Personal Branding: Encourage People to Take Pictures of You

Personal Branding: Encourage People to Take Pictures of You

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
A great way of getting the word out about what you have to offer your community is to have someone else do it for you. That's one reason why it's so easy for celebrities to grow their personal brands. Everywhere they go, their pictures are taken and shared with the world. They have no privacy. And in most cases that's okay with them. That's life in the public eye. That's free publicity. In rare instances, however - certain live performances such as the two I saw recently, by Dane Cook, the comedian, and Jethro Tull, the rock band - photographs and video recordings are forbidden. They don't like the distraction, for one thing. They also want complete control of their intellectual property. Not to mention...they're so ridiculously successful, they can…
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Are You a Social Media Double Threat?

Are You a Social Media Double Threat?

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
It's one thing to have the skills to navigate your way around the digital world, to utilize social media effectively behind the scenes. It's another thing - and it's a big thing, too - to be able to be in front of the camera, behind the microphone, to be a content creator as a personal brand, either representing yourself as an individual or on behalf of your employer, a brand, business, etc. That's a double threat. Yes, if you can do both, if you can be both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, you would be considered a double threat, an invaluable asset to the organization for which you work. So I encourage all my students, all my clients to have both the skills to manage social…
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How Your Personal Brand Benefits Your Employer

How Your Personal Brand Benefits Your Employer

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Having a strong personal brand as an employee can benefit your employer in more ways than one. For starters, the fact that you are so active on social media means that you have the digital skills necessary to successfully navigate your way around the online world. You understand the technologies and tools, but you are also able to create content that has the potential to go viral, that certainly can serve as a positive reflection on the organization where you work. You are a renowned thought leader and influencer, someone your colleagues can count on to leverage your vast network of information and resources on their behalf. Your words alone can help amplify a brand's messages far and wide, going a long way towards helping them grow their business not…
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Why College Students Should Focus on Personal Branding

Why College Students Should Focus on Personal Branding

Branding, Education, Marketing, Social Media
I tell the students in my college classrooms that they are all going to graduate with similar grades, degrees, credentials, honors, etc. So how are they going to stand out among the competition for jobs? How are they going to differentiate themselves when a prospective employer is looking at them versus those who are angling for the same role within their company? My answer is personal branding. Ideally, students - and, of course, anyone else who is looking for a new job, no matter where they are in their own career journey - should have a steady, strong presence on social media, sharing content, showing off their expertise and engaging with others here, there and everywhere online. That's how they can appear conspicuously among the crowd of recent college graduates…
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Coach Prime – A Great Football Coach, A Great Personal Brand

Coach Prime – A Great Football Coach, A Great Personal Brand

Branding, Leadership, Marketing
Coach Prime. Great football player and baseball player back in the day. And now he's a great head college football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. He's a great personal brand, too. He's not afraid to speak freely and frequently. He's always in the headlines, always on social media, always in the news, always on our minds. And because he's such a strong personal brand, his words carry weight. He has a huge impact on all of those around him. Me, you, all of us can be like Coach Prime. We just have to speak up, put ourselves in front of the camera, share our knowledge and expertise with our followers and fans, and be conspicuous in our presence whatever we do, wherever we go. That's how to be…
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The Importance of Having a Strong Personal Brand

The Importance of Having a Strong Personal Brand

Boston, Branding, Marketing, Social Media
My wife, Barbara, asked me recently why it was so important to have a strong personal brand on social media. Among other things, I told her that you can't be in front of people in real life, IRL, all the time, but you can be in front of them and heard by them almost all the time on #socialmedia. So you want to share content online on a steady, continuous basis that is a positive, accurate reflection of who you are as both a professional and a human being. I had a lot more to say about the topic, of course. Here's my answer to Barbara's question in its entirety...
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Teaching, PR, Inspirational Stories and More with Kim Ring

Teaching, PR, Inspirational Stories and More with Kim Ring

Boston, Business, Leadership, Marketing, Podcast
In this episode (Episode 173) of my podcast, Bob Cargill's Marketing Show, I talk to Kimberley Ring about her very inspirational career journey from founding her own PR agency, Ring Communications, over 15 years ago to her unbridled passion for teaching today as a faculty member at Suffolk University. About Kimberley Ring Allen Kimberley Ring is the founder of Ring Communications - one of the fastest growing integrated marketing firms in Boston. She is known as one of the leading public relations professionals and social media influencers in Boston and is known for her work with high profile brands in the lifestyle, hospitality, and sports industries. A self-made publicist and business owner that has built a successful career around joining “old school ethics” with “new school techniques,” she has been…
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Ridiculously Awesome Branding by Northeastern University

Ridiculously Awesome Branding by Northeastern University

Boston, Branding, Marketing
Meandering around campus at Northeastern University in Boston recently, I noticed the paw prints of the school's mascot, Paws, painted along the walkway, which made perfect sense to me. After all, the Husky is the school's official mascot and nickname. But I have to admit, I was impressed by the lengths that the school went to in putting those prints on the ground. That is branding at its absolute finest, make-believe paw prints as if the school's mascot had come to life and was actually making its way around campus with students, faculty, administrators and others. How can your business, organization or institution leave tracks so that members of your audience can't help but be reminded of your presence wherever they go? Online or in the real world (IRL), what…
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Using Social Media to Spread the Word

Using Social Media to Spread the Word

Marketing, Social Media
Wait! What? Yes, it's true. Believe it or not, I went to church recently. The Franklin United Methodist Church to be exact. The same church I went to as a kid growing up in the ridiculously awesome town of Franklin, Massachusetts. At the most, I go to church only a few times a year, on average. I always enjoy the experience when I'm there, though. Always. This was a particularly great day to be sitting in the pews with my wife, Barbara, and my mother - who's been going to this church for over 60 years. First of all, my sister, Cathy, was playing the organ, as she has done countless times there over the years going all the way back to when she was just a teenager. Watching her…
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