Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Saturday, February 6, 2010,
In :
Branding
1. Video, Video, Video
Thanks to greater bandwidth, cheaper storage, and a proliferation of
products and services that make shooting, storing, viewing, and sharing
video easy (Flip video, iPhone 3GS, YouTube, vimeo, blip.tv, vodpod,
etc.), video will be king in 2010. Video is ideal because it allows
careerists to deliver a complete communication and convey their
personality—a critical component of branding.
2. Hiring Process
Companies will be hiring brands rather than employees. The...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Saturday, January 23, 2010,
In :
Branding
I recently presented my pitch on
personal branding at two lunch time events in Sunnyvale. On the first
occasion I wore tan corduroy pants with the shirt you see above. And
more recently I wore black pants with the same shirt. I didn't really
think too much about it except that I know this is a good color on me.
I started a small buzz when people
realized that the business cards I was handing out before the event
matched my shirt. I had several people remark about it to ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 22, 2010,
In :
Branding
A Brand Evangelist is a person who promotes your brand without regard
for compensation. Their reward is the association with your brand.
Your brand becomes part of their identity. The goal of any brand is to
find and cultivate Brand Evangelists who can promote your brand
everywhere without costing you a cent. Social Media provides a great
platform for you to grow some Brand Evangelists for yourself.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Tuesday, January 19, 2010,
In :
Branding
“Give me a place to stand,” said Archimedes, “and I will move the world.”
As
you probably know, a fulcrum is the pivot point for a lever. And we
know that Archimedes was planning to use a lever to move the world. But
a lever by itself is worthless. It needs the fulcrum to actually do the
leveraging. You are that fulcrum.
Part of a good brand is being
focused on a dream that you want to come true. It is the thing that
drives a personal brand. While branding is about creating im...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 15, 2010,
In :
Branding
I remember a comment Neil Young had about Live Aid
and other similar events. He said "save yourself". I have always
thought about that and realized that after I find my true self and act
upon that fact - the world will change around me.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Thursday, January 14, 2010,
In :
Branding
I have found that when we talk about ourselves we might say that
we have some particular expertise in something and only rarely do we
say "I am an expert". This is a personal branding mistake. For example,
I might say that I have expertise in Java Software Architecture. But it
would be better expressed as saying "I am a Java Software Architecture
Expert".
And another thing, the more you repeat this phrase - the more
people will believe it and refer to you as the "Expert". Saying tha...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Monday, January 11, 2010,
In :
Branding
We have all heard about taglines sometimes called "brand" taglines.
A tagline is really an external mantra for your customers to resonate
with. Its also important when developing a personal career brand to
have an internal mantra. Just like the word "OM" - which is chanted to
bring inner calm - we need an internal mantra to guide our career and
to give it meaning.
Finding an internal mantra that "fits" is not an easy task. It
relies on some deep reflection of your core values and then simpl...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Monday, January 11, 2010,
In :
Branding
DISTINCTIVENESS - always important in branding.
You must standout. Ive seen some pretty interesting names lately that
have been creative with spelling - apptizr.com as an example. This
company provides a smart way to find iphone apps.
BREVITY - Often you want to have your brand name
be your domain name. So some brand names or company names are just
too long and you are forced to have a domain that is different from
your brand. Not that good. The shorter the name the easier it is ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 8, 2010,
In :
Branding
We all need feedback. Often we can't see ourselves clearly and we
need someone to mirror back observations. I call this the "Rosalind
Principle" named after a very smart and wise friend who is quite
insightful about others but has more difficulty with herself.
When I ask for feedback - there is often a feeling of dread -
because most of my friends give me left brained feedback - it can be
brutal. I hear the feedback and recognize that its true but frequently
I have difficulty a...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 8, 2010,
In :
Branding
Taglines aren't just for companies - they are for individuals. A
tagline is a very short expression that conveys meaning to your
audience. When developing a career we can use these short expressions
in conversation or on our business cards to quickly help others
understand who and what we are. A good tagline starts a conversation
and provides context for everything that follows. Without any further
preamble (Just do it), I am going to list some qualities of a good
tagline.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Thursday, January 7, 2010,
In :
Branding
Personal Branding - especially for your career has to do with
setting and achieving goals. In essence - getting things done. We are
not used to setting our own goals - more often we are buffeted about by
forces around us. But branding ourselves in our career is about setting
some personal goals and actually accomplishing them. In David Allen's
book Getting Things Done he uses a term called "Outcome Thinking". He says "Thinking
in a concentrated manner to define desired outcomes i... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Wednesday, January 6, 2010,
In :
Branding
One of the reason so much branding fails is that people arent aware enough
of their circumstances - personally and in the marketplace. While I
dont profess to be a Buddhist, I have benefited from some meditation
and slowing down of my crazed monkey brain - thereby starting to notice
a bit more nuance in my life. Personal branding is about personal
awareness. We could learn a lot from the Buddha.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Wednesday, January 6, 2010,
In :
Branding
Its
important to present a representative image of yourself in all of your
social network profiles. People respond visually and make very quick
decisions about you. If your avatar is a cartoon its hard to take you
seriously. One caveat to that is - if you are not concerned about
your brand then the avatar could be anything. Sometimes you want to be
anonymous or be known as something other than what you really are -
thats playful and fun - but its not a personal brand.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Tuesday, January 5, 2010,
In :
Branding
Like any branding - its about marketing and the ability to be
memorable. Its unfortunate that most of us are terrible at making
impressions. The good news is that there is a simple recipe which you
can use to improve. I simply cant recommend the book Made To Stick
by Chip and Dan Heath enough. You gotta read the whole book to get the
whole picture - or at least start reading their columns in Fast Company. These two brothers provide some simple guidelines that can be remembered by the acronym ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Monday, January 4, 2010,
In :
Branding
A few years ago personal branding was more of a curiosity for
individuals. Now we cant read a magazine without hearing about
personal branding. I think in some ways branding yourself was
considered vain. The "corporate man culture" had not died out. I
think those days are gone. Just as women rely on having a black dress
in the closet - professionals need to have some sort of personal
branding going on - or they will seem out of it. Well I have to admit
that many unemployed people I...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Saturday, January 2, 2010,
In :
Branding
It's a new brand world.
