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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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Personal Branding Interview: @BrianSolis How to Engage in the New Web

Brian Solis is one of my virtual mentors.  I follow his work online in the new web and I think he is one of the smartest in the space.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him and to talk briefly about his latest book, “Engage”

Brian Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media marketing and branding agency in Silicon Valley. Solis is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. Considered one of the original thought leaders who paved the way for Social Media and PR 2.0, Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club and is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup.

Nuggets from our Interview

  • Engage was written to help companies build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web.
  • Engage is a book designed to scale with you as you grow whether you are a small business, non-profit or being a part of an enterprise organization.”
  • Champions effect change.
  • Being an expert doesn’t engender change being a champion does

Quote

“Who I am today and who I want to be tomorrow are separated by the things I do today.” – Brian Solis

How to Follow Brian

Twitter:  @BrianSolis

Blog:  www.BrianSolis.com

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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)

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Age of Conversation 3 – Social Thinkers, Marketers, and Creatives Announced

Age of Conversation #AoC3

The “Age of Conversation 3: It’s time to get busy” authors were announced today. It is a collaborative book that brought together over 200 of the world’s leading social thinkers, marketers, and creatives in its third edition. It is an honor to be one of the featured authors to add a chapter and be a part of history.
The brain children behind this project are bloggers Drew McLellan (Iowa) and Gavin Heaton (Australia) who put in countless hours coordinating and managing this project.

Very soon you will be able to purchase it directly from Amazon or a number of other online book stores.

Book Cover Design: Chris Wilson (@freshpeel)
Follow the conversation in Twitter by following the hashtag: #aoc3

List of Authors

Adam Joseph Priyanka Sachar Mark Earls
Cory Coley-Christakos Stefan Erschwendner Paul Hebert
Jeff De Cagna Thomas Clifford Phil Gerbyshak
Jon Burg Toby Bloomberg Shambhu Neil Vineberg
Joseph Jaffe Uwe Hook Steve Roesler
Michael E. Rubin anibal casso Steve Woodruff
Steve Sponder Becky Carroll Tim Tyler
Chris Wilson Beth Harte Tinu Abayomi-Paul
Dan Schawbel Carol Bodensteiner Trey Pennington
David Weinfeld Dan Sitter Vanessa DiMauro
Ed Brenegar David Zinger Brett T. T. Macfarlane
Efrain Mendicuti Deb Brown Brian Reich
Gaurav Mishra Dennis Deery C.B. Whittemore
Gordon Whitehead Heather Rast Cam Beck
Hajj E. Flemings Joan Endicott Cathryn Hrudicka
Jeroen Verkroost Karen D. Swim Christopher Morris
Joe Pulizzi Leah Otto Corentin Monot
Karalee Evans Leigh Durst David Berkowitz
Kevin Jessop Lesley Lambert Duane Brown
Peter Korchnak Mark Price Dustin Jacobsen
Piet Wulleman Mike Maddaloni Ernie Mosteller
Scott Townsend Nick Burcher Frank Stiefler
Steve Olenski Rich Nadworny John Rosen
Tim Jackson Suzanne Hull Len Kendall
Amber Naslund Wayne Buckhanan Mark McGuinness
Caroline Melberg Andy Drish Oleksandr Skorokhod
Claire Grinton Angela Maiers Paul Williams
Gary Cohen Armando Alves Sam Ismail
Gautam Ramdurai B.J. Smith Tamera Kremer
Eaon Pritchard Brendan Tripp Adelino de Almeida
Jacob Morgan Casey Hibbard Andy Hunter
Julian Cole Debra Helwig Anjali Ramachandran
Jye Smith Drew McLellan Craig Wilson
Karin Hermans Emily Reed David Petherick
Katie Harris Gavin Heaton Dennis Price
Mark Levy George Jenkins Doug Mitchell
Mark W. Schaefer Helge Tenno Douglas Hanna
Marshall Sponder James Stevens Ian Lurie
Ryan Hanser Jenny Meade Jeff Larche
Sacha Tueni and Katherine Maher David Svet Jessica Hagy
Simon Payn Joanne Austin-Olsen Mark Avnet
Stanley Johnson Marilyn Pratt Mark Hancock
Steve Kellogg Michelle Beckham-Corbin Michelle Chmielewski
Amy Mengel Veronique Rabuteau Peter Komendowski
Andrea Vascellari Timothy L Johnson Phil Osborne
Beth Wampler Amy Jussel Rick Liebling
Eric Brody Arun Rajagopal Dr Letitia Wright
Hugh de Winton David Koopmans Aki Spicer
Jeff Wallace Don Frederiksen Charles Sipe
Katie McIntyre James G Lindberg & Sandra Renshaw David Reich
Lynae Johnson Jasmin Tragas Deborah Chaddock Brown
Mike O’Toole Jeanne Dininni Iqbal Mohammed
Morriss M. Partee Katie Chatfield Jeff Cutler
Pete Jones Riku Vassinen Jeff Garrison
Kevin Dugan Tiphereth Gloria Mike Sansone
Lori Magno Valerie Simon Nettie Hartsock
Mark Goren Peter Salvitti

