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Brand Camp ‘09 e-Flyer: Early Bird Reg. Ends: 9/18)

Brand Camp '09 - Personal Branding 2.0 Conference (eflyer)

Early Bird Registration Ends 9/18!!!

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<a href=”http://www.BrandCampU.com“><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3928350591_673fa098f1_o.jpg” width=”864″ height=”1152″ alt=”Brand Camp ‘09 – Personal Branding 2.0 Conference (eflyer)” /></a>

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Brand Camp University – Believes in Social Good and partners with the April Holmes Foundation

Brand Camp University is proud to announce its partnership with the April Holmes Foundation, Inc. The goal is to use the power of “Social Influence” via Twitter, Facebook, blogs and our conference to raise awareness. With each ticket purchased for Brand Camp ’09 you are contributing to the April Holmes foundation.

Mission of the April Holmes Foundation
Helping The Mission, Monetary, educational and service gifts are asked of you to continue this mission of the April Holmes Foundation so we may be able to provide scholarships, medical assistance, tutoring, & social opportunities to enrich the livelihood of persons affected by disabilities. Since we are 501(c)(3) organization, your contributions are tax-deductible.

Charity Tweetup: The Brand Camp University Conference tweetup will be accepting donations (optional: not required for entrance) for the April Holmes foundation.

We are very excited to engage and encourage our online communities to truly do something remarkable to help impact lives.

AH-Foundation-Logo_webFor more information:

April Holmes Website: www.AprilHolmes.com
Twitter: @AprilHolmes

“Life is truly about giving more than it is about receiving and we look forward to giving back”. – Hajj E. Flemings

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Human Networks: Personal Brands are built on relationships

3428525318_0729579705_b-1_wAs a personal brand you are in the business of people and relationships, which is the currency, that business is built upon. My good friend George C. Fraser put it best with the following quote.

“Business is about relationships. Without relationships you have no business. Without relationships you have no business being in business. I am going to tell you what no one has ever told you, you are in the business of building relationships.” – George C. Fraser, Author of Click.

Relationships are not numbers. Facebook friends, Twitter followers and Linkedin connections are geographically dispersed or concentrated communities of passionate people that can enable you to grow personally and professionally, spread ideas, build your reputation, build influence and create demand.

The last time I checked life was a team sport.

Nine Tips for Building Relationships
1. Build it before you need it – The worst time to build something is in the middle of the storm, build your network before you need to use it.
2. Add value – Give before you get. Givers get more than takers any day of the week.
3. Maintain trust – Gaining the trust of another requires you be competent and reliable. It also requires you to leave someone with a positive emotional impression . . . – Chris Brogan (Trust Agents)
4. Be irresistible – What is it about you that people can’t live without? You need to know what it is.
5. Re-tweet - Show some love to your Followers and other posters
6. Develop Second Degree Relationships – Linkedin or other social network connections that are created through your network that you didn’t invite in directly can be very valuable connections. Remember opportunities can come through people you do not know.
7. Write Blog Comments – The greatest gift you can give another blogger is a comment. (I need to do a better job myself in this area)
8. Meet People Face-to-Face – Nothing beats face to face, attend tweetups and meetups
9. Swim in different circles – Expand the circles that you travel in.

Human Networks
• Seth Godin calls them Tribes
• Twitter calls them Followers
• Facebook calls them Friends
• Chris Brogan calls them Trust Agents

Whatever you call your network they are all made up of people, treat them with care.

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Personal Branding: It’s Not What YOU Say.

There’s a lot of personal branding advice out there, much of it really good.  There are guides to SEO for your personal brand, The Brand YU Life, how to answer “What do you do?” to support your personal branding efforts, and how to brand yourself on LinkedIn.  All of these are focused on what you put out there — your marketing message.

But your marketing message is only one part of a cohesive personal branding effort.

Think of the last time you had a crappy experience with customer service — something you really got your panties in a wad over.  How do you feel about that company today?  Have you ever considered egging someone’s office?  Written a strongly worded letter?  Wanted someone fired?

Bet that perspective isn’t anywhere in their brand messaging.  But it’s definitely a part of the brand experience.

Your brand is more than a summary of your resume, a polished professional photo and a strong handshake.  It’s even more than well-crafted copy and a cohesive online presence.  It’s a feeling.  It’s a relationship. Where effective personal branding truly comes into play is when you can align what you say with what you are.  That’s when you have a strong,
integrated brand.

Do you know what other people think about you?  What they perceive as your talents and your weaknesses?  How they think you fit into the world?  Their estimation of your competitive value?

If you don’t, you’re not effectively managing your brand.  Understanding how you’re perceived can help you improve your value, and better understand the value you’re already delivering.

How do I know how others experience my personal brand?

  • Ask. Find a few trusted advisors who might be willing to give you some honest feedback and ask them what they think of you.  Try the following script:
“I was wondering if you might be willing to help me with my [business development, job search, etc.] by giving me some feedback.  Would you be open to that?”

(Get agreement.)

“Great.  It’s really important to me that you feel comfortable giving me completely honest information.  Please don’t worry about hurting my feelings.  The more direct and honest you can be for me, the more helpful it will be.  Just a couple simple questions.  First, what do you think of when you think about me?”

(Give space for reply.)

“Fantastic.  Thank you.  That’s very helpful.  One more question — is there anything that you think I can do to improve?”

(Give space for reply.)

The key to success here is to be relaxed, open and comfortable with the conversation.  The person you approach may be nervous.  So, the more you can convey that the information is both important to you, and also not a big deal, the more likely that you’ll get an open, honest assessment.

  • Listen. Even without asking straight out, there are clues delivered all the time.  In what contexts does your name come up?  What are peoples’ reactions when you ask them for or offer help?  Do people say the same things to you over and over?  (“I know you must be swamped” might indicate that you’re perceived as overworked or not open to participating in new projects.  “I know you’re the person to go to for X” may show your perceived expertise, or perceived willingness to help.)  Look for trends or themes.
  • Notice. What results are coming your way?  Are you often invited to participate in groups, or do you seem to be missed?  Are you getting new assignments?  Is training available to you?  Or do you feel like you’ve stagnated?  Seeing opportunity come your way is a positive indicator of your brand, and seeing it pass you by is a negative.  It’s up to you to determine exactly what part of your brand is bringing success and what is getting in your way.

Take an interest in how you’re perceived, and you’ll learn how to better market yourself.

Kristi Daeda is a Success Coach and creator of Career Adventure, a blog which helps professionals in the pursuit of their inspiring work.  To receive her free report, 51 Ordinary and Extraordinary Places to Find a Job, sign up for her free Career Kick Start newsletter.

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Your Personal Brand is Your Promise

Handshake

Your personal brand is the unique and differentiating value that you bring to any given situation, team or project; however, it goes well beyond just that. Your personal brand isn’t just your greatest and unique strength. It is your promise to those with whom you interact of what specific unique and differentiating value or strength they can count on you to deliver consistently.

While presentation is undoubtedly important to your overall impression on others, whether it be how you dress or how you design and maintain your online presence, presentation simply supports your personal brand. Your promise is inevitably the backbone of your personal brand and the key to the success of your personal branding strategy.

If you’re not 100% sure what your promise is or you would like to fine-tune your current personal brand, consider asking yourself and/or your career stakeholders (family, friends, coworkers, clients, supervisors etc.) the following questions:
• Why would you choose to work with me? What would you seek from me that you couldn’t get elsewhere?
• What words would you use to describe the feeling you get when you work with me?
• What do you consider to be my greatest strengths? For which ones would you seek me out over others?
• If you had to choose one word or phrase to describe me, my contributions and/or what you consistently expect and receive from me, what would it be?

Once you have collected the answers, compile a list and identify any overlaps and similarities. Depending on your career goals, choose the unique strengths and qualities from your list that you believe you can deliver consistently and that you take pride in offering in your contributions. These will become the foundation of your promise. Based on these strengths and qualities, come up with a professional, yet creative and memorable word or phrase (i.e. your personal brand) or use one from your list that really encompasses what you have and promise to offer.

Use the following template to effectively present your promise to others:
I consider myself to be [your personal brand word or phrase] for I believe this to most effectively represent my proven ability and promise to [your list of the unique and differentiating strengths and qualities that you are promising to deliver on a consistent basis].

I offer my own as an example:
I consider myself to be a Generation Y Brand and Marketing Generator for I believe this to most effectively represent my proven ability and promise to bring endless energy and passion to my work, instill motivation in my teams as both leader and contributing member, propose new and creative ideas and solutions and deliver immediate and lasting results in diverse environments and industries.

In my case, I identified my unique strengths in creating energy, relationships and ideas and chose the word “generator” as my personal brand and promise. It has been very effective and helped me not only brand myself across all of my career outputs, including my online profiles, resume, cover letter and interviews, but also helped me get the job.

This promise statement is especially effective when answering the age-old interview question, “Why should we pick you?

Chris Perry is a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.

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