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This is a guest contribution, by Nate Riggs, principal, strategy consultant, and speaker from Social Business Strategies LLC.

Have you Googled your name recently? What do you find? Was there something in the results you didn’t expect to find or something that surprised you?

Today, the web has become a social marketplace and with it, search engines like Google seem to deliver the first brand impression. The question is, what if anything are you doing to influence the impression being found by people searching for you?

Building Brand YOU

I was jazzed when Bryna asked me to write this post, because in my mind, building and using Brand YOU is more important now than it’s ever been.

It’s no surprise that we are moving back into an era where business is done between human beings. The alternative just wasn’t any fun. But always keep in mind that all of the great tools on the social web is what is empowering us to get back to basics and open the doors to real relationships that create opportunities for business to happen.

I want to share a few steps that I’ve followed when building out my human brand strategy and online presence. Please, take what you can and use it. Modify it and make it better. And most importantly, please teach others whenever and however you can.

Sound fair? Cool. Here we go…

Part I: Know Thyself & Build a Strategy

When I was establishing the foundation of my human brand, I spent some time reviewing what makes me me tick. One of the tools I used was developed by Katherine Cooks Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Meyers, just after WWII.

Widely respected by most psychology gurus, this assessment tool asks a series of questions designed to classify an individual’s personality into one of 16 different types, using a combination of four pairs of “dichotomies” – introversion and extroversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and perceiving. You can take the assessment for free here.

Next, take what you’ve learned and try conducting a self SWOT analysis so you can outline your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats. This is an age-old marketing technique looks both internal factors (like personality types) and external factors (like your competitive environment).

Try writing this SWOT out in a personal journal. In fact, get used to writing in it and then make a point to jot down a few lines every day after that. This journal is for you and you only and can be very powerful in terms of your own self-analysis.

When we humans write things down, they become real and we can begin to take ownership over our ideas. Keeping a personal daily record of your activities will help you track your progression as a person and professional.

Here’s one last important thing to write down. My friend and mentor, Artie Isaac, once had me write a list of non-negotiables. These are the things that you simply just cannot, and will not live without. Maybe you can only work a certain number of hours per week due to responsibilities as a sibling or parent. Maybe your non-negotiables have something to do with your finances, or politics or religion.

Whatever they are, recognizing what you won’t sacrifice is sometimes more important than realizing what you will. Once you have that figured out, you can being to see which rules you can bend, which rules you can break, and which rules you need in place to make sure you can play the game at all.

Does this process work for you so far? Have you discovered anything about yourself that you can apply in a brand strategy?

Please Don’t Be “That Guy”

November 18, 2009 Public Relations / Social Media

4 comments

We're laughing at him, not with him. You don't want to be "that guy" online. #epicfail

It’s really no secret that I’m a political junkie. I just love it. I’ve worked on political campaigns of various stripes–provincially and federally. I’ve worked for a Member of Parliament–one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date. (How many people can say they had sushi on the Prime Minister’s patio–twice?!)

A lot of people’s eyes glaze over when they hear talk of elections, politics, and Stephen Harper’s sweater vests. I however love these things, and will continue to bore people well into the future with my lively discussion of said passions. It’s part of who I am.

As a result, I’ve been a little more aware than most about what I post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Working for a politician, I’ve always felt that you represent that person when you’re in public–online or off. Especially around election time, when the vultures come out in all camps, you’ve got to stay on top of what you say, who you say it to, and…what people tag you in on Facebook.

Today I found myself reading my morning Commentz, and thinking about “discovering who I am,” as I did yesterday on the blog. This is what I see: Another young candidate caught in compromising Facebook albums. Really? Really?! (Click here for the full story.)

Emmanuel Pleitez says that he doesn’t have anything to hide; that he purposely didn’t untag the pictures, or ask for them to be taken down. He says he’ll go through the pictures with questioning voters, and explain them one by one. Really? Really?!

This is the kind of mistake that costs you an election–and worse, your reputation. I am all for being genuine. That was part of my argument yesterday. No, I don’t think you should pretend to be someone you’re not online or in any area of life. Being real is key to utlizing social media, building relationships, and creating “Brand You.” But in this case, being “real” cost votes, and worse, it cost’s reputation.

