by Miriam Hara | Jun 25, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
It’s hard to separate personal persona from your brand persona. If you are in charge of marketing for a brand or business you are probably passionate about what you do and how you do it. Being in charge of a brand and its performance can be intoxicating. However, like everything else in life, too much of one thing may be counterproductive. (Who said that?)
Having such a strong connection with the Brand, or as you see it your Brand, can make it very difficult to separate yourself. But you must. As a Brand Manager you are responsible for a brand’s marketing strategy by deciding what makes the most sense. You are the keeper and caretaker for brand character which involves everything from brand and logo guidelines, brand tone, brand voice and brand style… including brand body language. SO… the big question is, how do you as a brand manager separate yourself from the Brand? Chances are, during the course of your marketing career you will be fortunate enough to handle many different brands, even competitive brand. They can’t all be you! Here’s a quick checklist on how to separate yourself from your Brand.
Pleased to meet you: I have always thought of a Brand as a person. When my team and I first come on board to develop campaigns for a brand that we don’t know, we get to know it. We are respectful. We learn about its past, how it came to be, how it evolved, who its friends are and who its foes are (competitors). We discover where it lives and where its market is… and where the Brand needs to be.
Not all change is good: Understand the Brand’s character and its potential to evolve within that character and tone. Too often I have seen new Brand Managers come into an organization and change everything without any thought to the Brand’s franchise, community, marketplace or its potential. Remember it’s easy to judge what you think is right or wrong when you are new to a Brand. But making changes too soon can lead to market confusion. It takes time to nurture a Brand and for it to attain its rightful place in its community and market space. Brand making isn’t cookie cutter… sure, tactics can be interchanged, but brand personality and character need to stay the course in order to prevail and be a Brand.
Brands evolve: Take a very open view of a Brand that you’ve lived with for a long time. Just because you’ve tried a tactic in the past that hasn’t worked, doesn’t mean that same tactic with some tweaks, won’t work today. By the same token, keep your eye on the future. Find out what’s new and what’s exciting, maybe it’s just the thing to rejuvenate your Brand. Make sure you always place the Brand first and always evaluate. If a Brand is its own entity then it has its own style.
Be impartial: Separate your own likes about colour and style from those of the Brand… especially when working on brand creative. Ask yourself if the concern you have is really going to make or break the communications. Don’t strangle the creative process… and don’t confuse what you like with the Brand’s style… you will doing it a big disservice.
Be passionate. Be respectful. Be mindful.
After all, it’s all about the brand persona, Brand’s success… and yours.
by Miriam Hara | Jun 21, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Latest
Attention all Marketing and Brand Managers: We know our marketing and we know our brand. More importantly, we know who our target buyer, audience and groups are. That’s important and is what makes for great creative. But there’s a catch – we suffer from brand intimacy. By knowing so much through living our brand, day in and day out, we forget that our target doesn’t know our brand intimately and probably couldn’t care less. We need to make them care. The only way I know how to do that is through good advertising and communications for them… not for me. Too often in a boardroom environment decisions are made about what works and what doesn’t without market research (but that’s a post for another time!). More to the point, many day-to-day decisions or the way to go ahead on smaller projects are based on what I refer to as “internalized judgment”. Whether you’re developing a full-scale advertising campaign, billboard creative or just doing a one-off brochure, the question you need to ask when assessing your advertisement is: “Does it makes sense to someone other than myself?”
Here’s a quick checklist to make sure that your ads and communications are not a victim of brand intimacy!
Have ad sense: In other words, is it clear? Clarity is very important in any communications piece. By being brand intimate, sometimes we feel that we don’t need to “spell it out” to our audience… or we just skip the details, leaving the message too vague for our target to decipher.
Don’t talk to yourself: Take a step back and remember the first time you walked in the door to your new job and had to get to know and understand your brand. Remember how you thought about it… before intimately knowing it. This applies to judging creative ads, headline copy and even segmentation. Often companies refer to their business segments in categories driven by manufacturing or by organization divisions. Consumers don’t see these segments how business sees them. Be very cautious of this because it can make or break your brand’s success.