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Personal Branding with Skype

Skype Social Media Workshop with Hajj E. FlemingsOn Saturday, February 27th I had the opportunity to teach a social media session, “Closing the Digital Divide” for @PowerOrgMATH who conducted an on-site workshop for students and parents in the Columbus Ohio area. One of the best parts of this session is that I was able to participate from Michigan via Skype . Based upon my positive experience I thought I would post a blog about ‘Personal Branding with Skype’.

Historically I haven’t been a heavy Skype user.  My recent usage of this tool has exposed me to the significant personal branding opportunities. The power of this tool is not that it gives you that cool Jetson type feel, but its ability to connect people in different locations while providing a face-to-face interaction real-time.

Understand it is a free tool  and you are only as good as your internet connection and hardware.

Skype Basic Set-Up
To get started download the free-of-charge Skype software.  You will need to set-up a profile, have access to an internet connection and some basic hardware:  laptop/desktop computer/mobile device, web cam, headset, and recording software (the recording software is only required for recording audio and/or video).

Skype Profile

Hajj E. Flemings Skype Profile
•    Skype Handle - I recommend establishing a Skype handle (which is your number or contact) using a name that is consistent with your other social network profiles.  (My Skype handle is ‘HajjFlemings’ which is my real name).
•    Avatar – Use the consistent avatar that you used across all of your social networks (actual photo).
•    Bio – Brief bio that should be consistent with your other social networks.

If you are a high profile person, celebrity, or have stalker concerns use a Skype handle and profile that is appropriate and safe for you.

Hardware/Software

Web Cams –  Only required if video is being enabled.  One of the best web cams is the  Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000.

Headset –The headset is strongly recommended for recording purposes.  The biggest  factor that will go into the type of headset you will need is the type of device you will using (desktop computer, laptop, or smartphone).  I would recommend you doing some research.  I personally have a Plantronics.

Recording Software – The personal branding value is maximized when the video functionally is ultiized.  To record you have to download a third party application.
I have listed a few different options.

•    Vodburner (PC Only)
•    Call Recorder for Macs
•    Screenflow – Screenflow is a screencasting software that can be used to capture the video is a cool application that a friend of mind Henry Balanon swears by.

Personal Branding Value:

In the example I used I was able to extend my reach to a group of educators that were outside of  my network with no cost to me except my time.

Products that can be produced from Skype
•    Audio Podcasts
•    Video Podcasts
•    Video Interviews
•    Workshop Presentations

Value Provided By Using Skype
•    Extend your network
•    Extend your reach
•    Reinforces your relevance in the new media space.
•    Its FREE!!! It saves you money and time.
•    Sharable content if recorded, uploaded and linked to.

I hope this short blog post opened up your eyes to the possibilities of using Skype as a personal branding tool.  Please share your thoughts in the comments section about how you have used Skype as a personal branding tool.

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