Reputation and image are of the utmost importance in politics and business. Last month I had the opportunity to speak to the students in the Art & Design Foundation program at Loyalist College, and this was the same message I gave to them. You might think your online profiles are just for fun, but how would you feel if a potential employer (or voter) Googled you? Would you be proud of what they might find? If the answer is no, then you need to think twice about what you share online.

It’s not about ‘hiding’ anything. In my mind, if you’re doing things you feel you need to hide, then you need to reevaluate your actions–that’s just common sense. The issue is that a tremendous amount of information is being shared, some you can control, some you can’t. It’s time for young professionals to take control of the pieces they can.

Look at your profiles. Question the messages you send about who you are. I don’t want to say, “grow up,” but I will tell you this: You don’t want to be “that guy.”

Who Do You Think You Are?

November 17, 2009 Social Media

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by messages about social media, and how best to market business online. I, like many of you, read and reread the same articles, opinions, and blogs, looking for some nugget of truth or wisdom, but in reality I just haven’t found what I’m looking for.

I’m told to be authentic, but to keep my writing short and to the point. What if I like big words? Should I skip the authenticity, and take things down a notch?

I’m told to be real, but then I’m given lessons in small talk. How real is that? What if I just enjoy talking to people?

I love this post by Danny Brown, in which he asks: Who do we think we are, anyway?

Does it matter if you know who you are online? Yes, but not for the reasons many people might be telling you. It matters not so much to stake a claim on a few pixels of space, or to gain the title of “expert.” You need to know who you are to be effective.

The truth of the matter is that, as Seth Godin says it, “All marketers are liars.” I don’t care if you’re selling a product, service, or by way of saying you’re “real and genuine” or you’re “building community,” you’re trying to make money. You’re selling something. That’s OK, a lot of people are doing it really well, and I benefit–you benefit. What turns me off is when I realize I’ve been daft to listen.

We talk about “content” but don’t challenge each other to think.

So the challenge I give to you (and myself) today is this: Define your own voice, and speak from it. Be OK with the fact that it will grow and change over time. Understand that some people will like it, others won’t. Overall, keep learning; keep experimenting. Eventually you’ll have a stage–you’ll have an audience. The best part is they’ll be yours, or your brand’s, not someone else’s.

If you need some inspiration, take a look at Lauren Luke, a single mum from England with “not many mates, and not much confidence” who’s found her voice on YouTube, and as a result of being real, an audience of millions.

When Writer’s Block is OK

September 24, 2009 Social Media

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I have to be honest, today I don’t feel much like writing. What?! I know, this could be a bad sign. I should clarify.

I love writing. It’s my favourite thing to do. I love writing for clients, I love blogging, I love just scribbling ideas on a pad of paper. Words are my passion. But today I’m learning something very important–sometimes it’s good to have writer’s block.

Why?

Because then you have time to listen.

Listening is important. As professionals (and as business people generally) we have to be able to sit back and really hear what our clients are asking of us. We have to understand their needs, their vision and their goals. Most of us in communications are here because we like to talk. We talk on the phone, we email, we tweet and facebook. We love sharing information! That’s a good thing. It’s amazing!

But…

On the flip side, sometimes we have to remind ourselves that it’s not just about us. Sitting back and listening to what others have to say is just as rewarding as producing meaningful content of our own. It’s ok to be still and soak things in. Producing for production’s sake isn’t always in our client’s best interest.

So today I’m taking this opportunity to give the stage to some people who are saying some cool things. I’m listening. Maybe you should be too.

Five Things I’m Listening to Today:

Umair Haque – The Awesomeness Manifesto We put ‘awesomesauce’ on everything we do at Engine, so this resonated. Seriously though, it’s a challenge to the idea of ‘innovation.’ Haque always makes me think–really, really, really hard. (Credit to the Coversation Agent blog for this find.)
Google Sidewiki – Checking out this new app from Google, and listening to what @Aerocles and others are saying about it on The Legend of Aerocles blog.
How not to suck at blogging – @manvsdebt has some great tips and videos in this post. I love that it’s experiential, and not just a regurgitated list of do’s and dont’s. The clip from Gary Vanynerchuk is so motivating, but it’s riddled with swears, so if you’re easily offended…ummm…
The Belleville Intelligencer – It’s important to know what’s happening in your community. We all know this. This is my community. Welcome! Follow them @TheIntell on Twitter.
I’ve been really loosely playing with the term ‘listening’ as much of what I’m doing is technically ‘reading’ but I think you’re all smart enough to understand what I mean. Here though, is one for your listening (dictionary definition) pleasure: The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Patrick Watson, To Build a Home.

