Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Without getting all bridezilla on everyone here’s the experience that ignited my fire and wrote this post: I’ve recently become engaged and while shopping around I fell in love with a venue, however, the events coordinator failed to effectively follow-up. I work full-time, go to school and now, I am planning a wedding. You better believe- if I am about to spend my hard-earned-cash at a venue and ask for a call on my lunch hour, I expect the courtesy. If it slips their mind once I will let it go, but twice makes me twitch and THREE times makes me cross them right off my list.

Which brings me to my point: the events coordinator of that venue was not the owner, she was, however, a representation of what I may expect had I chosen them to host my wedding.

It’s possible you too have built a flourishing brand of your own and are no longer the everyday face of your company, your brand. When you’re no longer answering your own phones or selling your own product it’s time to remember that you are the company you keep!

When you hire administrative support, sales associates or PR, they become your company. These employees interact with your customers, make sales, pursue follow-up, develop relationships, brainstorm ideas and engage future clients. All of the effort you’ve put into branding both yourself and your company can be tarnished by the company you keep.

Haven’t you ever had an experience where you’ve entered into a store completely ready to purchase merchandise, but the sales associate was rude, so you walked away? That discourteous sales associate became the company to you (for that brief instant). They lost a sale for their store and possibly tarnished a client’s attitude towards that stores brand.

It is so important to manage the company you keep; hire people who believe in your business, who love what they do and who realize how valuable they are to your survival.

It’s a theory that runs in friendship, business, teams and partnerships: Folks, YOU ARE THE COMPANY YOU KEEP!

Fellow readers: make me feel less like a bridezilla; have you learned a lesson from the people you’ve hired or have an experience where an employee of a brand you LOVE tarnished your relationship with the experience of shopping that brand? Please share your comments, stories and advice!

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

You Are The Company You Keep is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Social media has given us great ways to protect and build our digital reputations. Today we have the ease of searching conversations, the ability to set alerts to help us monitor our names, the constant availability of learning opportunities and more ways to communicate and interact with others. All of these tools, which were not available just a few years ago, now make it possible for us to be proactive in maintaining, building and protecting our good name. Here are five easy ways to do just that:

1) Set Goals

I am sure you have done this already, but just in case, first do a search on Google for your name in quotation marks. It is important to see what comes up on the first page. The first page of a google search result is precious real-estate. Then set up a simple spreadsheet so you can keep track of your digital footprint. Do a little research and spend some time collecting numbers. How many Facebook followers do you have? What kind of traffic do you get on your site? Once you have the numbers you can then decide on your goals.

Are you interested in growing the numbers of links/connections/followers or do you want more one-on-one engagement? Or are you more interested in getting retweets on Twitter (which, as Guy Kawasaki said recently is “now the sincerest form of flattery”). Once the goals are in place, track the results in the spreadsheet and adjust as needed.

2) Learn

To accomplish any of these goals, you are going to need to learn. The new world of communication is moving quickly, which naturally lends itself to a couple of advantages. First, there is a lot of room for experimentation, so use your talents and skills to communicate in your own unique way. Second, this experimentation has led to collaboration, and smart people are sharing information all the time. Make sure you make time every day for “learning.” Look over sites and information to keep up with the developments in social media. Currently I am taking part in an online conference, called Social Media Success Summit 2010 and am learning a lot. And among the many sites I visit, one of my daily stops is: PR Daily News: Public Relations news and marketing in the age of social media.

3) Develop Content

To communicate 24/7, which is now the expectation and the norm, you need to develop different types of content. Blogging is a great way to share your knowledge and collaborate with others. However, blogging can be a big undertaking. Blogging expert Denise Wakeman recommends that you blog 3 times a week. If that is a daunting task for you, try guest blogging on an established site or blog in your industry. Another way some of my clients have developed content is through books, ebooks, whitepapers, audio recordings, slide presentations and videos.

4) Build Relationships

Building and maintaining relationships has never been easier. Those of us in sales and marketing have always known the value of relationship building, but now everyone needs to make it a priority. Make sure you have profiles on LinkedIn, and Facebook. Twitter is a fantastic source of information, and an excellent place to learn. People on Twitter are eager and happy to help each other. To get tips on effective communication on these sites, I look to Cindy Ratzlaff who has a daily video tip along with regular blog posts on her site. Social media is an excellent way to build relationships, but don’t forget the value of face to face meetings, phone calls, hand written notes, and emails. It’s good to focus on important clients and influencers, but leave room for the “accidental” connections. Social media networking can be serendipitous, you never know which person may lead you to a new connection or client.

5) Monitor

Social media alerts (Google or Social Mention) are a great way to monitor your name and/or industry. If something important happens in your industry you’ll know about it and can comment. If someone says something positive, a thank you goes a long way. If there is negative chatter starting up around your name or company, alerts keep you on top of it and you can jump in and take care of things quickly. I also use Addictomatic which is a great site for big picture monitoring.

There are many tools and resources now that can help us to become better communicators and better guardians of our reputations. I know it is a big undertaking, but the question to ask yourself is: If you are not investing in yourself, why should anyone else?

About the Author:

Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a web publicity and social media firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. For web publicity and social media news, follow Fauzia on a new Twitter: @WebSnapshot

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

5 Easy Ways to Build Your Digital Reputation is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Imagine an archery target with a bull’s-eye in the center.  Think of your target audience as being the center of your marketing bull’s-eye.  They are who you picture in your mind when you design your product or service, or create your online personal brand.

Remember the rule for marketing success – “Delight the few to attract the many”.

Your target audience is who you “market” your personal brand to.  You may choose to “sell” to people outside this bull’s-eye, however, realize that your personal branding strategy will be far more effective if you focus your aim on a clearly defined target audience.

So how do you define your target audience?

1. Firstly, picture in your mind your ideal customer.  You enjoy working with them.  They are profitable to serve.  They can influence other potential customers to buy from you.  If you could clone them, you’d love to have thousands more like them.  You can see there is good growth potential to serve this type of customer over the next 3-5 years.
2. How would you describe this ideal customer in terms of their demographics?  E.g. age, gender, occupation, income, geography?
3. How would you describe them in terms of their psychographics?  E.g. behaviors, beliefs, lifestyle, brand preferences?

Just as you have created a vision board to capture your personal goals, it is a good idea to also create a collage of your ideal target customer.

The more detailed you can paint this picture of your ideal target customer, the more focused and effective your Online Personal branding will be.

In my next article I’ll cover the 3 laws of marketing physics.

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

How to Define Your Target Audience is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Your target market audience are the people you want to delight and excite the most with what you offer.

It is a big mistake in online personal branding (or any branding for that matter) to try to be all things to all people.  If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.  Your mantra for branding success should be, “Delight the few to attract the many”.

When you have a clear target market audience – your personal brand will have more clarity & focus, and your communications become much more effective.

Having a target market audience is a difficult concept for many people to grasp.  They fear that by focusing on a clearly defined audience, they will be limiting themselves in some way.

Branding success favors a specialist, not a generalist.  If you want to create a compelling online personal brand – think narrow and deep, rather than wide and shallow.

Realize that when you focus on a specific target market audience, you immediately enhance their perception of you as being the “go to person” in your area of specialization – and you can expect to charge more for what you do.

My target audience is business leaders and celebrities who want to create online personal brands to maximize their personal and business success.  What’s yours?

In my next article I’ll take you through a process to help you define your target audience.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

Who is Your Target Audience? is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

As I mentioned in my last article “Think about your future” – the more vivid and compelling you can paint your vision of your ideal future – the greater your chances of achieving it.

Before creating your online personal brand, it is well worth investing time to build your vision first.

Step 1 – Answer the questions posed in the last article

Step 2 – Create a visual representation of your ideal future

Step 3 – Look at your vision, and emotionally connect it every day

In the past I would cut out images from magazines, create collages, and strategically post these on walls around the house in places where I would see them often – next to my wardrobe mirror, next to my bathroom mirror etc.

These collages include images of: my dream car, my dream home, dream holiday destinations and health spas, inspirational physiques, inspirational quotes, awards I want to win, images that represent success and the type of work I want to be doing – pictures of me at my happiest.

These days, I am happy to report that parts of my personal vision have come to fruition. I split my time living between New Zealand, Canada and the USA and now keep everything digital and portable. For example, my laptop screensaver, desktop background, IPOD and  PDA all have a digital collage of my vision for the future. For good measure I also keep a one page laminated version that travels in my luggage as a back-up.

