the troymonaco school of brand relations*

2days Class | "Why no one notices ALL the great work you do, and 3 ways to change that..."

Written by Scott Belsky

...The notion of marketing oneself brings up tremendous discomfort. In the research at Behance, they have found that the most productive creative professionals are seasoned at ensuring that their strengths are understood. We are not talking about elaborate or conniving “marketing campaigns,” but rather a concerted effort to communicate strengths. Here are a few tips on communicating your strengths (with class):

1. Share projects that you are particularly proud of. If you have a particular talent for vintage-style illustration and thus had two particularly well-known clients that valued these skills, then this should be a point you make with everyone you meet. You can simply share the projects that you feel utilized your strengths most effectively.
2. If on a team, volunteer for projects that engage your strengths. All too often, we wait to be told what to do - even if it is not utilizing our skill set. People get promoted for out-performance, and people only outperform when they are on a project that taps their strengths. As such, you should take initiative to get staffed on projects of interest. This is the work you should actually volunteer for.
3. Get measured for your strengths. When working with a client (or a manager), state up front that you intend to use particular strengths or skills to make the project successful. Then, at the end of the project, request feedback on those elements of the project.

Read the full article here

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: The Internet: Why are you on here?

by Chris Brogan | via OpenForum.com

 ..."There are values to using the Internet for your business. You can use listening tools to grow bigger ears and hear what people are saying about your company. You can maintain a Web site (or better still, a blog) and gain organic search value for your company, and help your business get discovered by new potential clients. You can read up on trends and learn how others are using the Internet to be successful.
 

But there are lots of great distractions along the way. For one, are the stories you're reading on the net helping you get more business value? Or are they just "interesting"? Keep a little ticker and decide whether the last 20 blog posts or news pieces you read will really change the way you do business. If not, why are you reading them?

 
Are you on Twitter or Facebook? What's your goal? Now, don't just talk business all the time, as that will easily backfire. But if you find yourself just using the "virtual watercooler" effect, ask yourself how much time you'd want an employee spending, if they were standing at the water cooler inside your own company. It's important to be social. Determine how much time you should spend.

 
Ask yourself WHY questions about your time on the web often."

Chris Brogan | Read the rest of this article via OpenForum.com

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: People in China starving for your job

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: Jonathan Mannion - Photographer [his experience on building a succesful brand]

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: problems with the music industry

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: Recognize your own influence

by Glen Allsopp 

Everyone has some influence online,
even if some have more than others.

Growing that influence involves
a lot of effort and a lot of time,
but losing it can happen overnight.

Even if you only have 10 twitter followers
and your blog hasn’t yet received its first
comment, you still have influence.
And that means you have a responsibility
to give people the best advice and value
that you can.

If you care about your audience
and put value first,
your influence will grow more quickly
than you might think.

via copyblogger | read the rest of the article here

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: Reasons Facebook is > Twitter

By Jim Tobin via Ignitesocialmedia.com
 
A lot of my geekier friends insist that Twitter and Facebook are "totally different." But at their core, they both allow you to provide status updates on your life or things that are happening. So while the core geek communities (said with the utmost respect) may like having two channels, the average person will not want the hassle of managing both.

That leaves Facebook with the following strengths in their corner:

• The ability to updates your status like Twitter, except you can add pictures, videos or links with summaries to those updates, and people can "like" or comment in line (none of which Twitter does);
• The ability to send or receive updates from your third party tools, as easily as you can on Twitter;
• A mobile platform with 65 million users. This one is shocking. It means Facebook has 6.5 times as many phone users as Twitter has total users.

- An excerpt from 7 Moves Facebook Has Made to Outflank Twitter in the Last 6 Months

Read more brand strategies for Facebook - here

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: Facebook "Brand" Pages

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class: Innovation

Loading mentions Retweet

2days Class | define: Brand

by Seth Godin

Here's my definition: A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer. 

A brand's value is merely the sum total of how much extra people will pay, or how often they choose, the expectations, memories, stories and relationships of one brand over the alternatives.

A brand used to be something else. It used to be a logo or a design or a wrapper. Today, that’s a shadow of the brand, something that might mark the brand’s existence. But just as it takes more than a hat to be a cowboy, it takes more than a designer prattling on about texture to make a brand. If you’ve never heard of it, if you wouldn’t choose it, if you don’t recommend it, then there is no brand, at least not for you.

more...

Loading mentions Retweet