Podcasts Enhance Word of Mouth Marketing for Small and Personal Brands

June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Podcasts improve business and personal brand word of mouth

With the surge in smart phone use, most online activity can be done handily and on the go. Apart from the usual phone calls and text messages, there are a lot of things that you can do like taking notes, capturing photos, playing games, listening to your favorite podcasts or recording your own, among others. The modern customer is on their mobile device more than ever. As a result, a shift is being experienced in how consumers buy certain products or services. This is why entrepreneurs and small business owners have tapped several avenues to take advantage of the mobile internet platform. As it has always been, people like to engage on a personal level with regard to products that interest them in order to ensure it meets their active lifestyle. They want to know information at the most convenient time for them. People continue to multitask. They want to know more about brands even while they're on the treadmill, on the road, or while at work.  Podcasts provide a way for people to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Trends, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

The F-Bomb Loses More than it Gains

May 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
How profanity affects your personal brand

Have you ever been tempted to use the “f” word in the office, a meeting, or in a presentation? Even if a select few think you're cool or entertaining because you dropped the f-bomb, it’s guaranteed that the majority of onlookers will judge you harshly. Here are just four reasons why you should never use the f-bomb in a business environment. You come across as inarticulate A good number people use profane words when they can't think of a suitable word or sentence to express their point. When you drop the f-bomb, people may assume that you cussed because you have a limited vocabulary. If your colleagues or boss label you as inarticulate, they'll be unlikely to trust higher level work to you or let you give important presentations. People label you as immature If you think dropping the f-bomb is cool, people will think that you have an immature sense of humor and don't take your career seriously. Remember, you're not a teenager anymore and swearing in a business … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding for Careers, Personal Branding For Entrepreneurs, Personal Branding Quick Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Who You Like – Built by Association

March 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Facebook Like

While many brands are concerned with the number of “likes” that their own personal brand social sites gain, there is another type of “like” that is affecting you as well. Have you ever considered what topics, pages, and brands you “like” on social sites like Facebook? Those likes may be affecting your brand’s image more than you might consider. With the variety of subject material on social sites, it’s easy to get caught up liking new pages and brands without first investigating them. Even if they turn out to be un-relatable to your personal brand, we may like them at the moment, or something on them, or even simply because a friend recommended we liked them. This is one of the many reasons why it’s so important to regularly clean up your social sites. What apps are obsolete? Which pages fail to represent your brand’s values or interests effectively? Basically, your “likes” are building a profile with your social account that is ancillary to your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Exuding Your Brand, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Your Vision, Values, and Visibility

February 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Business meeting

When we define our brand, there are a few simple components that declare who we are and what we strive to accomplish. In any industry, there are two very powerful statements that carry a powerful message of value for its brand. These statements have a powerful impact on how your audience views your brand. Do they see what you see? Do they want what you want? This later question is perhaps the most essential ingredient when expressing your own desires as they must always coincide with the wants and desires of your audience. Statements that define value As an initial declaration, the mission statement is up at the forefront, establishing what your brand’s primary objective is. What do you want to achieve with your day? What is the goal you wish to achieve? While it might seem perfectly professional to focus on the details of your exact purpose, it can put limits where they don’t belong, often inhibiting the true mission of your brand. Your mission statement, and all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding For Entrepreneurs Tagged With: , ,

What is Your Personal Brand Feeling or Experience?

January 31, 2013 by 2 Comments
feel

One of the primary characteristics that define a brand is the uniqueness that your experience provides it. While we might attend the same seminars, classes, and even read the same books, the knowledge we gather from them will always be different. The same goes for the experiences that we encounter in our everyday activities within our brand. The clients we encounter, the audiences we engage, and even the techniques we try and test, all influence how we feel about our brand. All of these encounters help a brand generate its own unique image. The question is: Do you allow that to exemplify your brand by sharing it with the audience? The feeling How do you feel when you successfully engage an audience? Is it good? Are you excited? Is it a new opportunity for your brand? These feelings are natural for any individual working towards personal branding, and can help humanize your brand and generate a relatable image for your audience to see. How do you extend it through your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding for Careers, Personal Branding For Entrepreneurs, Strong Personal Brands Tagged With: , , ,

