Ignore Social Media at Your Peril

Greetings branded ones!
As most of us know, and the rest are figuring out, the social media tsunami that is upon us provides many great vehicles for branding.  As Kent Wertime reminds us in Building Brands & Believers, brands do not naturally occur in nature, but are fictions created and cultivated over time. What better way to nuture a brand than using a social media network to first promote your brand to friends and family, and slowly but  steadily acquiring more followers, until, like kudzu in a Georgia summer, you are flourishing.

I happened upon a great article in one of the HVAC (the acronym for Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning- my career field) trade magazines that I wanted to share- Ignoring Social Media Endangers Future Business.  In the technically driven, socially conservative world of HVAC, discussing social media draws sly grins and bemused expressions, similar to the reaction you would get from recounting the vacation you spent on an ashram. 

The time to accept social media as the next evolution in marketing is here, argues Angela D. Harris, author of the article.  Social media platforms are all about improved communication, and communication is what customers want and businesses need.  The benefits of a social media presence may not appear on the next quarterly statement, but they are tangible and will accrue with time.  Despite big business' obsession with performance during a three month time frame, most small business owners would rather grow organically, with business spread by referral. It is more profitable and less stressful! Social media offers this opportunity.  As Harris states, the time to begin a social media campaign was two years ago, but it is not too late.  Ignoring the social media movement altogether, however, will be detrimental to the future of your business.
SH

The Start-Up of You- A Tom Friedman Opinion

Greetings fellow branders!

There was a great opinion piece in the New York Times on 7/13/11 by Tom Friedman sent to me by my supremely talented and well read (and unfortunately also unemployed) long time friend rocketsredglare@earthlink.net .  To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Friedman, but maybe I am just jealous.  I think he is always looking for the next megatrend, and sometimes uses the metaphorical hammer to bang facts into line to support his thesis. Not this time, though.  Tom nails it. 

Friedman's piece discusses the increasing productivity of American business in response to great recession, and how this has led companies to be even more stringent in their hiring practices.  What companies want, according to Friedman, are employees who can "invent, adapt, and reinvent their jobs every day".  The title refers to a book being released in 2012 by Reid Garrett Hoffman, LinkedIn founder, and co-author Ben Casnocha.

One bit of advice that Hoffman disseminates should resonate with all of us, whether we are looking for employment, building a brand, or doing both.  Approach your career strategy in the same manner of an entrepreneurial starting a business, Hoffman shares. Be nimble, be resilient, network and be constantly learning.  In today's hypercompetitive, highly productive business environment, this is sound advice for all of us. 

SH

Time To Brand Yourself!

Put down that glowing red hot poker, and welcome to the inaugural Branded! blog.  As in many endeavours in our lives, I wish I had started this enterprise earlier.  My motivation at this time is ultimately to gain employment, but at the same time share my idea that it will be of benefit to all of us working stiffs- blue or white collar, newly employed or richly experienced- to establish a personal brand.  As many of us have found out the hard way, attaching our loyalty to a company or business organization that is not our own is a one way street.  Productivity in the US is way up, which means business will hire less people until growth outstrips productivity gains.  In our current economy, overall growth is anemic, so people with talents like you and I, who could genuinely help a business, sit on the bench. So how do we move ourselves from the nine out of one hundred (approximate national unemployment rate) collecting a check from the state to collecting a paycheck from a company in return for our contribution to their bottom line?  In today's realities, I believe it starts with a personal brand.

The term "branding" has not always had positive associations.  Like me, you may remember the classic Chuck Connors show Branded which ran in the mid-60's, where as the sole survivor of a massacre, Connors is unjustly accused of cowardice and court martialed.  He is stripped of his rank and kicked out of the Union Army, to seek personal redemption in the West.  Brands can show ownership (e.g., cattle) or stigma (e.g., criminals in more medieval socities).  However, negative associations with branding are in the past.

I distinctly remember my first encounter with personal branding.  I was walking to class at my alma mater, Georgia Tech, when a 6'5" offensive lineman walked by with a huge Greek letter omega nearly covering his 20 inch bicep.  I was intrigued, and later found he was a member of the esteemed black fraternity, Omega Psi Phi .  What a powerful statement that brand makes!  I want to establish a brand like this for myself, with the concomitant strength and unique identification (but without the mind numbing pain that I am sure was part of the process.)

When I was replaced at my last job, where I worked as a branch manager for a regional HVAC  parts wholesaler, I told the company president that he was diluting his brand.  We had worked hard in the Norfolk branch to create a space that would differentiate us from the six or so competitors with a square mile.  What made us different from the competition? In other words, what constituted our brand?  Foremost, when you walked through the door, we wanted your expectations exceeded. We were dogged in our customer service.  If one of our team let go, the other was there to carry on.  In the hectic daily business of a supply house, we always had time for special requests, rush deliveries, and research.  We offered 24/7 service at no additional charge.  Not virtual service, but call us anytime on my personal cell phone and we will get the part from the branch, or expedite from another location.  You need a warranty part delivered on a Saturday to the job? No problem.  In one of my favorite stories of personal aggrandizement, not long before I was downsized, I delivered a part to a customer and with it a large bottle of Nyquil for his flu-ridden wife.  This was not a difficult decision, as taking care of customers comes naturally.

We offered a professional, non-smoking environment, where boisterous banter never got personal or overheated.  I used to tell everyone we wanted to be the Cheers of the area supply houses.  We offered at cost snacks and sodas.  We frequently fed our customers, sometimes breakfast, sometimes lunch.  We offered a book exchange.  These efforts were organic, evolved over time, and were made to drive business. And guess what...it worked!  We had a record sales year in 2010, up over 20 percent the previous year, with a slight increase in gross profit percentage, so the branch made a lot of money.

The foundation for my brand is customer service.  I want to solve problems in an efficient, pleasant manner, and leave the customer anxious to return for more of the same.  It gives me a sense of satisfaction and pride.

Until next time, thanks a lot for reading. Much more to come, and your comments are always appreciated!
SH