Fatigue syndrome: Admit it. Whenever you see your brand initiatives, whether it’s a TV ad, a billboard or a social media campaign, you pay attention. Of course you do! As you should! But understand that your niche market or mass target groups don’t. It takes time for them to even acknowledge your ad, even though they’ve seen it once or twice already. Remember, the ad fatigue syndrome effects Brand Managers, Marketing Directors, Marketing Managers and Vice Presidents of Marketing and Sales… and everyone else in the organization. But, it doesn’t affect your consumers.
So the next time your brand agency asks for your opinion on communications… don’t leave your hat on… put on your target market’s hat instead!
by Miriam Hara | Jun 17, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Miriamisms
How do you know when you are ready for business success?
So you’re right out of school or you’re new to the market and you want to break into your field. But are you ready? Really ready? When after the umpteenth interview and the many false starts, or “almost-getting-it” jobs, you get “the job”. Finally, you have arrived. But are you ready for the work place? Are you prepared to shine and do what it takes to make a good impression? Do you know how to become the go-to person for your team, or even the person that everyone feels they can rely on and trust? Having hired many people here’s my list of what to do and what not to do:
When you don’t add… you subtract: One of my friends once said this to me when we were talking about work and I immediately got it. If as an employee you aren’t adding anything more than just doing the work, then, you’re not adding value. In fact, you actually create a situation where your colleagues will compensate for all you don’t add, weakening the entire team. It’s as easy as being involved. Showing interest and not being afraid of asking questions or stating opinions. It’s not cool to be less than you can be.
Showing up isn’t enough: That’s right. If all you do is show up to the office or job, chances are you won’t be showing up there for long! Doing less and not following through or not keeping pace gets tired really quickly… for everyone else. It’s not cool to do less.
Own it all. From filing to… storing: There’s always grunt work, or work that no one likes to do. This is different for everyone, but regardless what it is, it has to get done. And it has to get done properly and accurately. Work with intention and be committed. It’s not cool to do only what you like to do.
Cross your t’s and dot your i’s: I cannot say this enough… and I am not just talking about grammar here! Yes, know the difference between its and it’s, or your and you’re. However, just knowing the difference isn’t enough. You need to exercise the knowledge! I digress. Pay attention to details. Success is in the details. It’s not cool to say ‘Oh, yeah… sorry’.
Come in energized: Come in happy… and rested. It doesn’t bode well when you walk in the door dragging your you-know-what. Be prompt. Be up-beat. No, it’s not cool to yawn or zone out in meetings.
Know what you know: It’s very important to know your capabilities. Know what you know and what you don’t. If you don’t know, then say so. This is a good way to manage your boss’ expectations and timelines. It allows your boss to respond accordingly whether it’s giving the task to another team member or providing you added support to complete the task. It’s not cool to say you know… and then show that you don’t.
Listen and do: Learn to listen and follow the direction you’re given. And well, just learn. It’s not okay to just hear the direction and do your own thing. If your boss tells you how to do something, or how they want something done, then do it that way. If you have a concern or a different approach, then discuss it with them. It’s not cool to just do it your way.
Read the environment: Timing is everything and when stressful situations happen at work, understand that everyone reacts differently. Sometimes people react well and sometimes they don’t. Know that it’s not all about you. Yes… you are important and your needs are important… just maybe not at that particular moment. And no, it’s probably not cool or a good time to joke around or spend time chatting it up with other employees.
Don’t over promise and under deliver: In any business, deadlines are important. Whether it’s a report or a deadline for an ad or event, know one thing: Deadlines are not elastic. If a business misses a deadline, that means money… in the short or long-term. If you commit to a task and a deadline, you need to respect it. It’s not cool to say you’ll do it and then don’t.
There’s so many more I could list, but if you get these down pat, and at the risk of sounding like a clairvoyant, business success will be yours!
by Stephanie Fasulo | Jun 12, 2013 | Branding, Interactive, Latest, Social Media
As most people have heard, former CIA technical assistant Edward Snowden became an overnight household name and acclaimed “whistle blower” when he decided to inform the public about a government database that collects our private information.
Any analyst at any time can target anyone,” Snowden said. “I, sitting at my desk, had the authority to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president if I had a personal email.”
A million different thoughts ran through my mind. But mostly, I wasn’t surprised at all. The government has always been one step ahead, collecting our information for years to protect us.
But you can’t deny that social media helps government agencies collect our information much more efficiently as we give it right to them. But it’s not only government officials whom have our seemingly private information at their fingertips.
