Take It Face To Face

Self-branding may be hard, but it is skepticism about the online community that prevents people from going further with it. It is important to remember that all you have is an opinion and networking is the only way you will get anywhere. Selling yourself is a skill that takes work and time. Some tips on how to get better at self-branding:

1. Bark loud, even if your bite isn’t quite as bad.
2. Do not post anything on the Internet that represents something you do not want to be known for.
3. Self-branding is about portraying yourself as an expert and making your voice heard.
4. Your opinion is more important than what people think of your opinion. Negative attention is still attention.
5. People will believe what you say and want to know you if even if you still learning to be an expert.

Marius Chitosca blogs about how the government and people of the law can portray a positive image of themselves and maintain it. He asks why can’t an individual trying to brand herself do the same thing?

After the groundwork is laid down by creating a social network of all sorts of people, the rest plays out on its own. That network of people can be taken anywhere and can be used for multiple purposes for whatever it is you want to pursue.

A good example of this would be the music industry. Diddy is known widely to be great. Whether or not you like him or his music, his confidence in what he does and how he does it makes him great and his self-branding is successful. There are tons of examples that give the same idea. If you think you are good, then most likely other people are going to think you are good.

I am personally exploring Twitter as my first attempt to branch out into the social media world. That is just my first step to self-branding.

Self-branding is not only about self-confidence, it is about the illusion of self-confidence. What can you do to make yourself look good? Find something you are passionate about and work it.

Americans love fast food. I must admit, I have been to 30 different countries in my life, eaten just about everything that is edible, but for my money there is nothing better than cheap, fast, American fast food. I can hear it now, I have no class or I haven’t had “blank”, but on a daily basis I don’t eat “blank” I eat fast food (every day my friends).

Corporate personification in fast food is nothing new; The King, Dave, Ronald McDonald, that stupid taco bell dog, and my favorite Jack are staples of the fast food franchise. For my money none do it better than Jack from Jack in the Box. If you have never had Jack in the Box make your way over to the left coast and grab an Ultimate Bacon Cheese Burger and become a convert.

As you can see in the picture Jack is well Jack. He is the president and founder of the company and is married to a lovely woman. He has a couple of kids and lives on a ranch in Colorado. I know all this because I subscribe to Jack’s MySpace Page. Sure there are a ton of other social networks out there that Jack could be on, but he has over 100,000 followers and updates pretty regularly.

Jack is a true personification of the restaurant Jack in the Box. He has a personality, and champions the cause of his restaurant. By using Myspace, Jack is able to extend his reach far beyond that of his restaurants. I can watch Jack running for president, play with his kids, or even try to get him to send me an antenna ball.

Jack could really start breaking into social media by hoping onto twitter or starting a new blog. I would subscribe because Jack is fun to interact with. By making Jack fun to follow the marketing department has found a way to drive me to their marketing. I don’t care what Wendy is doing, or what craziness McDonald is getting into, but I love getting updates from Jack.

Do you know of any other companies using social media to personify their brand? Would you follow Jack knowing it is all just a big marketing play? Should The King have a Facebook Page?

I am coming into the world of marketing and PR as an intern. I have expected one thing and seen another. Part of my indoctrination is to create a list of goals that pertain to marketing/pr and social media. I have found that my goals are on par with the goals of any PR/Marketer interested in finding out about social media.

As a “newbee” I would like to start off by laying out five goals to calm my nerves while entering the world of social media. Coming from a predominantly academic background, I tend to over-think things and write with that academic flare. I have a few goals that I would like to follow and at the end of this internship I would like to see how or if I have reached them.

1. Put Academic Writing Styles Aside.

While still being a student, I intend to lose that AP style writing while in the workplace and become more of a conversational writer.

2. Read. Read. Then Read Some More.

I would like to read up on and learn as much on social media and how to be successful as I possibly can. I want to follow trends in the media and see what works and what doesn’t.

3. Pretend You Are Already Where You Wish To Be.

I want to start thinking less like a student and more like a professional in the field. By this I mean by pretending I am already in the field I can get more out of the experience.

4. Practice Gains Confidence, You Don’t Know Unless You Try: Be Open.

I wish to become a great blogger and I think that practice will only help. I think by experimenting with as many different facets as I can I will eventually find my niche. I am open to anything.

5. Keep Track of Things…Follow Your Progress.

Lastly, I would like to keep a journal of how I am doing and what I am learning in order to gain more insight as to what to write and what I do or do not like about social media.

By following these steps, I think that I will ultimately become more successful in this field. I am open to new possibilities and as the world of social media changes, I fully intend to change along with it. Do you have any suggestions on how best to set my goals for social media?

Viral videos are something ever PR/Marketing person dreams about or has nightmares. When done right a viral video markets itself and spreads your message like no other. On the downside if that message is something you don’t want spread a viral video can be worst enemy.

There are many reasons a video you make could go viral. I like to keep things simple and always try to point out the top 5 or so reasons that a something happened. Sure there maybe 100 reasons something happened but people can usually digest no more than 5.

None of these facts are set in stone, there are always videos that ‘buck’ the rules and become huge hits. See the dramatic gopher to the left. But in on the average we can boil down successful videos to a few key elements.

Message:

A video with out a message is like an email with just a subject line. Sure you will get people to look at it but you won’t keep their attention or get them to pass it on. Your video needs to have a reason to watch it, something that people will want to share.

Hook:

While message is important for a video to go viral it needs a hook. If its Gary Van-Ner-Chuck at Wine Library TV or “will it blend?” your video needs a hook. Something that will get people to pass it along.

Quick:

Almost every viral video out there is quick. No video that that takes 30 minutes to watch is ever going to be a viral hit. Most people watching these videos are sitting at their desk trying to see the entire video before their boss walks by.

Accessible:

If you want your video to go viral you have to make it accessible to everyone and everyone. Host it on as many video sites as possible and let people share it. Create a lower quality version for email and a high quality version for websites. If people can’t find it they will never pass it along.

Fun:

While I can’t define what is per say, I can say that most of the videos I pass along to my friends are fun in some way. They may be clever, funny or even sad, but they have something that makes me want to watch them.

Making a video go viral is not an exact science. There are some tips and tricks but they are not guaranteed to give you the results you want. The most important thing about making a video go viral is don’t expect it. If the video becomes a hit great, if not keep your head up and camera rolling.

I was reading Duct Tape Marketing this morning and I ran across a great article on how business can use Facebook as a professional tool. The article is of great interest to me because it only mentions marketing, as in look at my goods/service, in the last section of the list.

I go to plenty of client meetings who see social media as a tool for cheap or free marketing. I have to remind them that social media, for marketing purposes, takes a great deal of time and effort (neither of which are free). John’s list is great because it shows clients the value add of using social media.One of the great functions of social media is that every day usage turns into your marketing and public relations.

I have a mantra when it comes to marketing with social media, “turn your actions into your voice.” The idea is simple every day you do things that help promote you or your brand. By integrating social media tools into your work day you can help promote yourself by doing your everyday work. Blogging about meetings, asking twitter friends for advice on proposals, posting slide shows through slideshare, heck even creating a Pandora station for your office are all great ways to use social media as tool to promote your brand.

Social media fails when clients see it as an end all to their marketing needs. Social media should be an aspect of almost any modern day marketing plan, but it should never be the whole plan. The old stand-bys of marketing still have immense value and should not be ignored because a client thinks social media is trendy.

Have you had examples of clients trying to push social media projects because it is the new thing to do? How have you dissuaded them or persuaded them to seek other PR/Marketing options? Let me know.