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Yes, Your Brand Really Is About the Conversation

Walter Akana — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:23:06 -0400

In my last post, I wrote about how my interview with my friend Carol Ross led to my insight that conversation drives brand evolution. My thinking in that post followed a certain logic; specifically: In uncovering our personal brands we work to synthesize introspective knowledge with feedback from others to arrive at our uniques promise for value; we then determine core messages to express our brand, with evolution coming as conversation drives fresh perspectives on our brand value. I’m now thinking, while others can provide fresh insights that are a catalyst for evolution, conversations continually drive our brands.

So, what’s changed?

First, at about the time I published my last post, I also wrote an Amazon book reviw of for Shel Israel’s Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods. In that review, I noted Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group, alluded to The Cluetrain Manifesto and the Conversation Era ushered in by the internet and social media tools when she defined Twitter as a conversation. I also referenced Shel Israel’s notion of Twitter as a community. I now think of Twitter as a community comprised of multiple conversations. As such, it is fertile ground for connecting with the clients, colleagues, and key influencers that make up our brand communities.

Then, just today, I learned about a LiveWorld seminar, Social Media Everywhere 2010 - How Do Brands Cope?, being conducted by Jeremiah Owyang, well-know social media analyst, now with the Altimeter Group. Upon reading the opening paragraph of the registration page, I was struck by the pervasiveness of conversation in driving brand perceptions and loyalty. It said, “Content on corporate websites is becoming less relevant to customers. Instead they are immersing themselves in conversations about your brand all over the web. These conversations flow across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a myriad of other sites – and even on your own brand website, perhaps managed by you or perhaps brought there by consumers themselves with tools like Google Sidewiki.” The next paragraph raised this question: “Does your company have a strategy for managing your brand when conversations are everywhere?”

In my last post, I concluded, “Clearly, our brands develop and become stronger as we engage others.” I’d now add this: with the power of the social web, your brand is as much about the conversations as it is about your client deliverables.

Conversation and Brand Evolution

Walter Akana — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:55:03 -0400

Recently, I was interviewed by my friend Carol Ross, founder of Carol Ross & Associates, and prolific blogger at A Bigger Voice, and Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Living. The interview, done for members of her Networking Naturally community, focused on my experience in making powerful in-person connections as a result of online networking. Specifically, Carol wanted to explore more deeply some of my learnings as I went face to face with Twitterville.

It was a fun interview! Sure, it’s true that I always enjoy chatting with Carol. Yet, for this inteview, she did several things to make the experience even more engaing and powerful. Prior to the interview, she prepared and sent me a thoughtful and orderly series of questions – questions that helped me think more deeply about what I planned to say. During the interview, she drove the conversation forward with periodic summaries of her understanding, and she asked on-the-spot questions that made the information more nuanced and useful to the audience.

When we debriefed the interview, I shared with Carol that an unexpected result was how she had pushed my own thinking to a new level. My expectation had been to have a great time simply sharing my experiences for the benefit of the audience. Yet, our chat clearly generated new learning for me – including fresh perspectives on the brand value I offer to others.

Yet, there’s an additional outcome: my heightened awareness of brand evolution. As a Personal Branding Strategist, I’m always focusing on the clarity, consistency, and constancy of messages that clients deliver. And while I tell clients that brands evolve, I haven’t been particularly focused on what drives that evolution. It’s conversation. If brands rely on brand communities to exist, it’s the ongoing engagement of that community that helps refine and differentiate value. Clearly, our brands develop and become stronger as we engage others. So, who are you talking to?

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog.

Face to Face With Twitterville

Walter Akana — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:19:26 -0400

Mention you have a friend that you met online, and some folks react in a way that suggests there’s something a bit off about the relationship. Fortunately, today, most people “get” that leveraging the power of social media demands ability to develop relationships online. So, more people are making the effort, albeit with varying degrees of success.

Actually, the fundamentals of successful networking apply online as well as in face-to-face situations. This was brought home to me powerfully when I attended #tbash, the book launch party for Shel Israel’s Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods, held in Silicon Valley – an event where the only people I knew were people I met online.

Given a terrific invitation to this event, I went – despite my initial concern about flying across the country to get together with people who, to that point, showed up for me exclusively in an online community. Still, I went. And I had a wonderful time! In reflecting on my experience, there are six networking lessons that were reinforced for me – the first of which is don’t let your apprehensions keep you from meeting new people. Here are the others:

Look for the people you know. Whether you’re networking online or attending face-to-face events, first connect with people you know. Take real-life relationships online and interact there; at face-to-face events, look first for people you know or have interacted with online. Don’t know anyone at an event? Find the host and introduce yourself; he or she will often introduce you to new people.