Google Author Rank and Your Personal Brand

January 17, 2013 by 1 Comment
google+

Google is renowned for its ability to find and share the information users want to see, and now it has taken it a step further. It has provided a recent addition to optimizing search engine results. The addition of Author Rank allows those that generate material in the online world to be found in a new way. Google has been known to use Google + to influence search results. The +1 feature refers users based on their own networks. When searched, an article shows up with a +1 by the user(s) and becomes a higher ranked result for these searches. With the use of Google +, Google is using a new attribute called Author Rank to influence search results. What You Need to Know About Google Author Rank Basically, Google is going to prioritize authors according to their expertise to improve search results and potentially outweigh spammed materials that were previously gaining high rankings (abundantly publicized with the overuse of keywords). This is great news for those who generate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Personal Branding Trends, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

10 Secrets to a Personal Brand Upgrade – Part 2

January 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
women speaker

In part 1 of this two-part series I offered the first 5 secrets to your personal brand upgrade for 2013. Here are the remaining 5 secrets to be an awesome New You in the New Year! 6. Build "Me to the Power of We" Your personal branding success is ultimately determined by both your ability to communicate your unique promise of value AND your communities capability to magnify your brand. Your brand grows exponentially by others touting your value. Make it a goal to build the 'we' that will support your brand. Join LinkedIn groups related to your expertise, search for opportunities to be a guest blogger, comment on blogs in your niche, sponsor a 'blogathon' on your own blog, start an interview series and introduce thought leaders to your community. The opportunities are endless to build a community that will in turn grow your brand. 7. Focus on Your Real Clout, not Klout! Your online community and tribe is very important but do not forget about the "real world". We often get … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Strong Personal Brands Tagged With: , , ,

Blogs Matter to Your Personal Brand and Word of Mouth

December 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Businesswoman working on laptop.

For any online marketing campaign, there are certain tools and methods which are needed to improve visibility. These tools include the simple, yet practical blog. Perhaps, it’s a compilation of a few tidbits of information combined with some personal experiences, but the effect is far from simple. It is the gateway of communication between brand and the online audience. What happens when you don’t have a blog? There are still a few brands which do not partake in this particular strategy, but the numbers are dwindling. As more brands discover its importance and realize that it does more than just share, the network of bloggers increases in number every day. What Is a Blog?  This is the question that every brand must ask themselves before they put pen to paper (or rather fingers to keyboard). Blogs have numerous characteristics, some broad and others more specific to their brand. For the most part, blogs share the brand so that the audience can not only relate to it but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Trends, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Personal Branding Prescription: Demonstrate Your Expertise

December 21, 2012 by 3 Comments
Doctor Show Notepad

The medical care industry landscape has been dramatically changing in the past decade. Many factors contribute to this change: Government and insurance cost-reduction policies, decreasing doctors’ reimbursement, increasing doctors’ expenses, rising competition, rising medical tourism markets, social networks, connected world, word-of-mouth, etc. These economic changes create real challenges doctors have to face. The good news is that there are a lot of tools today that can help physicians face and overcome their challenges. Making use of these tools is no longer an option, it’s a must, if doctors want to be profitable and succeed. To be effective, these tools should be used with the right approach. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and "Differentiate Yourself"! In today’s climate, doctors must change gear to differentiate themselves from their colleagues and competitors. They have to step out of their comfort zone and change the way they see their practices. They should consider … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Exuding Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Personal Branding Trends Tagged With: , , , , ,

Building Your Personal Brand ‘Communication Wheel’

December 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Bicycle wheel

Managing your personal brand year in and year out involves a regular process of reflection, selection, and implementation. We first reflect on the successes and challenges of the past year. After this, we select the goals and milestones for the next year. Finally, we implement a communication plan to clearly, consistently, and constantly put our brand into motion. The Parts of a Brand Communication Wheel Many people know me as 'the personal branding guy on the bicycle' so I like to visualize a communication plan as the wheels on a bicycle. Without wheels a bicycle cannot move! Likewise, a brand communication plan allows your personal brand to move forward and continue your ride to career and life success. Let's take a closer look at a the parts of a bicycle wheel and how they relate to your personal brand communication wheel. 1) The Rim The rim of your communication plan represents your unique promise of value. This is what differentiates you from everyone else.  On the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Exuding Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips Tagged With: , ,
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