That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive
swoosh on the side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee
travel mug you're carrying -- ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your
T-shirt with the distinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans
with the prominent Levi's rivets, the watch with the
hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with
the maker's symbol crafted into the end ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
Personal Branding is a way of looking at things. It is a lens
through which we can interpret and decide if actions and behaviors are
good or not. Most of the things about personal branding we already know
about – but we dont always know what to apply and when. A personal
branding lens groups and guides our thoughts and actions. It’s actually
very exciting because I can now prioritize what I do using this
“branding” lens.
I was thinking about this today when I set up my first Squidoo p...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
Everybody has heard of the Invisible Man
by H.G. Wells. The Invisible Man in the story is a scientist who
theorizes that if a person’s refractive index is changed to exactly
that of air and his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will
be invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself,
but cannot become visible again, becoming mentally unstable as a result.
Without personal branding most of us are exactly like the Invisible
Man – but without going through the ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
Lately, Ive been attempting to come to grips with telling my
personal story more effectively. I know its important to tell a good
story in order to have people remember you positively. But I didnt
really understand the power of story telling until I read Seth Godin’s
book called “All Marketers Are Liars”. And before you misunderstand the
title I have to tell you the subtitle is “The Power of Telling
Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World”.
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
Many people around me seem to be interested in blogging. Its almost as
if they feel they are missing something if they don’t blog. Beyond
selecting which blogger to use to create the posts – most people I know
have difficulty figuring out what to write about sustainably. The
primary reason people dont know what to blog about is that they don’t
know what their personal brand is. If you have a clearly defined
personal brand (especially for your career) – then blogging is easy.
The reaso... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
I have been reflecting on how to be most effective on Twitter – and
to use Twitter to convey my brand. Since my primary trade is a software
architect – I immediately recognize what I think are best practices –
in fact are probably patterns for success on Twitter. So here they are:
First start with an interesting design. You can customize the
Twitter page using what Twitter gives you. Or you can upload a custom
background. I uploaded a simple image of the ocean – an image large
enough...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, January 1, 2010,
In :
Branding
So what do you see when you google your name. Is it a listing for a
convicted felon or porn star? If you have an unusual name (like a well
differentiated keyword) you will rise to the top automatically. But if
you have an ordinary name you might not even show up. What you don’t
want to happen is to have a search result that doesn’t represent you.
Your name is your brand so use it consistently. Don't dilute it by
using different variations – pick one version of your name and stick
with i...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Sunday, December 20, 2009,
In :
Branding
Branding of your website is important because it contributes to the long term value of your business. It creates a sense of customer confidence. For a small business - your brand is the niche value you bring to the market. Its the expectation of value in the customers mind about your product. Part of building a brand is creating an impression in the market. There are a number of ways you can do that with your website.
Memorable Logo - a logo is not a brand although it represents one...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Monday, December 14, 2009,
In :
Branding
Your tagline is not your brand, your position statement or your brand promise. But it is a short versatile expression of who you are. It is a meaningful distillation of your brand. What I like most about a tagline is that it is sometimes experimental and can be quickly changed. Many websites have their taglines displayed next to their logo and interestingly enough they are often 3 things - like "Build Create Empower" - which I find a bit boring. Some sites actually name their site using a tag... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Friday, September 25, 2009,
In :
Branding
The best leaders look for opportunities to give other people credit. We all like to receive recognition. Too often we dont give it out.
If you are a manager or team leader dont blab out all the ideas yourself. Often times your team members have the same ideas but arent as adept in expressing it. If you let others come up with ideas then then they will take credit and will also take ownership of the idea.
Dont forget to RT (Return Tweet) on Twitter if someone has a great idea that you noti...
Posted by Jeffrey Blake on Tuesday, September 22, 2009,
In :
Branding
We all know that its important to control your image on Google. One of the best ways to get to the top of a Google SERP is to buy your own domain and populate it with good content. But there is a little known way to get on the first page in 5 minutes - that is by creating a Google Profile page.
To start go to http://www.google.com/profiles If you dont already have a gmail account - then you should go ahead and create one.