Introduce yourself. Make sure you’re prepared to introduce yourself in a natural way. Forget the elevator pitch! Just give your name and ask for the other person’s name. Keep the conversation moving by asking a relevant question. Be prepared with a short statement of what you do, if asked, and offer your business card. If they want to know more, they’ll ask.

Take an interest in others. Sure you have your own goals in meeting new people, but pushing them should not be the reason for attending. Frankly, networking is best when it's simply about meeting people and growing relationships. So, take a genuine interest in others; ask what they do or why they’re attending the event. You’ll increase the chances they’ll take a genuine interest in you. A comfortable and enjoyable conversation can often uncover areas of mutual interest or new learning for each of you.

Connect others. As you get to know people, think of people they may enjoy meeting and introduce them. You can do this at the event, or by following up later. Helping others make interesting and mutually beneficial connections is one of the most powerful ways to give to your network while creating good will for yourself.

Show gratitude. Let people know how much you appreciated meeting and speaking with them. If you’ve uncovered mutual interests, take initiative in letting the other person know you’d like to stay in contact and determine the best way to follow up.

Of course, there are countless other considerations for networking in online communities as well as face-to-face situations. Still, I believe that sticking with basics will not only enhance your success but also your enjoyment! I certainly enjoyed myself, as you can see here, here, and here.

It was a terrific event, and I would be remiss not to say a special thanks to Shel Israel, whose Twitter Bio speaks volumes: “writer. speaker. nice guy.”

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog.

Your Brand, Your People

Walter Akana — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:43:43 -0400

As perhaps the best known philosophical riddle, if you say, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,” most people will complete the question by saying, “does it make a sound?" Similarly, if you work at defining your brand without considering the people for whom you’re relevant, do you really have a brand? Put another way, it’s questionable if a brand exists without a brand community.

According to Wikipedia, a brand community can be defined as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand." Of course, being a brand admirer means having a strong emotional connection to the brand – whether a product, like an iPod, or a person, like Oprah. While it may seem this kind of loyalty comes from run-away sales or superstardom, the fact is, many individuals do develop leading brands and build strong loyalty among the people for whom they deliver value.

This relationship is captured by Seth Godin, in his book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. He notes that leadership springs from the context of connection around ideas and values that inspires followers and feeds their need "to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people.” He goes further to argue that everyone has the capacity to lead since there are people “waiting for you to connect them to one another and lead them where they want to go.” Among the elements that ultimately bring a tribe together are common values, standards, problems, and aspirations.

In a workshop I recently attended, Pam Slim, author of Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, made the point that to be successful in business, it’s critical to identify “your people.” In her experience, ongoing marketing success is driven by finding all the places “your peeps hang out,” and joining them there. Connecting with your peeps in ways that convey your leadership and value to them is the basis for a strong brand community and long-term success.

So, who are your people and what are you doing to connect with them?

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

Twitter: It’s Not Just About Lunch

Walter Akana — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:37:43 -0400

A recent Sprint commercial about the “Now Network” noted that 26% of viewers had no idea what “twittering on Twitter” means. Yet, it’s clear that Twitter awareness is growing by leaps and bounds. Of course, this doesn’t mean opinions about Twitter are all positive.

Many still hold the view expressed in this Twouble with Twitters video. As well, as Steven Johnson stated in his favorable Time magazine piece, “The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression… It's not as if we were all… saying, ‘If only there were a technology that would allow me to send a message to my 50 friends, alerting them in real time about my choice of breakfast cereal.’" In fact, when I first started using Twitter, I wondered, to borrow words from Andy Warhol, if Twitter was not just a way to become more “deeply superficial.”

All that is changing.

Google “Twitter” and you’ll find more than six hundred million results – with more than 100 million of them pertaining to using Twitter in your career. Explore business use of Twitter and you’ll find this online social networking tool is rapidly being adapted by all kinds of businesses for marketing, promotion, and customer service. Finally, if that’s not enough, you may want to check out the forthcoming book by Shel Israel, Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods. If you want an early peek, read the introduction to Shel’s book at his blog; there, you’ll also find his Twitterville Notebook entries.

Frankly, while I’d recognized early the career value of Twitter, I had not been actively promoting it to people in career transition. Now, I do. Here are three reasons why:

Career/Business Intelligence: Twitter is a great way to find and follow companies to learn how they interact with others and what matters to them. You’ll find that many people also post links to useful industry information published elsewhere on the web. More importantly, you can begin learning about and interacting with thought leaders in your industry.

Networking: Clearly, Twitter offers a way to interact with people. If they’re not already there, you can invite people you know to connect and interact on Twitter. Even better, you can interact with anyone – either indirctly via a tweet using their Twitter name, or via Direct Message, if they follow you. And just as in life, in this “brave new world of digital intimacy,” the more you interact with others the better chance you have of building real relationships.

