Home » Blog » Category: Twitter

When Free Sucks: Google are you Listening? #WhenFreeSucks

I have been singing the praises of Google for years.  I have talked about the brilliance of their FREE model.  When Chris Anderson’s book, ‘FREE’ came out I purchased the book the first week.  Whenever I needed to search for anything on the net I would always go to Google.com.  Then the unthinkable happens, all of my videos were deleted from my YouTube account which is owned by Google. (Note:  All of my videos were in total compliance with their terms of service.)

In an instant my YouTube account with over 13,000 views was deleted. In my mind Google is a great company so I knew they are going to respond swiftly when I contacted them about this simple mistake they made.  I have entered questions into their online forum, emailed questions to YouTube, and called the Google office only to get totally ignored.  I can’t begin to explain to you the level of frustration that I felt because I have gotten ZERO response from one of my favorite Brand.  Over the years I have put a great deal of trust into ‘FREE’ resources like YouTube.  I now understand there is always a tradeoff to ‘FREE’ and one of the main reasons is:

  • No Customer Service: Humans don’t typically service other humans that don’t pay.

The Impact to your Personal Brand and Dependence on Google

How dependent is your business on Google?  I am really starting to re-think how I build my personal brand with Google and other FREE tools.

Some of the Many Google Services that I use

  • YouTube Videos
  • Gmail account emails
  • Google Docs
  • Google Calendars
  • Google Checkout

If your account is temporarily or permanently compromised what is the impact to your personal brand/business?  I walked away from my FREE experience saying I would rather have a paid service that I could hold someone accountable.

Tips for Managing you Personal Brand with FREE

  • Own Your Hub: As a personal brand you need to own the main hub of their online activity. (i.e. www.ChrisBrogan.com)
  • Back-up Everything: Anything in FREE services needs to be backed up:  videos, documents, important emails, etc.
  • Re-Evaluate your Dependence on FREE: Re-Evaluate everything that you have in FREE social networking sites or other FREE services you use.
  • Carefully Select Account Managers: If you have a third party managing any of your social network accounts be very careful.  Your reputation can be compromised and your account suspended or deleted because of inappropriate activity (anything that violates their Terms of Service)

Blog Post on FREE Services and Frustrations

I write this blog post to get you thinking and planning so that you can be proactive in managing your online personal brand.  It is also validates to me that nothing in life is FREE there is always a cost.  It is just a matter of who is paying, when they pay and how much.  Does this mean to stop using Google or other FREE services like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter?  The answer is no but you have to manage your dependence.

Would you be willing to pay for a services that are currently FREE (i.e. YouTube) for customer service and the ability to hold someone accountable?

(Photo Credit: Google Logo Render by mark knol)

» Read more...

36- Tips for Personal Branding with Twitter

Twitter is a great tool and provides many ways to impact, manage and build equity for your personal brand.  In this blog post we will look at 36-tips for personal branding on Twitter.

1. Make your Blog Social – Integrate a Twitter widget into your blog to give it wings. (Example: @careerrocketeer)

2. Custom Background Image – Integrate a visual image in the background that reinforces your personal brand and connects with your blog. (Example: @ChrisBrogan)

3. Polish your Avatar – Integrate a professional looking avatar that is consist across all your social networks that visually looks like you so that people can associate with you.

4. Strategic Social URLs – Choose your Twitter handle wisely. Choose a name that you are strategically planning to build brand equity with.

5. Be a Trust Builder – Twitter is more than a channel where you build a large number of followers. You are really building trust with the people who follow you.

6. Character 2.0 – Your tweets are a character stream that people can validate.

7. Think before you Tweet – All tweets are now archived forever by Library of Congress (LOC), all tweets from March 2006 going forward. http://bit.ly/dq5Wws

8. Profile Bio – Your Twitter profile should identify who and what you are (Example: @KellyLux)

9. Re-Tweetable Bio – Create a bio that is re-tweetable with 120 characters.

10. Create Touch Points – Each tweet is a potential touch point with a potential employer, business partner, customer or strategic partner so handle them with care.

11. Integrate into your web 1.0 Content – Integrate into your business cards other marketing literature.

12. Own Mindshare – Own Digital Real Estate: tweets, @replies and mentions allow you to position yourself in the mind of your target audience.

13. ROI (Return on Identity) - Over time you are creating return on identity so make sure you are re-enforcing the identity you desire.

14. Become a Sound Bite King – Tweeting forces you to think in little commercials (or sound bites)

15. Own a hashtag - A hashtag is a community of people. Owning the hashtag is a commitment to purposeful content on a selected topic. (For example:  #journchat is the hashtag for the Twitter Chat founded by  @PRSarahEvans which is an ongoing conversation between journalists, bloggers and PR folks.)

16. Be Focused – The focus or goals of Twitter account must be determined. Are you a personal or branded account (For example: @HajjFlemings vs. @BrandCampU .)

17. Biz Development/Lead Generator – Think about how you can create monteizable biz opportunities.

18. Searchable/Query – Query content and keywords that are relevant to your niche it will foster greater interaction with people in the space you are focused on.

