personal branding through conversations

@Steven_InSites [email protected]

How conversations help youto build a strongpersonal brand.

Prof. Steven Van BelleghemManaging Partner InSites Consulting


Before we start,I want to set something clear.


This presentation isNOT about social media.


It is about the power of conversations.Conversations are choice & perception builders.


Managing your personal brand means managing the conversations about...yourself.


Time to become your own Conversation Manager.Managing the conversation about your brand is more challenging

than managing the communication about your brand.


Everybody can build a personal brand today.Tavi Gevinson was 14 when she sat on the first row of famous fashion shows. She was a very active blogger and became as influential as top fashion magazines.


Personal branding in 5 strategic steps.Follow these 5 steps to boost your personal brand.

Define a clear DNA

Define your

touch-points

Use smart

activation

ObserveFacilitate

Join

Think long term


Define a very clear DNA.The key question is: what should people say about you?


Simple key words: hope, change, Yes we can.Make it easy for people to tell others what you stand for.


Being positive should be part of your DNA. Being nice to other people is just one of the most powerful things there is.


A random act of kindness helps. Include it in your DNA.Get a smile on someone's face without a clear reason or hidden agenda. Just try to improve someone's day. It will make you feel good as well.



Define a clear DNA

Define your

touch-points

Use smart

activation

ObserveFacilitate

Join

Think long term


Define your touchpoints.Make it easy for people to find your stories and to get in touch with you. Social media is not about technology, it’s about connecting with people.


Have your own media.In the end, it’s great to have your own home base to tell your stories the way you want it. Here you don’t need to rely on someone else.


A personal homepage helps.It is an easy place to share all interesting content about your passion.


Use your homepage to communicate your DNA.Do it in a smart & easy to digest way like @palmaerts


Be smart about channeling your digital content.David Armano (@armano) uses Flickr to allow others to share his vision.


Twitter is highly recommended.Not just to broadcast but to reach out to other opinion leaders in your field of expertise. Listen, learn, connect & share on Twitter.


SlideShare is ever lasting. Claim thought leadership.SlideShare is just great to demonstrate your vision through a story. This content is longer available than a tweet or a Facebook update.


Look for sites where your target group already is.Share your content on platforms with high reach. This helps you to speed up the branding process.



Define a clear DNA

Define your

touch-points

Use smart

activation

ObserveFacilitate

Join

Think long term


It’s about activation.A message becomes important when other people share it. This is the evidence that what you do is worth sharing (and is relevant & high quality).


Smart activation: create impact through conversations.Get the right people talking, for the right motivation and let them talk about the topic that is relevant for you.


Produce remarkable content.It should be relevant for people to connect with you. Offer them value and they will become followers, ambassadors and eventually fans.


Father Roderick proves that it is possible in all sectors.If your content is cool, real, unique, self identifying & happy (CRUSH by @Joeri_insites) it will win people’s hearts.


Leverage offline media through social media.Famous marketing professor @ginovanossel is almost weekly on tv or in the newspaper. He uses his Twitter account to leverage on these appearances.


8 Million followers is great. Nothing wrong with reach.Set clear objectives to build your own reach on different social media.



Define a clear DNA

Define your

touch-points

Use smart

activation

ObserveFacilitate

Join

Think long term


Observe people, help them to spread the word about you & join into relevant conversations.All three steps remain relevant in building your personal brand.


Observe: Find influential people in your sector.Follow them, learn from them and engage with them. In the end, they can become your friends. Check Klout.com to look at influence levels.


Listen, ask questions, let people ask questions.State of the union 2011: possibility to ask questions to the president of the USA. Open up for real time feedback on social media in line with your offline events.


Facilitate &Collaborate: ask your friends for input.Clo Willaerts (@bnox) crowdsourced her corporate logo and the logo of her book.


Join existing conversations.Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) creates content every day & joins existing conversations of others. Doing this for years resulted in more than 800K followers and a huge increase in business success.


If you join, you don’t need other media to tell your story.Japanse prime minister joins twitter after feedback about slow & unclear communication about the tsunami.


When you join, please be real.By the way, people will feel it when your conversations are fake.


Real personal tweets. You just feel this is real.Most famous Belgian minister (@vincentVQ) on Twitter. Started tweeting after tip of famous advertising guru (@heldenmerk) and increased his awareness.


Thank you!

Sorry…

When joining: Forget your ego and your macho behavior.Saying thank you & sorry is just so powerful to create more fans & empathy.


Joining should lead to conversion.This girl (@slijterijmeisje) has a liquor store and became famous by blogging. She discovered the power of co-creating with fans to bring business success.



Define a clear DNA

Define your

touch-points

Use smart

activation

ObserveFacilitate

Join

Think long term


Not once, not twice, but 365 days a year.Don’t just deliver content when it is important to you. Produce content when it is important for your audience: probably every day of the year.


Seth Godin: author & guru. He ‘delivers’ every day.He writes books, but to become a strong brand, it is about delivering content every day of your life. That’s why Seth is blogging & writing every day.


It really takes time & effort. And…show your love.Ben & Jerry traveled to Amsterdam to meet up with 100 fans. This was the start of an online fan community. They don’t just love their fans, they show their love.


Just do it! Belgian top entrepreneur (@woutertorfs) just started tweeting to understand the opportunities of Twitter. Learning, trying out and doing stuff brings you further than just talking about it.


A lot of information, I know.

Just don’t forget these three things:


First step is describing your DNA.Know what people should say about you & stick to it in everything you do.


Observe people, help them to spread the word about you & join into relevant conversations.All three steps remain relevant in building your personal brand.


“Success is going from failure to

failure without the loss of enthusiasm”

You don’t wake up with 1 million followers.It’s hard work. Every day.


Start your

change


Read more on www.theconversationmanager.com

Follow me on Twitter @steven_insites

For questions & feedback:[email protected]

http://www.theconversationmanager.com/

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