How To Succeed When Building A Global Brand

On Tuesday I joined up with the Traveling Geeks (a band of journalists/bloggers/influentials who visit startups around the world, picture of them above in a Paris subway station) in Paris and we saw a ton of startups. Some of them, like Stribe, were very good. But overall they just didn’t measure up. In fact, they even got me to be rude to them, which caught everyone off guard. I’ve been thinking about why they got me so angry ever since, and that’s what this post is about.

Read More…

Promoting Those Who Helped Promote You

I believe if Social Media warranted a mantra, it would look something like this, “Always pay it forward and never forget to pay it back…it’s how you got here and it defines where you’re going.”

This is the credo I live by and something that has only been reinforced as part of my daily regiment, online and in the real world.

Paying it forward and paying it back is the balladry of reciprocity, the undercurrent of social media and the currency of the social economy. The words, “what comes around goes around” and the overall spirit of karma reminds us that there may be personal rewards and satisfaction for helping and contributing more than we take away from our environment.

Read More…

Twitter Now Helps Promote Your LinkedIn

You know what’s missing from your social business profile on LinkedIn? Your tweet from yesterday, “Just remembered how much I like pickles.” Twitter and LinkedIn have anticipated your whim—today they’re announcing a partnership.

Okay, seriously, plenty of real business information is shared on Twitter. Depending on how you use the service, this really may be just what your profile needed—proof that you’re engaging with others in your industry, sharing helpful information, and have the know-how to do your job.

Read More…

How to Use Social Media

The appropriate steps when using Social Media as a business tool.

The future is approaching quickly and social media sites are becoming increasingly important in the business world. Facebook and Twitter are just two social media outlets being allotted an increasing amount of attention and resources to build brand and market share. Given social media is growing, these sites certainly have the potential to be a boon for businesses, but only if used correctly. In my opinion, businesses should approach social media with a firm understanding of the potential downside and negative consequences that can result from a poorly executed social media campaign.

Social Media can be a highly effective tool if used appropriately. When using Twitter as a marketing tool, understanding not just the system, but also the Twitter ‘environment’ is essential. Without thorough understanding of how the site works, success of any significance is highly unlikely. You should learn how to connect with individuals that are well networked in your area of business and engage them on a meaningful level. This goes far beyond the simple posting of promotional content. In other words, identifying the key players within your space is only part of the equation. Once identified, it is equally important to generate conversation and interest in your brand.

Getting more traffic to your site/business and building a relationship with potential clientele can happen when social media sites are used the right way. Taking a challenge and being creative with what you are given are the best ways to approach social media sites.

Branding Your Business Through SEO And PPC

People often associate branding with money. Lots and lots of money. Generally, if you try to run a branding campaign you might see from companies like Target, you most certainly will have to fork over a big chunk of change. But small business owners don’t have that kind of money to brand themselves in similar fashion. Fortunately, there are other ways to brand your small business online.

From my examples in my post Why Branding Matters to Small Businesses, you might conclude that a full-scale SEO or PPC campaign is the only way to brand yourself online. SEO can play a role in branding, but you can engage it strategically so you’re spending less time and less money while still building brand recognition.

Read More…