19. Broadcast your Blog Post – Great way to syndicate your blog post to your community (Example: @problogger)

20. Blog Post Titles – It forces you to think about tweetable blog post titles. Integrating Twitter handles and titles that people will want to share. (Example: @thisissethsblog)

21. Master 120 – If your tweets are longer than 120 characters you are grounded your tweets and eliminating the more value aspect of tweeting the re-tweet.

22. Twitter List Barometer – Use it as a barometer of how your network views you. If you want your network to view you as a PR Specialist but you are only on underwater basket weaving list then you need to re-evaluate the content you tweet.

23. Attend Tweet-up – As you began to attend tweet-up it is your badge and your ID that is used to communicate. Connect with likeminded people.

24. Track Content – Use Bit.ly or Hootsuite to track to identify quality metric data.

25. Set-up Groups/List to Focus on Content from specific users.

26. Meet People in New Markets – When I travel I use Twitter as a tool to meet users/influencers in new markets using tools like WeFollow.com

27. Pay attention – Listening is critical respond to your @replies and mentions build reputation as being attentive and responsive.

28. Become a Case Study – Melinda Emerson (@smallbizlady) – She developed a strategy 20-months prior to being on Twitter. The end result is that she has used Twitter to develop a platform for people to connect with her on her book ‘Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months’. She realized that 60% of people who buy books buy it from someone they have had contact with.

29. Become Geo Loc Enabled – Geo location apps like Foursquare and Gowalla are great at events like SXSW it helps you to connect with people that you want to network with.

30. Crowdsourcing – Your network is a diverse, geographically disperse community and is a prime target to crowdsource ideas to get quality recommendations and leads.

31. Mobilize – The use of smartphone third party apps allow you to be responsive and connect in real-time on opportunities you don’t the time to get in front of a desktop computer for.

32. Online/Offline – Focus on turning your online Twitter friends into offline interaction.

33. Don’t Argue – Don’t try to prove to someone you are smarter than them by arguing back and forth in a stream of tweets to prove your mental superiority. This will not add value to your brand.  (This was birthed out of a tweet exchange between @claudinerenee and myself about Butler University.  She responded to one of my tweets in which she had more information than me so we continued our conversation offline.  I wanted to understand her position without filling my Twitter stream with our discussion.  I walked away more informed.)

34. Online Reputation Management – Use Google alerts, Keyword searches and third party apps to manage and monitor your Twitter reputation.

35. Account Managers – Be careful who manages your account. Giving a third party access to your account could cause your account to be suspended, lose your account name or to destroy our reputation by tweeting something that is beyond repair.

36. Tom Peters & Seth Godin Rule – It is not about the numbers. As of 06/30/10 together Seth and Tom have 17,303 followers (Seth Godin-5 & Tom Peters-17,298) but they have more influence, a higher quality of life and they make more than most people with over 100,000 followers.

» Read more...

#mbachat 06/07/10 7:30pm EST Topic: “How do I Become a Subject Matter Expert?”

The #mbachat is a 1-hour discussion on Twitter where anyone can participate in our open source conversation. This Twitter Chat is on Monday, June 7th 7:30pm-8:30pm EST with host Hajj E. Flemings and the topic is “How do I Become a Subject Matter Expert?”

How to Follow and Participate:

To participate you can use http://search.twitter.com or http://tweetgrid.com/. Watch for tweets with the hashtag #mbachat and follow the conversation on the @TechMBAOnline Twitter account.

This chat is sponsored by Michigan Tech MBA Online program: www.mbaonline.mtu.edu.

» Read more...

5-Smoking Hot Tips to Promote Your Personal Brand

Right, you’ve done the hard bit and defined your personal brand and created a toolkit. Now what?

Chances are you set out to create your brand in order to attract more business or interest from employers, peers and investors. Let’s reach out to these target groups and bring your brand to market. You will have to be where your customers are and the goal will be to be perceived as better than the competition.

Here are a few steps you can take:

  1. 1. Be the expert

Everyone wants to work with or buy from the expert in their field. This means the expert can pick and choose who to work with and they can set their own price. Becoming the expert is a long-term process but it starts with you making sure to know more than others. You should read blogs, books and periodicals, listen and discuss with industry leaders and fully immerse yourself in your subject matter. In addition to that, always strive to develop new ideas so that you are able to deliver eye-opening concepts to your audience. Look at Seth Godin, this man’s ideas are usually ahead of their time and I would venture to say that he reads and listens more than most of his peers.  (Note:  Being an expert is not a title that you anoint yourself with but is confirmed by the community you serve.)

2. Share your expertise

This is all about believing in the law of reciprocity and trusting that your hard work will come back to you. Although the obvious way of doing this is by blogging, there are lots of other ways you can offer free information, advice or coaching. The point here is that you want to be seen as a person that happily shares great advice with others and this will attract a need for your services as an up-sell. A great example of this would be Chris Brogan, who churns out quality content every day that ensures he stay at the top of his game. His up-sell are consulting services to major blue-chip companies, I suspect you wouldn’t mind being in his shoes.

