only talking to yourself, all of a sudden your MyBlogLog starts filling up with little images, people visit and comment on your site and you start to feel like you truly belong to a community.

Please add your comments on your favorite activities for gaining visibility for your blog. I’ll take them all and create a checklist for folks to use.

Personal Brand, Transparency & Authenticity

Debra — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:15:02 +0000

In the workshop I gave last week: Personal Branding: Promote Your Expertise using Social Media, we discussed the importance of being authentic and transparent when developing your personal brand. With the ease of social media, what you do exposes a little bit more of your personality each time. You no longer can put on a false face and get away with it. You need to manage your online reputation to ensure you always come across to others as you want to be presented. In this world of always connected, everyone is important, every email is important and everyone who visits your blog or social network profile needs to see the authentic you.

Listen to Gary Vaynerchuk in these two video blog posts. The first is on the importance of listening and responding to everyone in today’s word of mouth on steroids world.

Gary is authentic. His Wine Library TV shares his knowledge of wine in an upbeat, easy to understand way. He lives and breathes his personal brand as viewed in his blog GaryVayerchuk.com where he shares his secrets of word of mouth marketing for his personal brand. This video blog is one of his secrets to a strong personal brand.

Watch one of Gary’s videos and you will view a strong personal brand in action.

A Résumé or a Social Media Portfolio?

Debra — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:56:58 +0000

I’ve been following a few posts that have been debating the purpose of having a resume in this world of social media. In Seth Godin’s post, “Why bother having a resume;?”, he posits:

I think if you’re remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn’t have a resume at all.

The rationale? It’s an excuse to reject you. A resume makes you ordinary.

And I agree.

Having a boring, play by the rules resume can be the kiss of death. When I was a hiring manager at my last company, I had a recruiter begging me to meet with a candidate of his for a technical marketing position I had open. I told him based on her resume, she didn’t have the qualifications. But he convinced me, I met with her and we hired her because of her personality (she fit right in) and she was extremely intelligent. In the end, she was a rock star! What a shame it would have been to have passed over this candidate (and thank goodness the recruiter was a good sales person!).

If you are remarkable, you need to market yourself in a way that you stand out from the ordinary and be noticed by those who are interested in your products and services. Whether you own your business or are marketing yourself to a company to get your dream job, you need to develop and nurture your personal brand to build visibility and credibility.

But just like the world isn’t totally ready to abandon traditional marketing activities for a plan of exclusively social media, the world is not totally ready to abandon the traditional resume for a purely social media portfolio. Even Google requires a resume!

Everyone, whether you are an independent professional, business owner, or entrepreneur, should have the following in your social media portfolio:

Complete profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks relevant to your expertise.
A blog written with authenticity and expertise.
An about page on your blog that gives the reader a sense about who you are.
Comments on other blogs within your expertise that are thoughtful, professional and add value to the blog.
Put presentations you’ve given up on SlideShare and link to them from your About page. If you have a recording of the presentation, you can sync the audio with the slides.

For those seeking a new career opportunity, add your well-developed resume to the mix.

There is certainly more you can do, like develop a regular podcast, but you should create the basics and keep adding to them.

Then when someone is interested in what you have to offer, hand them the resume with a list of all the places they can find examples of what you can do on the Internet.

Personal Brand and Passion

Debra — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:38:38 +0000

I had the opportunity to be a guest on the morning show at WCRN 830 True Talk Radio hosted by Maurice Lewis who was in for Peter Blute. Joining me was Jack Cutone. The discussion centered around the presentation I did last week on the value of personal branding at Jack’s class at Quinsigamond College called “Business Administration Capstone”. The goal of this course is to prepare these business students for making the transition from school to work.

Whether you are just coming out of college or have been out in the market for a while, there are two challenges that I want to impress on people:

You need to let your passion drive your career choice.
You need to differentiate yourself from others in a way that is truly unique.

The first challenge is finding a career where you can “do what you love and love what you do” which makes it easy for you to succeed. In a post on the Personal Brand Marketing Blog, Vikram Rajan states:

“Branding, especially personal branding, is an emotional experience: For our prospective clients, and for us. If we don’t feel our passion and purpose, then how can we expect our clients to?” … If you don’t have the inner craving to be rich and famous in your niche target market Community, then don’t even bother.

Think about what he is saying about having the “craving”. Have you ever had to market something you didn’t really believe in? How did you do? I bet people figured it out pretty quickly and you didn’t succeed at achieving the goal you set out. Now, what if that something you are trying to market is you? How successful do you think you will be if you never have a passion for what you are doing? How do you find that unique quality about you that helps you stand out in the crowd?

When you are passionate, excited and engaging, it makes it that much easier to separate yourself from your competition. If you love what you do, you will take the time to:

Blog and comment about your passion
Participate in the social networks
Attend networking events
Write a book or develop an information product
Continue to develop your expertise
Start a podcast or video podcast

Think about what it would do for your personal brand if your blog, article or profile is one of the top results in Google when someone searches for something related to what you do. How do you think you would be perceived by your potential client? What kind of doors would that open for you?

Personal Brand

Debra — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:27:12 +0000

At a recent presentation I gave to college students about ”Marketing Yourself”, we talked about what it takes to create your personal brand and how social media marketing plays a very strong role. Everyone needs to think about how they are perceived in the market, both from an offline and online perspective. In competing in the job market or for new clients, it is to your advantage to have a professional image developed online so that people can easily find out more about you.

As independent professionals, free agents or entrepreneurs, social media marketing can be used as a very effective strategy to build your brand and enhance your reputation as an expert in your discipline. Before you embark on this path, you first need to decide what you want to be known for. What is your unique differentiator? Then as you would with other types of marketing, you need to develop a social media marketing strategy that consistently reinforces your unique differentiator through your actions.

Do you have a plan to write articles and distribute them?
Have you built your profile on LinkedIn, Plaxo Pulse or other social networks that are relevant to your business?
Do you have a blog, read other blogs and comment intelligently on them?
Are you contemplating how to incorporate podcasts or video into your strategy?

Social media marketing is an overwhelming topic but can be implemented in small steps. Start simple by developing a blog and commenting on other blogs. Put a plan in place for what new techniques you will learn and implement and by when. If you don’t incorporate social media marketing into your brand development, you may find yourself left behind.