Eureka! 10 Things That Are Inspiring Us Today

September 10, 2009 Design / Social Media / Web

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Ok, ok, I know the ‘Top 10’ list concept has been overdone. But sometimes it’s interesting to know what’s inspiring other people to do what they do. That’s why I’ve complied a ‘Top 10’ of sorts.

Here’s what I’m loving today at Engine:

United Way of Quinte’s 2009 Campaign Lauch – I love our community! I don’t think I can say it enough. To see so many people come out to support the United Way’s launch at the Quinte Mall this morning was inspiring. Despite hard economic times, the Quinte region has pulled together and overcome what many others haven’t. Why? Because we act when others just talk.
Nature – We have had the most beautiful week, weather-wise, here in Belleville that we have experienced all summer. (Fall, you get my vote on favourite season. Summer, disappointing show this year.) The world is an amazing place, and nature has inspired designers, writers, and artists since time began. The National Geographic website is an ode to all that is planet earth.
Gorgeous Enterprises – Gorgeous is a London-based production company that specialises in high end, creative projects. I posted a link on our Facebook Fan Page a couple days ago, but I can’t get enough. These guys do advertising right.
Shakespeare – Yes, the bard is bringing back my love of all things wordplay and innuendo (I’m reading Much Ado About Nothing). If you need to shake-up (pun intended) your brainstorming sessions, try solving problems with iambic pentameter. Now that’s a creative challenge!
U2 – No Line on the Horizon is magnificent. I said it. These guys prove that you can reinvent yourself over and over as long as you stick to your values. Do you remember Pop, their one misstep in 33 years? Ya, me either. They’re that good. (I’m seeing them live on the 16th, just sayin’.)
The New Yorker – Insightful commentary laced with humour and satire. What could be better? This is for moments when you want to feel urbane without having to try too hard.
The Yellow Bird Project – Indie rock musicians create t-shirts with the proceeds going to charity. Awesome. And I have to say, I love the website design.
Toronto International Film Festival – Spotlight on Canada! TIFF is one of the most highly anticipated film festivals in the world, and with good reason. The premiere I wish I was going to? Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air starring George Clooney.
Free: The Future of a Radical Price – Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, makes the argument that in the digital age, the whole economy is shifting to an era where ‘free’ is the new price. Yikes! Sound daunting? This book has taken my thinking to new levels in terms of creative business solutions. Love it!
Social Media Campaigns that Work – What does Imogen Heap have in common with a squirrel? More than you’d expect. Two very different SM marketing campaigns that have taken off, and produced results.

What’s inspring YOU today?

Lost in Translation?

August 31, 2009 Social Media

2 comments

Keeping close with our discussion last week about the uses of social media (SM) for non-profits, I feel there’s been enough interest that it might be useful to explore this topic further. I’ve had a lot of questions about the point of it all, and if there’s really any value in SM marketing our respective causes. My answer is a careful, “Yes.”

Why be careful?

I’m cautious because of many of your comments. There’s a fine line for people/business when addressing their values in terms of the non-profits they give to. Sometimes the best brand ambassadors are those who are willing to step out on a limb and declare thier allegiance to an organization they support. Other times, that’s not the case.

I don’t believe our giving should be made public in a ‘What’s in it For Me’ sense. I reluctantly put out the ‘Challenge’ knowing that it might turn some people off. But the point wasn’t simply in the gift. It was to start a discussion, and it did.

I’m the last person who would encourage anyone to use a medium knowing that it wasn’t appropriate for their messaging. There were lots of cons to the way my challenge was set up–let’s face it–and I don’t use client time that way. That was an opinion piece. I’m glad I did it. But working (obviously) for a marketing agency, my goal is to identify the best communications strategies for our clients, and to implement them. Not to simply ‘experiment.’ We create results at Engine, and we have the numbers to prove it.