What are you going to do to bring your vision to life?

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

Bring Your Vision to Life is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

My goal is to teach you how create an online personal brand that maximizes your personal and business success.

If you want to develop a personal brand that presents “you” to the world in the most effective way possible I recommend following a proven, structured process.

If you take the time to do things right the first time, you will save yourself from wasting a lot of time in the future.

This proven process starts with me asking you a series of questions -and it will require some deep thinking and soul searching on your part.

One of the habits of highly effective people is that they “begin with the end in mind.”  That means they set goals.  They think before they act.  They get clear on where they want their ship to go, before they set sail and leave the harbor.

So to begin, I suggest you take the time to describe in detail your answers to the following questions:

• What do you want to be known for in the future?
• How will you know when you have succeeded?
• What exactly will you be doing?
• What will you have achieved?
• How will you feel when you have achieved this success?

The more vivid and compelling you can paint this vision of your ideal future – the greater your chances of achieving it.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

Think About Your Future is a post from She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

In my experience most people are not clear on what the word “strategy” means.

It is not about setting up social media accounts and making a lot of noise. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are just tactical vehicles through which you can communicate your brand strategy (whether it is your personal brand or your company brand).

Like any form of marketing, if you want to create a compelling online personal brand you must start by getting very clear on your strategy first. Then you have to make sure you execute your strategy effectively.

Most people seem to jump straight into execution (i.e. doing stuff) with little or no thought to getting their strategy right first. This is a big mistake.

So what does the word “strategy” mean when it comes to your online personal brand?

Your strategy is what makes you meaningfully different and valued by your target audience.

To create a compelling online personal brand, you need to be able to answer the following key questions:

1. What are your goals? What exactly do you want to achieve, and how will you measure your success?
2. Who is your target audience?
3. Why should they care?
4. What’s in it for them?
5. Why should they believe you?

Being able to answer these five questions is just the starting point to create an effective online personal brand.

I look forward to explaining these steps in more details in future articles.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to She Takes On The World and never miss a post!

Do You Know What a Personal Brand Strategy Is? is a post from She Takes on the World

Competition is intense. Regardless of the product or service a person or organization is trying to sell, similar products or services are available. To become the first choice in this cluttered marketplace, branding online and offline is a must.

Building a strong brand is one of the most important things a person or organization can do to increase visibility, build a good reputation, and become a trusted brand. Consumers associate a brand with a certain identity. These identities communicate messages, build credibility, and motivate prospects to buy.

Whether you are building a personal brand or business brand, you can use these 9 tips I follow when I create a branding plan for one of my clients:

1. Be consistent. All marketing material tones and messaging (websites, logos, slogans, mission statement, brochures, postcards, sales letters, newsletters, advertisements, etc) must be consistent. Unclear or conflicting messages cause confusion.
2. Write a mission statement. A mission statement should tell who you are, what you do, and how you can add value to the marketplace.
3. Get involved in the community. Sponsoring a charity event, attending fundraisers, and volunteering builds brand awareness and helps the community. Joining the local Chamber of Commerce is beneficial for connecting with other business owners in the community.
4. Develop strategic alliances. Cross promotions with non-competing businesses are a good opportunity to expand your market.
5. Write a press release. Whenever you launch a new product or service, a newsworthy event occurs, or you achieve a major accomplishment, writing and distributing press releases online and to print media is a great way to increase visibility.
6. Seek testimonials. Endorsements and testimonials are powerful because they build brand credibility and trust.
7. Show off and brag a bit. Add a media page to your website showing where you or your business have been featured.
8. Establish credibility. Become an expert in the industry by writing by-lined articles for industry blogs, websites, newsletters, newspapers, or magazines. Create an organizational blog and print or electronic newsletter for consumers.
9. Engage. Social media is becoming an essential tool. Get involved in conversations, ask questions, give advice, attend workshops, tele-seminars, and network with like minded people. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your network expands.

Branding is vital since it not only defines an organization or individual, but also creates a perception of value. We live in an online world but offline branding is still important. How valuable is your brand? What can you do to further build a strong brand identity?

Branding in an Online World is a post from She Takes on the World