Category Archives: personal branding

where personal branding and technology meet

Just wanted to point you to a nice interview on Dan Schawbel’s blog with Sarah Lacy, journalist and author of Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0.  Sarah comes across as very down to earth and drops some great branding thoughts as she discusses her career and her opportunity to interview some of the innovators and success stories of Web 2.0.  Here are a few gems that jumped out at me:

” That’s the most lasting way to build a brand, one relationship at a time.”

” It just takes building your credibility and trust over time. Put another way: your brand within your small sphere is crucial to build before you can build any sort of larger brand in the world.”

and my favorite

“And second, business reporting done well are just stories about people. People love stories about people.”

Thanks Sarah and Dan for sharing this people story!

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A seven-point tune-up for your personal brand

My friend Mike just sent me a link to a nice article on personal branding: Maintaining your Personal Brand Online by Jonathan Snook.  First of all, I happen to think it is one of the more attractively and readably designed blogs that I’ve seen lately, but I’m recommending the article for different reasons. Seven reasons to be exact.  Actually seven very practical tips for stepping up your engagement in your personal brand, that Mr. Snook has thoughtfully provided.   I won’t spoil his thunder, but I will say that I think these are good, easy to do steps that will help raise your recognizability online. And as you know that is the first of the three Rs of branding.

Visit: Maintaining your Personal Brand Online

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The 3 R's of Branding

The 3 R’s of Branding

Art Butcher of International Business Academies Limited (a.k.a. IBAL) asked me to write a post to share on the IBAL’s new website. While that project is coming together I thought I would share the post here as well:

Everyone has heard of the 3 R’s of education: “Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic”, but have you heard of the 3 R’s of branding? They are Recognition, Reputation and Reaction.

Recognition: We want our products to be recognized. We want the hard work that goes into packaging our products and services, the money we spend on advertising, and all the planning we do in marketing, to benefit our brand, not the competition’s. This is why logos are important. This is why we craft tag lines and slogans. This is why Coke is so fussy about the exact shade and hue of red in their packaging. This is why McDonald’s is so aggressive about controlling the use of “Mc____” wherever it can.

Reputation: In the end your branding is a suggestion that your company makes about its relevance and meaning, and it is your customers, prospects and partners who get to decide what your brand truly means to them. You can be well recognized, but if your reputation is bad the recognition can hurt you. On the other hand, if your product is undistinguished from your competition, a well-recognized brand alone may not be helping you as much as you think. How often have you sneezed, asked for a Kleenex, and been handed a Puff? Did you notice the difference? Did you care? Recognition is naturally associated with reputation, but the reputation is strongest when it encompasses a unique value or serves the needs of a particular niche.

Reaction: This is where the money is made, or lost. You want your brand to provoke a positive reaction, to get people to choose your product over the competition’s. You want a reaction so positive and strong that it can beat a sale price on a similar item or have a customer choose your service over another solution. But a negative reaction can be brutal. Whether you are being ignored on the shelf, or actively boycotted, a negative reaction cycle can be ruinous to your business.
So how do you tune your branding to get the reaction you want? Well the magic won’t happen if the recognition and reputation aren’t right. You have to take Recognition beyond merely locating yourself in an industry or slapping a logo on your business card. You have to approach Reputation in a mindful way – don’t just let it happen, participate! Align your values with the expectation you set for your brand. Know the boundaries of your message and the expectations you are setting with your brand promises. Be prepared to walk your talk and fix it when you stumble. You are in the business of developing and maintaining trust.

Here a few more R’s for you: Repetition, Reinforcement and Rigor: Consistent and attentive behavior, clearly communicated value, and a track record of disciplined delivery will support the 3 R’s of Branding and will get you seeing the Reactions the matter!

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Tune in – new appearance on Connect Grow Profit Radio

Once again, Kathleen Smart has invited me to be her guest on the Connect Grow Profit Radio show, part of the Blog Talk Radio network.  The show will “air” live  at 12pm eastern today, Monday, February 11th 2008, and then be available as a podcast.  We’ll be discussing branding issues for individuals and small companies and further explore the idea of being the ambassador of your brand.

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So Fun, SoCon

Just a quick note to say I had an absolutely great time at at SoCon08!  The turnout was impressive and the attendees were enthusiastic, intelligent and interested in getting some serious conversations on.   I had the distinct pleasure of leading a discussion group on personal branding, which was a blast for me, and hopefully enjoyable and though-provoking for those who participated.  I’m a little exhausted now, but I’ll try to jot down some thoughts on the event soon.  Meanwhile I’ll just say kudos and thanks to Leonard, Jeff, Sherry, Josh, Chris, Kennesaw State, and all the attendees that made it a terrific weekend!

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Fickle Findability

Yesterday my friend Sherry asked me if I would be interested in leading some discussions on personal branding at SoCon08.  Of course I was delighted and flattered, but it occurred to me that it might be useful to offer up a few thoughts to set the stage for the conversation:  What I wish to assert is that personal branding is something other than self promotion.  I don’t mean to be coy.  Certainly an increase in visibility is a likely byproduct of personal branding.  In fact, for many it is a highly desired outcome.  As a business person, I count myself in that number. However, the part that I find really interesting is the fact that it is getting harder to be invisible.   We don’t need to act like P.T. Barnum to be findable – findability is happening to us, and a little more each day. Being findable is not the same concept as being popular.  Many of the attendees at SoCon08 will be people who have embraced the idea of being findable, when popularity was never an overt goal. Being findable is part of how they build community, it flows from their desire to have and share a voice with those who would find that voice of interest.  Vlog, blog, or podcast, link profiles, or tweet@twitter and you are actively enabling your own findability, but it is happening passively too.  You shop online and leave a vendor a comment,  you’re spotted on YouTube by someone’s phone-cam while attending a conference, someone tags you and puts your picture on Flickr, or maybe a customer mentions you in her blog – you didn’t intend it, but you just got a little more findable.  Promotion, as I see it, is about trying to accelerate and control the findability, but the control is an illusion. (You might hang on to the bull for the whole 8 seconds, but are you really in control?) Personal branding is about choosing to participate, choosing consciously to add your voice to a chorus that may already be out there.  A chorus that is probably easier to find than any platform of your own.  So will you be in harmony?  Can you influence the chorus?  This I hope is an interesting place to start a conversation about personal branding.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, Live event, socon, trust | Tagged , | Comments closed
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