3. Be well-connected

With the power social media it’s easier than ever to get to know people. Make sure you are active on Twitter www.twitter.com as this is where you can get a feel for what is going on in your industry. Using a combination of offline www.meetup.com and online networking tends to be very effective. Get to know the ‘big cheeses’ in your industry, it really not that hard – they are just regular people that have more experience than you. See your peers as colleagues and not competition, there is plenty of work to go around. Make sure you connect your contacts with other contacts, as they will do the same for you.

4. Work all angles

Avoid becoming a one-trick pony and risk boring people to bits. Mix things up a bit by writing and speaking about your hobbies, about your family and generally injecting a bit of personality in your brand. Don’t just be in ‘work mode’ when you are working and don’t just be in ‘chill-mode’ when you are not. Some of the most lucrative business partnerships ever have been formed outside of the professional arena, when it’s actually a great deal easier to fly in under the radar and create solid contacts.

5. Stay in business mode

The downside to promoting your personal brand is that you can easily get carried away. Taking on too many speaking opportunities, attending too many networking events or blogging too much are all symptoms of this. Your first focus has to be on sales and you have to stay profitable no matter what phase your branding exercise is in. Remember that success breeds success and you will only achieve monetary success by keeping your eye on the business first of all. Richard Branson has one of the greatest brands ever but the no. 1 factor that brought him there is his strong business acumen.

Bottom line

That’s the smoking hot tips for you today; these tips have worked well for others and will work for you. Just bear in mind that whatever you do has to stay authentic and above all consistent with your brand. If there is any discrepancy or discord in people’s minds, you risk doing more harm than good to your personal brand.

Jorgen Sundberg is a London based personal branding consultant with a passion for social media and blogging.  He blogs at JorgenSundberg.net http://jorgensundberg.net and his company site is Personal Branding UK http://personalbrandinguk.com. You can connect with him on Twitter @jorgensundberg

» Read more...

5 Ways to Showcase Your Expertise Online

If you read the Brand Camp U blog, chances are strong that you are looking to build your personal brand around expertise you already possess.  Simply calling yourself “an expert” will not do the trick. Instead, prove it by sharing your unique knowledge and talents with others across the web.  Here are 5 specific web locations that allow you to directly answer questions – showcasing your expertise in the process.

1.  Linkedin Answers

Question Mark ManThe Linkedin Q&A section is an underutilized portion of the  site that is extremely beneficial for both those asking and answering the questions.  The premise is simple: One Linkedin user asks a question to the entire site, and any number of users are allowed to offer their responses.  You can sort by category or search by keyword, allowing you to locate the specific questions that pertain to your field.  Providing a brilliant answer can benefit you in multiple ways:

  • The initial questioner will be extremely thankful, and will likely want to connect with or learn from you further.
  • Other users will notice the smart response, especially if highlighted as a “Best Answer.”
  • A recruiter or potential client might notice your response, and a door could open for you that would not have opened otherwise.

2.  Formspring.Me

Formspring is a brilliantly simple website that allows others to ask questions directly to you.  As Tech Crunch points out, anyone can ask you anything.  Might you get a few off-the-wall questions you don’t know how to answer?  Probably.  But, the site does offer a unique and direct way for would-be questioners to pick your brain on the subjects you know best.  Who knows what connections you might “form” as a result?

3.  Yahoo! Answers

Yahoo! Answers is quite similar to Linkedin answers.  Questions are asked by one individual, and the entire group can provide brilliant (or sometimes otherwise) responses.  The one main difference between the two sites?  Yahoo! answers tend to rank extremely high in web searches.

Want to know something like…“Is there a career that combines green/eco-friendly living and non-profits? Chances are, your web search will feature the top responses from Yahoo! Answers.  There might not be an easier way to get your name and links on the top of relevant Google Search results.

4.  Twitter Chats

Twitter chats are gaining major popularity recently.  As Maria Duron describes, “Twitter chats are when you chat on Twitter around a certain subject and mark each tweet with a hashtag (#) denoting that you are associating it with that chat or topic. ..a Twitter chat happens at one specific time and everyone gathers tweeting about that subject.”

Most often, a set of questions is provided by a moderator, and individual Tweeters respond with their answers.  If your answers are thought-provoking, you are likely to gain a few Twitter followers that want to connect with and learn more from you.

5.  Your Own Blog

Your own blog is certainly a place to showcase expertise via thoughtful blog entries.  But, it can also be an excellent place to answer direct questions from readers.  Essentially, you can set up an “Ask the Blogger” page to mimic the functionality of a Formspring.Me page.  Readers can submit questions via public comments or through a private contact form.

How you answer the questions is up to you.  My “Ask Ryan Rancatore Your Personal Branding Questions” page mentions to readers that the best questions just might be answered in a full blog article – with attribution to the source.

Using any of these five sources to answer questions is a simple way to showcase your expertise across the web.  Can you think of any others?

Ryan Rancatore discusses how to build an authentic personal brand that stands out at Personal Branding 101.  Connect with Ryan on Twitter at @RyanRancatore, or on Linkedin.

Photo credit, Damon Duncan.

» Read more...