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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Rock It On Social Media Like Ryan LaPerle

Rock It On Social Media Like Ryan LaPerle

Music, Social Media
Do you know Ryan LaPerle? If you live in the Boston area, you may know him without knowing you know him. If you ever go to Faneuil Hall Marketplace, you've probably seen him performing in front of Quincy Market. He's a ridiculously awesome singer and guitarist. I've seen him live in person a few times, but I've seen him live on Instagram a few dozen times. That's how I know so much about him. That's why I'm such a big fan of his. If you ask me, he's the definition of a rockstar. He's also the definition of a strong personal brand. He's conspicuous in his presence on social media. You don't have to be a rockstar like him to have such a strong personal brand as well. Whatever you…
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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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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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