Tag Archives: Branding

Five Google Plus Tips and Tricks for your Personal Brand

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Like many people I was definitely hesitant at first about whether or not to utilize Google Plus? Another social platform? Another place to have to keep up with? But since I am a Google Fanatic with my Gmail, Docs, Calendar and more…and not to mention a complete digital geek…I had to join. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way from my own ventures and others who have shared…

1. Profile Picture

As we all know not all social networks make it easy for you to upload your avatar pics. Google Plus can have issues with resolution when uploading. Suggestion: make sure the picture you choose has higher resolution so it’s more clear.

2. Manage your Contacts

So many people, so much to share, so much hassle? Google Plus allows you to make it simpler so you can share with whom you want to share, when you want to share. For example, you can make one group for family, one for close friends, one for coworkers, and another for industry experts. Therefore you can share pictures of your dog with friends, while your blog post with others in your industry. Or whatever suits your fancy.

3. Sharing with Relevant Contacts

As stated above you can decide how you group your contacts so its easier to share what you want to share. Here I am emphasizing that this is great so you don’t share irrelevant content to all groups. For example your close friends may not care about a post related to your job, or vice versa. If you want the right exposure for that cool “tip post”….share with those who will actually respond and comment and be excited to read it. Share and share relevantly.

4.  Cutting Through the Noise

Too many items in your feed? Tired of seeing certain people post about the same old thing? Turn down the “volume” and cut through the chatter. Mute a post from the notification window. Simple, and way more manageable.

5. Take it on the Road

Want to keep up with your Google Plus circles but not at your computer as often?There’s an App for that! You can also get notifications via text on notifications.

Bonus!

Want to know how it measures up against Facebook? Check out this sweet Infographic…

Who are you? A google plus fan? Still an Avid Facebooker? Or both?

Note: This post was originally written for Socialnomics. 

10 Branding & Marketing Tips from “Mad Men”

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I have recently become obsessed with the show Mad Men and watched Seasons One through Four in about a month. Crazy? No! Dedicated? Yes! While watching the well written, directed, and addicting show, I couldn’t help but relate it to my life and career in marketing. Here are a few of things I took away from the show…

(1) Just because you think the slogan/pitch is awesome, does not mean it is. It takes practice (and many errors) to get things fine-tuned and “awesome.”

(2) Don Draper is the Man.

(3) Having your brand featured on Mad Men is kickass brand exposure and awareness.

(4) Losing a large brand, could potentially lead to losing other brands unless you react and turn the situation around quickly.

(5) If the story is making your brand look bad – change the story.

(6) Traditional Media can still be effective if used well.

(7) “Sex sells.”

(8) How your consumer views your brand may not be the same way you view your brand.

(9) If you are a secretary on Mad Men you will get laid and/or married.

(10) An efficient and creative marketing/Ad team is not only important, but essential.

And did I mention, Don Draper is the Man?!

Brands who Blog: Win

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Some blog to talk about their thoughts and feelings regarding things in their daily lives, others blog about their wedding plans, some about their cooking adventures/endeavors, many about their career focus, and others about their life passions and hobbies. Whatever the reason, I truly believe that the chance to express oneself is key for both individuals as well as brands.

It is a perfect “tool” for brands to “humanize” themselves and show their audience that there are “real people” behind their name, not robots clicking away.

1. Humanizing a brand is unbelievably important to show one’s audience a personal touch. For example give your brand’s audience a chance to get to know the team behind the name. Holland-Mark does a great job at this when they share cool facts about their interns, holiday party photos, and other things you wouldn’t normally know.

2. Engaging one’s audience after a post has been published is a crucial step. This way you can have an actual conversation after your blog has been tweeted out like BostInnovation does on a regular basis and build a loyal readership/consumer/fan.

3. And, then hopefully building “loyal” relationships which will stand the test of time  — like withstanding brand backlash such as the Toyota fiasco, Dominoes youtube mess, and others.

So whether blogging for personal or brand reasons – take the time to go a little deeper and share a personal side and allow your audience to get to know the person(s) behind the name.

T

My New Site!

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So I bought the domain months ago — and finally “got off my butt” to put it to use! I was fed up with the .com version of WordPress and the lack of plugins I could utilize and realized the awesomeness of the .org and all it beholds. I’m sure you all are nodding your heads, “yes, dear – about time.” Well a special thanks goes to a great friend of mine, Shawn McCarthy, because with his web-building skills I was able to get this site launched in no time.

Hope everyone subscribes via email or RSS. Would love to get feedback on what you think and keep up with my thoughts on what’s fresh and new in branding, social media and charitable causes.

Love to all my readers,

Pam :)

Starbucks to Offer Wine & Cheese

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As I was taking a break from my work and perusing Twitter, I came across a tweet from Scott Bauman: “Starbucks to offer wine and cheese?? http://bit.ly/aKHiD6 Is this the precursor to jumping the shark?”

At first I thought “wow, that’d be a great idea”…as I imagined myself having a glass of cabernet sauvignon while working on a paper or composing a blog post or reading a case. Then Scott, pointed out, “If you really want what Starbucks is “creating,” why not patronize local restaurants, not mega chains?” That got me thinking a bit more.

Is this extension of Starbucks going to harm the brand? Will the loyal coffee consumers and patrons of the comfy couches be dismayed? I like the idea of having the choice of coffee or a glass of wine while doing some work or reading a good book. However, it might be more suitable for a mom n’ pop cafe to offer such in a small neighborhood than the large chain.

As a fellow Starbucks consumer, I am torn about which way they should go with this idea and am definitely interested to see how the Seattle idea turns out.

What do you think this would do for the Starbucks brand? Will this keep you more loyal or turn you towards a different coffee shop?

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The Art of Branding: learning in the classroom vs. the workplace

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As I sat in my MBA Global Branding class last night, I couldn’t help but laugh. As the professor went on and on about how brands need that “one word” which consumers will recall at the drop of a hat — I thought back to my time at Holland-Mark (HM). HM coined the term “One Simple Thing” (OST), which is that one attribute that most well defines the brand. For example, as my professor asked in class “what do you think of when you hear Coca Cola?” Everyone should be thinking of the same word (unfortunately for some brands this does not always occur). Supposedly the “OST” for Coca Cola is “happiness” — did you think of that? Coke would hope so! And so would their marketers!

As I sat there in my seat, I started to realize that the concepts the professor was teaching were processes and terms that I had become well acquainted with during my time at HM. And with the hands-on learning and experience, I learned way more than reading cases and discussing them in a classroom. Now, I am not knocking my MBA education — it is definitely valuable and am happy to be a candidate for 2011 spring graduation — but learning these concepts in a work setting where you are automatically putting them to use is not only rewarding but helps one (or at least me) recall and understand things way more.

It was pretty awesome to be sitting in class and feeling that I had a firm grasp and knowledge of the topic (at least so far — it’s only been a few weeks into the semester). And I owe this knowledge and understanding to the exceptionally bright and talented folks at HM — especially Mike Troiano who if you haven’t heard speak — you should!

Now I ask you — where did your best knowledge and understanding come from?