However, I have just as many questions about Twitter, Facebook, and all things social as many of you do. It’s a new platform, and it’s still evolving. It needs to be tested.

I’m tired of reading lists of ‘Top 5 Twitter Uses’ and ‘Twenty Ways to Increase Your Twitter Following.’ What do those things even mean? How do they translate to results for business? That’s part of the greater challenge: to find meaningful value that creates results for clients, and also serves to make the world a slightly better place.

I have given a brief overview of some of the lessons learned in the challenge, and the implications of it, last week. I won’t go over them all today. Today is about movement.

How do we help our clients create worth using SM?

We move. We don’t stop at simply talking, following and tweeting. We don’t stop at creating relationships and networking online. We meet each other in person. We discuss how to connect, what values we share, and how those things translate into the ‘real world.’ Then we actually implement the changes.

The worst thing we could do is let the action get lost in translation.

We know that one of the least comfortable positions from which to move as a person, or in business, is from the reactive. Proactive is the place to be. That is where I see the value for non-profit and business in SM.

Being proactive means not just talking, but doing. I can’t stress this enough. SM is a piece of the puzzle, but it doesn’t create the whole picture. However, we can’t brush it off as being a waste of time.

To all you naysayers: I get it. I wasn’t a SM convert from the get-go either. It took about a year for me to start really understanding how it could benefit those I work for and with.

Now that I see it though, I don’t want the value to get lost. I think there are many truths that still need disseminating about SM. Part of that entails generating more conversation. I think a larger part will take people walking the talk.

What are you doing about it?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our world and Wall-E

August 27, 2009 Design / Social Media / Uncategorized / Web

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I came across this just this morning:

Yahoo! widgets for your TV

Yahoo now provides you the ability to access the internet through widgets on your TV (provided you have the proper TV of course). What does this mean? Why you can Twitter right from the comfort of your sofa with nothing more than your televisions remote. Check out this post by Jean Aw of NOTCOT about this very thing.

I am not an alarmist by any stretch, but I couldn’t help having visions of floating along through space aboard the “Buy n’ Large” Axiom on my hoverchair (if you haven’t seen Wall-E yet, you really should).

Our future?

I am all for convenience and integration… but how far is too far? I wonder if we will notice when we start losing our muscle mass?

The flip side of course is that Social media has an even broader audience. Interesting…

Guerrilla Good: Reflections on Non-Profit Marketing & Social Media

August 26, 2009 Social Media

10 comments

Yesterday I put together a small challenge telling people that if @wvcanadanews, or World Vision Canada, got 200 new followers on their Twitter profile by midnight, I would donate $100 to the cause. Not a huge donation, but as I explained that wasn’t really the point of it. The point was to encourage community. It was also to serve as an experiment in ways that messages spread on Twitter, and how we can help our clients by exploring the implications of these trends.

Lessons Learned

Social media spreads the message, but it doesn’t necessarily produce buy-in. Our unique hits were way up on the website yesterday after this post got spread. Unfortunately that didn’t translate into 200 new followers for @wvcanadanews. They only got 45. However, people’s values have to line up with the cause. I support World Vision because international aid is something I’ve seen first-hand; it’s affected me. Not everyone feels the same way, and that’s a good thing. It keeps non-profits, and marketers, accountable.
Quality takes precedence over quantity. Although @wvcanadanews only got 45 new followers, my hope is that those are 45 people who believe in the cause enough to do something about it. We need to value those people as brand ambassadors. Then we must encourage them to take the next step; to give, volunteer, or get involved with a broader campaign.
World Vision is a global organization with high brand recognition. We need to consider this when translating social media marketing to our local non-profits. Their online communities won’t have the same following. But we can still use the platform to drive traffic to their websites, especially during campaign time, with a little creativity.
Trust and reputation mean a lot. Without RT’s by some key individuals with solid followings in the social media world, this challenge would never have spread. Special thanks to @DannyBrown, @ChrisBrogan, @BJMendelson, @LenKendall, and @Barb_G for taking the time to give us exposure. These people all have Twitter ‘celebrity’ status. Being prolific bloggers, authors, and communicators, they are opinion leaders in the field. Their reputations go before them, and that is very important in the SM world. I really appreciate their help and constructive feedback.
We get by with a little help from our friends. Building community is all about quality relationships. If you’re going to use Twitter you need to appreciate that you’re dealing with real people. Their time and opinions are valuable. Be thankful when they RT you. Congratulate them on their successes. Help them spread their messages. And realize that because we’re working with a variety of personal values, some of your followers will agree with your message and others won’t. That’s ok. Be open to being challenged. Friends like @charlottehrb, @brettkopf, @chuckhemann, @NeilGasson, @ShannonBoudjema and @Ariel54 did a lot of the leg work in promoting this challenge. Thank you all so much!
Testing the waters is necessary. We just don’t have enough case studies and metrics on the effectiveness of social media marketing to see which methods work best to add value to our organizations. We can have a million followers without increasing our sales, or securing donations. The future of SM will be in discovering what works and what doesn’t. Taking chances is the only way to do it. With experimentation it will be easier to set realistic goals for our clients’ online marketing campaigns.