Professional Visibility and Crediblity: While it’s a good idea to use multiple approaches to establish your professional online identity, Twitter is a powerful addition to your suite of social media tools. In a real way, by posting your professional perspectives, exchanging views with others, and linking to helpful information (including your own blog posts), Twitter can be the backbone of your personal brand online.

So, if you’re not yet on Twitter, learn the basics and set up an account, You can probably do it during lunch hour.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

Engine for Job Growth: YOU!

Walter Akana — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:58:51 -0400

You’re probably familiar with the idea that small business is the engine of job growth. While this may well be true generally, today’s economic reality makes it difficult to wait for those new jobs to materialize. Increasingly, it now looks like the engine of job growth needs to be the individual.

In fact, in the job search strategy sessions I lead, a regular theme is the need to develop an entrepreneurial mind set in managing one’s career. For many people, this mostly means starting one’s own business. Yet, being entrepreneurial can also mean managing a portfolio of work as a contractor or part-timer.

Lately, it seems the experiences people are having at the hands of large employers support “a radical rethink of the hiring game” – according to a recent BusinessWeek article, “Winning Back a Wary Workforce.” The article states that “Many people have come to the conclusion that they don't want to work for ‘the man’ anymore.” It goes on to say that to win workers back after the current recession, “Teams will need to be smaller, organizations flatter, and the values of candor, informality, and innovation must be baked into the culture. People will need to feel that what they say matters…”

Indeed, a work climate that is built on entrepreneurial values is what has long driven people to want to work for themselves. And according to Pam Slim, author of Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, breaking out is easier than you might think – provided you’re able to identify and build on your passions, and to create value that people will actually pay for.

Easy? Maybe. Working in a “comfort zone” provided by an employer can be a big barrier to making the leap. Even if your company has given you a push with a forced separation, your instinct is probably to find another job as soon as possible – and you’ll probably rely on a standard approach to job search to do so. Yet, we’re seeing that traditional methods of finding a job are increasingly limited in the results they produce. Yes, it is time to rethink – and you would do well to start that process for yourself.

To start driving job creation for you, start managing Brand You. Make sure you offer unique value, determine the customers you serve, and identify what sets you apart in their minds. Then, rely less on your resume and more on implementing a media plan that helps you become visible, conveying your passion and the results you can drive for your customers in the future.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

You: Rock Star!

Walter Akana — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:01:23 -0400

Do you typically think of your self as a rock star? Neither do I. Sure, we all have those exhilarating moments; and some of us even play Guitar Hero. Yet, when things settle down, we return to our own status quo – whatever that may be.

Imagine though, that the very concept of rock star were to be reinvented, allowing us to be a rock star in whatever career we pursue. Well, this is precisely the premise behind a recent television ad for Intel. It features Intel Fellow Ajay V. Bhatt who is identified as co-inventor of Universal Serial Bus (USB), and “The Real USB Rock Star.” The commercial, which makes an event of Ajay grabbing a cup of coffee, ends with this point: “Our Rock Stars Aren’t Like Your Rock Stars.”

We know this intuitively. We know and acknowledge accomplished people who “rock.” Still, in one deft and creative move, Intel has elevated this cultural association and clearly redefined rock stardom. And yet, there is also a critical distinction here. Ajay Bhatt has attained his celebrity through achievements that reflect a strong commitment to and passion for what he does. Read his bio and you realize his work is more than simply a job – it is the reflection of a strong personal brand.

So, what does this mean to you? Simply this: By taking the time to understand who you are, what you excel at doing, and how you engage the world, you can attain the kind of clarity that can make you a rock star – no matter what your field of endeavor.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

If I Could Make the World a Better Place, I’d…

Walter Akana — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:00:17 -0400

Ah, beauty pageants! From Miss America to Miss Universe, we’re all familiar with these annual contests aimed at capturing the ever-changing face of beauty and intelligence. Yes, intelligence. Least we forget, despite the heavy emphasis on physical beauty, there is the interview wherein finalists get to answer questions that show they’re more than just a pretty face.

While there are actually lots of questions with the actual ones varying from contestant to contestant and from year to year, most of us tend to think of the Miss America/Universe question as some version of: If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

Fundamentally, this is not a frivolous question, and answering it for ourselves can be pivotal in giving direction to our careers and lives. Indeed, in my roles as a facilitator and coach of personal branding and of life planning, one of the central exercises I ask clients to do is to develop their vision for the world. The questions I use may vary slightly, but the aim is the same: articulate a meaningful change you would make to create a better world.

For most people, as soon as they can articulate a genuine vision for the world, they’re able to develop greater clarity about their purpose and how their values and passions come together to give direction to their careers and lives. Yes, working with a coach adds to this discovery process.

