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Announcement: Brand Camp University adds Adjunct Lecturers: @KellyLux & @Riddick3point0

Today Brand Camp University is excited to announce the addition of two new Adjunct Lecturers (Bloggers): Kelly Lux and Lawrence Riddick. They bring a great deal of knowledge and incite from their career experience and we are very happy that they have decided to share content on BrandCampU.com. They will be posting content that is career, social media, and personal branding related. For more information about Kelly and Lawrence her bio have been included below.

Kelly Lux – School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University as Social Media Manager

I recently joined the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University as Social Media Manager. My duties entail designing strategies for the social media efforts of the Syracuse iSchool and Syracuse University. I manage SM accounts on a variety of platforms and engage with a set of diverse populations, while building community and brand awareness.

We are forging partnerships with a variety of social media companies in order to build and expand Syracuse University’s presence in this space. It is our intention to make SU the leader in social media among our peers.

I lead a team of graduate and undergraduate students on a variety of social media projects designed to enhance the social media experience of prospective and current students, alumni, potential donors, employers, researchers, educators and the community.

At the iSchool I am a member of the iComm Team which is responsible for internal & external print, social and web communications content and design.

Most recently, I worked in Career Services at SU managing the Mentor @ SU program, making connections between students & alumni for networking, using social media, one on one meetings and workshops to deliver career advice, and planning and hosting networking events across the country.

For more information follow Kelly at: @KellyLux

Lawrence Riddick – Principal at Clarity Consulting & Design

Lawrence is a dynamic marketing professional with over 8 years of experience in helping brands and ideas emerge and evolve. He has working experience in marketing, design, project management, publishing, and writing.
Most recently while at Experience Marketing as an Experience Director, Lawrence helped his team execute and activate hundreds of sponsored events on behalf of General Motors. Prior to Experience Marketing he worked as a project manager in the branded content publishing division of Campbell-Ewald Advertising on publications such Corvette Quarterly and OnStar Magazine.
Lawrence started his career with an entrepreneurial effort as owner of an agency, The Riddick Group, that serviced small to mid-size businesses with marketing communication solutions. In addition to creating marketing plans and ad campaigns for clients, he expressed his design and writing abilities, as publisher of a branded publication for the apparel company DAVERSE in Detroit, MI.

He is currently consulting individuals and small organizations at Clarity Consulting and Design on marketing, branding, and content creation in the web 2.0 space.

For more information follow Lawrence at: @Riddick3point0

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7-Tips on Being a Valued Curator

Do you want to be influential or are you comfortable with being mediocre? As a personal brand, there is no prerequisite saying that you have to be influential over millions of people. However while maintaining a personal brand online, you are secretly charged with being a curator of content or solutions for the people who follow you. This is the value that you offer to your audience, regardless to if you have 1 million followers or 300.

As a curator, you share the best content or solutions online for your followers and advocates to consume. For years, news organizations, magazine editors, radio disc jockey’s, and fashion stylists have curated pop culture for us and when we sniffed, bit, and accepted what they offered, many brands have reaped major success in return. With social media giving some of that power back to us, we have individually been able to take on the role of civilian editors; sharing and publishing content links. Doing this successfully, can pay considerable dividends for your personal brand. We have 7-Tips, that we think will help you do this effectively to maintain a healthy brand and establish influence with your audience.

Passion
The internet oozes with passionate people. Everyone online usually stakes the house on what they believe in. Passion is necessary in order to get people to believe in you and the things you share. If you recommend content, products, or any type of solution online, you better show them with strong conviction why you think it was great. Otherwise they may perceive your offering as a waste of their time. Inject energy and passion into anything you publish and share.

Don’t Ride the Wave of Fads
Fads come and go like the wind. If you want to have a personal brand that is relevant, make sure your recommendations have substance that transcends fad status. There are also many things you recommend that naturally have short life cycles. So for instance if you recommend the iPhone 3GS and the new iPhone 4 comes out, that is a natural progression in that product. This doesn’t mean they are in fad status and as a curator you have to be able to decipher which is what. For example, Myspace wasn’t necessarily a fad, however the company failed to innovate, which helped it secure it’s approaching spot in oblivion.

Fan-boy-ism is Allowed
Fan-boys and fan-girls are mocked and ridiculed; many times rightful so. Heres the skinny, if you are crazy about a brand or a good piece of published works — sing its praises to the roof tops! However, be able to recognize any faults of a brand you recommend. Don’t be a blind lover, see the truth and the truth only.

Regurgitate Excerpts, But Only With Your Personality
One of the tenets of being a curator of content online is that if you are going to recommend or share existing published works, do so with respect. When you do this, it is good to link back to the source. Regurgitating someone else’s good work, gets your personal brand card revoked real quick. When referencing someone else’s work, point back to that content through linking and give your own personalized twist on why you thought it was a great piece of work.

Quality is King
Museum curators are heralded because of the great body of work they manage to source in their museum. This is no different for your personal brand. Share and present works to your followers that is tasty. It helps if the content or brand you are sharing is relevant and current to the times. Reality is that quality is in the eye of the beholder, but if you have a good handle on who your followers are, you will hit the mark most of the time. Which brings us to our next point…

Know Your Followers
When engaging your followers, its best to know the make up of the group. If you don’t have a connection with many people that are super tech savvy, it wouldn’t be wise to talk about computer motherboards or microprocessors. It’s not relevant to them and the information doesn’t add value to them.

Be Right.
If you say that something is good or encourage people to try a brand, your recommendation has to be right. Are you going to knock it out of the park all the time? Probably not. Will people the click links to every single article you send their way? Probably not. But the higher you’re batting average, the more people will be eager to listen to what you have to say.

Go out and curate, I am looking forward to being influenced by you.

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LeBron James: Personal Branding Case Study (Part I)

We are all witnesses.  This message has never rang more true then on July 8th at 9PM EST.  This moment will forever be etched in the history of basketball lore.  The decision, the debate, the letter (Dan Gilbert), and the statement (. . .taking my talents to South Beach).

LeBron has been a prodigy before he stepped on the world stage as a sophomore at St.Vincent – St. Mary’s High School in Arkon, Ohio.  As fans we could not get enough of ‘King James’ we purchased his jerseys, watched his games, wore his shoes and drank his water (Vitamin Water.)  We watched in amazement as he has grown from an 18-year old young man into a businessman with aspirations of being the first billion-dollar athlete.

Sports is a Business, Period.

Sports is a business, period.  It is a dog eat dog world.  I don’t see any NBA owners running to the aid of Antoine Walker who is in debt after earning over $110M and supporting 75-people.  Why because it is business?

Was LeBron wrong for ‘The Decision’?  The decision to leave, no he was a free agent.  The decision to blast his hometown on global TV, yes.  There was nothing good that could possibly come out of the event even if he raised $2.5M for charity.  Brand building is a very violate undertaking.  Every decision, every relationship, every move, every word can grow, jeopardize, and/or destroy everything you have ever worked your entire personal and professional life.

Historic Basketball Note: Michael Jordan was essentially forced out of Chicago after being loyal to the Bulls and delivering 6-NBA championships.  Michael Jordan was given the door by the Wizards once he stopped playing basketball.  How loyal should an athlete or an employee be to an employer?

Financial Impact of LeBron

For anyone who thinks the decision was not about finance is living under a rock. For LeBron it wasn’t about maximizing his earning potential with his NBA contract but let’s take a look at the numbers.

  • The City of Cleveland generated $3.7M per Cleveland Cavalier home game .
  • Cavaliers were 2nd in home attendance with near 100% capacity (2010-11).
  • Cavaliers team valuation in Forbes dropped from $476M to $390M.
  • Heat road attendance was 93% it will exceed 100% in 2010-11
  • He will save an estimated $25M in state taxes signing with Miami.
  • LeBron leaves $15M on the table (Sign & Trade)
  • Stock prices of the publicly traded Madison Square Garden dropped.
  • Each playoff game in NYC or New Jersey would deliver a $3.6M financial impact to the region.
  • ‘The Decision’ raises $2.5M for the Boys & Girls Club.
  • ‘The Decision’ was the third-most-watched program on cable television 2010 (9.95M watched).
  • Rating as a viable endorser only fell from 69.9% to 67.6% (This may change)
  • Jersey sells for LeBron is #2 behind Kobe.

LeBron’s Personal Brand – A Typical Millennial

LeBron is a typical Millennial and his behavior aligns with the characteristics of that demographic.

Characteristics of a Millennial (A few of the traits LeBron exhibited)

  • They are becoming empowered personal brands in the workplace and are impacting their employers and the way they communicate.
  • Blended work life that allows them to work when, how and where they want to.
  • They want to work with their friends.
  • They share their lives online (in this case TV)

What drove his decision?

What decision would have been best for LeBron depends on what was most important to him?

  • Basketball Legacy: The best move for basketball legacy would have been:  Cleveland or Chicago
  • Financial: New York.  Hugh media market and increased endorsement opportunities.
  • Championships: Miami or Chicago.  Miami provides that option while playing with his friends.
  • Personal Brand: Cleveland.  Great story hometown hero impacts the local economy economically.  If he would have won a championship his legacy would have locked.
  • Personal Satisfaction: Miami.  I believe he wanted to be happy and felt that playing in Miami with D.Wade was going to provide that.

What is the true impact?  It depends on the metrics you are measuring. Legacy, financial, strength of personal brand, value to marketers, and/or online sentiment. Financially I believe there will be little impact.  Unless there is a major character issue or another PR stunts like ‘The Decision’.  His contract with the Heat is guaranteed.  His major sponsors like Nike aren’t going anywhere.  (He probably won’t sell too many shoes in Cleveland.)

My Personal Opinion:  The strategy LeBron and his team used to communicate ‘The Decision’ was ill conceived and  over the top knowing he was leaving Cleveland. You don’t diss your hometown on TV.  LRMR and LeBron have a PR, social media and trust nightmare on their hands and whatever other word you want to use.  I also believed he should have personally called Dan Gilbert prior to the special.  Since LeBron didn’t return a call or text to Dan Gilbert since the season ended there is probably more to this story beneath the surface that we may never know.  At the end of the day it is business.

However, I commend LeBron for making a business decision not driven by emotions.  As a personal brand you need to do what is going to help you live the most fulfilled life, also understanding that you have to be able to live with the results of your decision.  At the end of the day the final chapter of his personal brand is not written I believe it is going to boil down to what he does on the court.  As we all know winning has a way of changing things.

Let me know your thoughts.

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Personal Branding Interview @JasonFalls: Developing a Social Media Strategy

Jason Falls is a thought leader in the new media space and I had an opportunity to talk with him recently about social media strategy.

Social Media Explorer is the online home and blog of Social Media Explorer LLC, which is my consulting company. I’ve been called all sorts of things by folks around the social media, public relations, marketing and communications industries. I shy away from self-aggrandizement.

I see myself as a social media educator, a social media strategist and a public relations professional. I help companies understand the social web and show them how engaging consumers online can help their business. I’m also a writer, both of blogs and other materials, and try to spend much of my spare time doing that.

If I have a unique perspective it would be the result of having lead a national advertising agency’s Interactive and social media efforts, working with Fortune 100 brands as a social media strategist and serving as an independent consultant in the social media industry. I have advised major, regional and niche brands including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, Humana, Gary C. Johnson Law Offices, Purely Products, SHPS, Sun Tan City, Mighty Dog, Louisville Slugger, Bionic Gloves, The National Center for Family Literacy and WeSeed.com.

SocialMediaExplorer.com, the blog, gets a fair amount of recognition, of which I’m very grateful. The most notable of which is probably listing in the top 20 or so (it changes daily sometimes) of the Advertising Age Power 150 Blogs. For a few weeks in 2009, I was actually ranked No. 1. (Not sure why.)

Nuggets from our Interview

  • Social Media strategy:  Start with the end in mind.
  • Social Media strategy is about setting measurable goals.
  • Make your social media goals singular.
  • After the goals are established then you can focus on tactics of how to get their.

How to Follow Jason

Twitter:  @JasonFalls

Blog:  www.SocialMediaExplorer.com

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2010 Career Re-Tool Workshop w/@HajjFlemings on 07/13

The Michigan Technological University’s School of Business and Economics – Tech MBA Online has developed a Career Re-Tool Workshop to help you Re-Tool, Re-Wire and Re-Think your career and future.

This FREE event is designed to enable you to evaluate your career planning strategy and position you to grow personally and professionally.  This is a must attend event for job seekers, those in career transitions and people who want to re-tool themselves for promotion in a challenging job market.

Register Today!!!!  Seats are limited!!!!

Register at:  http://bit.ly/2010retool

Speakers

Hajj E. Flemings – Personal Brand Strategist/Founder of Brand Camp University

Brenda Rudiger – Director of Alumni Relations at Michigan Technological University

Paul J. Hindelang – President at Results Systems Corporation

Agenda

Networking

Re-Tooling yourself with Education

We will explore the value of education as a career strategy to help you stay globally competitive in a challenging job market. This session will focus on the benefits of an MBA and higher education to empower you to reinvent and re-think your future.

Re-Wiring your Career with Social Networks and Online Tools

Come and learn how to rewire yourself through social networks and online channels to connect with companies and identify new career opportunities.  Become a person that understands how to translate their network into value.

Re-Thinking your Financial Strategy

Has your 401K got you down?  It is time to re-think your financial strategy and prepare financially for your career transition?  Come and get fresh new ideas for investing, financial planning, insurance and social security.

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