I have been following the growth of social media and marketing over the past few years. Its growth has been amazing, and even for a guy like me who has a little bit of adult attention deficit disorder and likes to work on ten projects at the same time, I find it at times overwhelming. The changes that are taking place today are happening so quickly it and it is hard for many seeking to use technology to find out where to start and how to keep it going.
I recently read Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk; this easy to read and follow book is a must read for people who are tying to figure out the work of social media and personal branding. Many of Mr. Vaynerchuk’s points are quite good, I don’t agree with all of them, but he puts what is happening in the world of social media and personal marketing into perspective. I do agree with him that hard work is a great equalizer. This is a point that my father always made with me when I was growing up. In our family we always working and putting in many hours. This work ethic has led to the growth of our PR firm, which is now over 20 years old. Success is not a sprint, it is a marathon; however these marathons often consist of series of sprints. Busy people are always on the run, especially in the marketing business. Technology has helped but it has also made life even more unpredictable. For anyone marketing themselves or their company they should expect to be very busy.
“Your personal brand” which I have written about in the past continues to become more important than ever before. However, the personal branding “thing” is not new. In the PR and marketing world we have always worked with clients to brand them and have them known as experts, gurus, authorities, leaders and mavens. Whatever the title, being known for what you do or even better being recognized as the best at what you do you has tremendous value. We have worked for years to build this reputation for clients and PR and marketing people around the globe continue to do this every day.
The Internet social media outlets have changed the landscape of personal branding; however, as change takes place, creative professionals and their teams will help navigate clients small and large in this growing area. Professionals who understand how consumers will react will be a valuable tool to businesses of all sizes in the years to come. We will get into more detail on this topic in the future. I will explore some new areas of technology, provide some tips about how to leverage this to your advantage and we will follow the proven techniques that help people grow their businesses and their personal brands.
There is a lot that people can do with the tools that are available if they have the time. However, time is money and we all have to manage the limited time we have. For business people personal brands are yours for your entire life, so they need to be nurtured every day
Bill, I also enjoyed your comments on personal branding on the radio last week. As you say, it is vital but nothing new. It has just enjoyed much recent publicity. including a plethora of books on the subject. I think the good part is it that the concept has become more accessible to the small business person.