Private companies – big online businesses – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have our information because we are freely giving it to them. At any time these multi-million dollar companies know which cities we live in, what we’re interested in and who our friends and family are. Oh, and that picture of your meal you posted from the restaurant down the street? You just told them where you are.
Everything is uploaded to a giant server in a private company where we only assume the information is protected and our lives are private, as possible.
But as people working in a social media environment, making our money influencing each other on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn – is it too late to turn back? Could you give up the social influence you’ve built on the Internet? The businesses we’ve built, the reputations and our clients? Would we be okay giving up social media if it ever inflicted on our overall privacy and wellbeing?
A part of me thinks it may be too late. Too late to step back and unplug social media from our lives even though we know it brings a sense of danger to our personal security. There are start-up companies every day, building and being inquired, all promising to bring social media to corporate environments. As ethical as these practices may be, we have to at least be aware of the possibility of every company dipping into social media our private information is being spread further and further away from us.
CNN reported some social media reactions to the CIA whistleblower: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/tech/social-media/snooping-web-reaction/index.html
@mattdizwhitlock #NSACalledtoTellMe that after 4 trial memberships on eHarmony I probably should just give up.
@IIzThatIIz #NSACalledtoTellMe What Happens in Vegas, stays in our Utah data center.
@andishehnouraee The most important question: How will my presence on #PRISIM affect my @klout score?
It’s a scary thought to think that it may be too late to turn back from the social media presence we all work towards daily. If we monitor what information we put online, maybe you can better protect yourself but it’s always best to stay informed. So, what do you think?
by Miriam Hara | Jun 7, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
I often have discussions with business colleagues, associates and clients about the merits of having a LinkedIn presence and the value of having a presence on LinkedIn. Quite frankly, adding LinkedIn to your social media marketing and yes, sales arsenal is good business. Many generalize LinkedIn and compare it to Facebook based on numbers. True, compared to Facebook with their 1.11 billion users, LinkedIn seems like a lightweight with a mere 200 million members. Yes, I am being funny. 200 million users is impressive.
The big difference between LinkedIn and Facebook users is that LinkedIn users are business professionals, a totally different and distinctive demographic than the friends and families found on Facebook.Comparing these 2 Social Media properties is like, forgive the feminine analogy, comparing a business suit to a cocktail dress.
By now , I believe that the majority of us have a LinkedIn profile (please say yes!). We talk about our professional-selves and connect with others in our industry. Many people use it to find jobs and employers use it to advertise jobs…and research perspective employees.
According to Forbes, the American business magazine, “LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today.” I tend to concur. It is now “a natural” to go on line and research a company via their website, and also search it out on LinkedIn. I don’t need to tell you about the influential and far reaching weight of Facebook. Despite the many differences of Facebook and LinkedIn there are common elements. Just like Facebook, LinkedIn provides yet another opportunity for your business to have a company page. Your company page is an opportunity to talk more about your company and the people who work there. Like Facebook, LinkedIn enables you to add photos and videos as well as case studies of your work…. and best of all engage with the people who follow you. LinkedIn allows you to personify your company, by linking your employees and management profiles to the company page. This assist in building a business reputation and showcasing a culture through personnel that is key in any business evaluation, perspective employees or potential clients. It builds your business community… uniquely yours. If that’s not powerful marketing, I don’t know what is. With an average income of over $100,000 your LinkedIn followers are an excellent resource to drive word of mouth sales.
LinkedIn has a great set of features you will want to take advantage of. You can post status updates, company announcements, product releases or whatever content you wish and link these updates to your Twitter account. You can create a group where you reach out and build your own community, in order to build business reputation. Businesses can also showcase your products and services. And the one feature I think is the most influential is the recommendations you can receive from LinkedIn members. Not only do the recommendations create a positive image the recommendation links to the person’s profile that makes the recommendation and provides instant credibility that can assist any sales process from employment to business to business sales.
Like any good social media tool LinkedIn offers you analytic information. You can view the total company followers, group followers, impressions, new followers in the last 7 days as well as page views, unique visitors, and page clicks over the last 7 days. It shows page views by tab, page visitor demographics, and more. Don’t worry this information can only be viewed by your company page 
administrator.
With all this audience and information, it’s a wonder why more businesses don’t have a company page and if they do, why they don’t “work” it to its fullest potential. LinkedIn is a powerful marketing and sales tool that just makes business sense.
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