Still…

…don’t wait for coaching. You’d be surprised at the clarity you can develop by asking this seemingly simple question of yourself.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

Maybe it's you – redux

Walter Akana — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:55:23 -0400

In my last entry, I referenced Lisa Barone’s terrific post, It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck. After admitting that I sometimes want to say to people “maybe it is you,” I provided my own career transition reality check with a list of five common short falls.

As promised, in this post, I give you five ideas, with links to resources which can help you exercise more personal responsibility for your career. Here they are:

Take an entrepreneurial mindset to managing your career. It’s always been the case that successful people are proactive in managing their careers – and today that’s more important than ever. If you’re not sure about how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, start with Lisa’s post. There is plenty of career management advice here; and of course, there are plenty of career management books.

Invest some time figuring out what differentiates you. You need to have a clear idea of your unique promise of value; that is, your personal brand. If you’re not sure how to discern your personal brand, a good place to start is with Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson. You can also find a wide array of personal branding information on the web here, here, and here. Or, just google it!

Figure out who needs to know about you and connect with them. From a personal branding perspective, you can’t stand out if you don’t know among whom you need to stand out. Your success is ultimately supported by the people you serve and their key influencers. To cultivate mutually beneficial relationships, get involved with a professional group, community of practice, or even a brand community. As a community member you can gain access to information, help others, become known, and earn the kind of trust that can lead to opportunities.

Develop your online presence. Start with a strong LinkedIn profile – and then build a profile at other sites such as ZoomInfo, Spoke, Ziggs, and others. You can also put up a dynamic resume at VisualCV. And with great clarity about your area of expertise, you may also consider blogging, commenting on blogs, or writing book reviews. You can find more than 50 tactics for branding yourself on line here.

Work on polishing your networking skills. There is no lack of great information on networking – and all you have to do is google it. Still, if you want to learn how to network in a way that is efficient and effective you would do well to buy and read Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online by my friend Liz Lynch; and visit her blog for a wealth of information. You can also learn a great deal about networking and building relationships and community from my friend Carol Ross at A Bigger Voice and at Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Living.

I’m hoping that you’re inspired to work on your skills in these areas – and that you have a sincere desire to get even better at taking the steps that will have a long-term impact on your career and your life.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog

Maybe it's you

Walter Akana — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:08:47 -0400

Although I can be pretty direct, I enjoy a reputation for being a nice guy. Generally speaking, I’m pretty positive and optimistic in working with folks in career transition; and I’m especially sensitive and encouraging with people who were displaced from their companies. For most, being displaced is an outcome beyond their control and has nothing to do with performance. Sadly, there are occasionally individuals about whom I feel performance might have been an issue; nonetheless, I do all I can to set them off on a new path toward achievement.

Still, there are times when I really want to say, “Maybe it’s you!”

Well, seems like I’m not the only one thinking that. I just read a post by Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media. Her post is clearly titled: It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck. To provide just a small idea of the tone, Lisa says: “You couldn’t pay your mortgage and your house was foreclosed on? Don’t worry, it wasn’t you, it was the recession. You lost your job and now you’re stuck at home cruising Twitter ‘looking for a new one’ all day? Don’t fret. It wasn’t you, it’s the recession…. Actually, it’s probably not the recession. It’s probably you.”

She then goes on to point out “Entrepreneurs are ruling this recession,” and to give six things you can do to survive. Still, the tips she gives don’t provide quite the wake-up call that seeing where you’re falling short does. So, here’s a reality check. Maybe it’s you, if:

You believe there really isn’t much you can do until the economy improves. Still, just in case, you keep cranking out resumes and attend the occasional networking event, but you aren’t getting invited to interviews.

You lack clarity about what sets you apart professionally. You keep believing that you have the skills to be effective in a new position, and you even know others have those skills too. What you don’t know is what makes you stand out from all those others.

You haven’t clearly defined a target audience. Like lots of other people you believe the right thing to do in this economy is to be open to any opportunity. As a consequence, you lack a clear idea of who you should be talking with, and you're networking randomly.

You have no clear plan for gaining visibility online. You scurry from meeting to meeting handing out business cards or resumes, but when people google you, they find little or nothing about you – and in today’s online–oriented world that means you lack credibility.

You’re reluctant to truly polish your networking skills. Whether you’re an extrovert who believes you’re a natural at connecting, or you’re an introvert who believes it’s hard to be outgoing, you simply don’t work to polish your relationship building skills. You may even believe that networking is simply about getting a new job and approach it on transactional basis.

Yes, it’s tough out there. In fact, I know people who face real barriers that are industry and specialty specific – yet, they’re still taking proactive steps in each of these areas. And while they still may face a longer than expected job search, they’re building a solid basis for long-term career success.

So, what are some positive steps you can take? In the second part of "Maybe it’s you," I’ll give you five ideas, with links to resources, which can help you exercise more personal responsibility for your career.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog