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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Staying in Touch Through Social Media

Staying in Touch Through Social Media

Facebook, Social Media
Back in the day, growing up in the ridiculously awesome town of Franklin, Massachusetts, I was so lucky to have so many friends. It felt like I knew everybody in town. Of course, I haven't stayed in touch with everybody in town over the years, but fortunately, I am able to keep up with a lot of my friends from my hometown and my journey through life thanks to Facebook. That's the beauty of social media, one of the many reasons why Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like are so ridiculously awesome. For personal or professional purposes, we can share our lives with one another in pictures, stories, news and updates. That's the social in social media, something that not enough people realize is such an incredible opportunity. We can…
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What My Northeastern University Students Have to Say about Social Media

What My Northeastern University Students Have to Say about Social Media

Social Media
After our Social Media and Brand Strategy Implementation class at Northeastern University in Boston recently, a few of my Northeastern College of Professional Studies students and I recorded a short video on campus about our learning experience together. Thanks so very much to Rhitika Dutta, Shruti Vats, Chirantan Sanjay Jain and Khushboo Satish Gajwani (behind the camera) for participating in this video in which three of them shared their thoughts on what they've taken away from this course that I have teaching there this semester. I am fortunate to have such ridiculously awesome students as them and all of their classmates. Not only are they ambitious, determined, enthusiastic, hard-working and wicked smart, they are extraordinarily kind human beings. I couldn't be more proud of each and every one of them.…
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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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Social Media, Samuel Adams and More

Social Media, Samuel Adams and More

Advertising, Marketing, Podcast, Social Media
In this episode of my podcast, which celebrates its five-year anniversary next month, I talk about a number of topics. I start off by talking about how I'll be running the Boston Marathon again this year, the 15th time I have run this historic race for a charitable cause. I then share my feelings about how much I love teaching, something I've been doing a lot of at this new stage in my career, and being involved as a member of the leadership team - as president - of the American Marketing Association's Boston chapter. I talk about my new book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media. I go on about the importance of knowing how to use social…
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Be Conspicuous in Your Presence on Social Media

Be Conspicuous in Your Presence on Social Media

Social Media
Be conspicuous in your presence on social media. After all, you never know where your customers, clients, connections and contacts are going to show up on these online communication channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). You want to be there when they're there, which means you can't afford to take much time, if any, off of social media. Share as much content as possible. Check in frequently. Listen to and learn from others. If you don't have the bandwidth, that's one thing. If you know for a fact that your audience members aren't there, that's another. Otherwise, there is no reason a brand, personal or corporate, should not have some semblance of a presence on most, if not all the major social media channels in 2022 and beyond.
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Be Like Kevin

Be Like Kevin

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Kevin Cronin is the lead vocalist and front man for the ridiculously awesome rock band, REO Speedwagon. He's a great performer and a great guy. But that's not why I want to talk about him today. I want to talk about how great he is on social media. Brands, businesses, professionals, people...everybody likes listening to Kevin and his legendary band perform, right? But not everybody knows how much they can learn from Kevin about how to use Facebook, Twitter and the like. It was more than 40 years ago when I saw REO Speedwagon at the Boston Garden. They put on a spectacular live show then, as I am sure they still do today. Yes, they're still touring, and I would love to see them again in concert. But in…
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Making My Book with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume

Making My Book with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume

Blogging, Business, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Social Media
In this episode of my podcast, Bob Cargill's Marketing Show, I talk with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume about the making of my new book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media. Maria was the designer of the book and Morgan the editor. Both of them are recent graduates of Suffolk University in Boston, where I am an adjunct professor. I can't thank them enough for their skills, talent and support. To purchase your own copy of my new book via Amazon, click here.
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