Social media is a small part of the marketing pie, but the inherently relational nature of the medium makes it a great forum to work with. We need to question the SM platform as it evolves, and use it accordingly. As a professional, I’m eager to see the results of campaigns like mycharitywater.org which take social media and community to the next level by producing measurable results.

What are your thoughts on using SM for non-profit clients? What is the future of community and giving online? We’d love to hear what you and your organization are doing.

Special thanks goes out to the whole @wvcanadanews team: @AlexSancton, @WV_Andrew and @alicians. (The donation is yours, despite the fact that we didn’t reach the goal.)

Be the Change Challenge

August 25, 2009 Social Media

7 comments

This morning I read @DannyBrown’s newest blog post entitled, ‘Passion Drivers.’ If you’re in business, you need to read this. Heck, if you’re a human being, you need to read this. I agree with Danny: passion is key no matter what industry you’re in. I once listened to a guy talk about rocks for three hours. Yes, rocks. And it was interesting. Really. He was excited about those rocks! (Geology rocks! Just made that one up.) But I digress.

The point is that passion injects the listener with the get up and go to actually do something; to change an opinion, to buy an item, to donate to a charity. What I hate is a company or individual that doesn’t inspire me to greater heights. Can a company do that?! Yes, yes they can. (Just check out this excellent PR campaign by Weight Watchers.)

That’s why I’m always on the corporate social responsibility bandwagon. If I don’t see your business doing good in the world, I don’t want what you’re selling. If you can’t be passionate about a cause that’s bigger than the bottom line, I’m bored. (Maybe it’s just a Gen X/Y thing? You tell me.)

Last week I tried a little experiment with social media that generated only an iota of the excitement that I’d wanted. Basically I got all inspired by charity: water, which often happens when I see @ScottHarrison speak (even via vimeo). So I sent out a tweet saying that if you (the reader of the tweet) DM’d me your email address, I’d send you an @charitywater ecard, and donate $20 to charity: water in your name. I was sending out ecards to the first five people who messaged me.

This took way longer than I imagined. (But we actually surpassed the five card goal.) I thought people would be all over it. Granted, I didn’t think much about it. I got the idea and ran with it. What it taught me was that people don’t trust me. (Said tongue-in-cheek; hopefully.) People assume that there’s a catch to something like that, and I get it. So let’s do something a bit different.

I’m a huge fan of the work that World Vision does. Let’s all follow them! If @wvcanadanews gets up to 700 followers by midnight tonight, (they’re at 494 right now), I’ll donate $100 to World Vision Canada. I know it’s not a lot, but if we all do what we can, then we change the world. (And 200 new followers means their message gets spread.) We also empower others to fulfill their passions.

Why try this again? The reason is simple.

Passion and community.

We have them on Twitter. @DannyBrown sees it, and he’s inspired me to as well.

I think people in the social media realm are inherently giving. I think we all have the power to change the world. I think it’s cheap, fun and empowering to do so. So come on! Let’s help some kids. Let’s set an example for business.

(Make sure you share and RT this post, or it just won’t work. I really want it to! Starting…NOW!)

@brynajones

Eureka! 10 Things That Are Inspiring Us Today

Our world and Wall-E

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