Posts Tagged ‘blog’

You’ve heard about the 90/10 rule, right (or the 80/20 rule or the 96/4 rule or one of its many incarnations)?  In Jack Humphrey’s excellent blog post on Twitter networking, he lays out the 90/10 rule so:

90% of what you share on Twitter should be made up of personal insights and thoughts along with a heavy dose of helpful links, while 10% should be made up of messages that more directly benefit you.

By keeping your “buy from/benefit/look at me” Tweets to 10% or less of your total content, you don’t lower your skeeze factor…you create a great opportunity to use your social networks to promote others.  and isn’t community what it’s all about?  Here are 10 easy ways to share the social media love:

Join the conversation:  Social media is no fun when it’s one-sided.  So get active and start conversing with your community!  Just engaging in conversation is a great way to attract attention to the worthy causes and businesses of others.

Retweet:  RTs are a great way to point your network to people you know and love.  So find relevant tweets, and pass them on!

Attribute:  Nobody likes to pass on an insight or link, only to be disregarded when it comes to attribution.  So take the time to link to the blog, Facebook page, or Twitter handle of the person or company you’re citing.

Interview:  Ask your favorite colleagues and connections for a quick interview on your blog, website, or newsletter…and remember to include their contact information.

Guest spot:  Better yet, invite contacts you love to guest blog, sharing their insights and expertise in their own words.  They just might ask you to return the favor (and at the very least will drive traffic and goodwill your way).

Follow Friday:  The #ff tag is de rigueur on Twitter these days, and for good reason:  you can generate tons of goodwill by taking just a few seconds to identify follow-worthy friends to your Twitter tribe.

Recommend:  Take a few moments to give a concise, eloquent LinkedIn recommendation or Yelp review to colleagues and service providers who have impressed you.

Star and save:  Like someone’s blog post?  Take a second and star it on Google Reader or save to your de.licio.us account.  Your recommendation will doubtless drive a bit of traffic their way.

Share plans:  Do you plan to attend a colleague’s new networking meeting or seminar?  Publicize your plans to attend and share links where applicable.  There’s nothing like showing up to an event your friends and connections have helped make successful.

Follow through:  It can be tempting to treat backscratching and cross-promotion as a short-term gig.  But remember…consistency is the enemy of mediocrity.  Follow through on your commitments and consistently promote others.  You’ll get a great feeling in addition to those elusive brownie points.

Mulled cider and Santa schemes aren’t the only thing brewing this time of year.  In fact, I find that my clients like to look back at year’s end to see how far they’ve come, where they’re going, and set some financial and business goals in order to head into the new year with confidence.

But how do you even wrap your head around your brand, anyway?  Brand assessment doesn’t have to be daunting…in fact, there are several quick strategies and assessment tools you can use yourself as you close the book on 2008.

Over the next week, VOCO Creative will be offering a fresh new blog series about brand assessment right here.  Check us out Monday, December 8 for the first installment!

After having a tire-kicking kind of weekend myself, I was reminded of the power of “just do it” not only by the AMAZING Nike commercials on the addictive Olympics newscasts, but by Christine Kane’s awesome (and still timely) blog on “How To Get Nothing Done.”

In an economy of uncertainty (and I’m not just talking about money), transition…and fear…abounds.  For many business owners and professionals, it becomes about impoverishment.  How can I save that extra cent?  What will taking this risk do for my bottom line?  Should I really ask for what I’m worth/take that leap/treat myself/take some of the load off of my shoulders?

Years of life and business have taught me to trust myself even when times are slim and life seems poor.  No matter how fearful I am, I am worth investing in.

What is keeping you from obtaining your goals?  From “taking the plunge” and taking your marketing materials from another never-done to-do-list item to a real priority with measurable results?  How is tire-kicking affecting your personal or professional brand?

For those of you who are interested in exploring these ideas and many others, I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be conducting a four-week Branding Bootcamp workshop at Kristen King’s Inkthinker Blog starting Tuesday, August 19.  Tired of tire-kicking?  Branding Bootcamp might be just what you need to whip your confidence into shape…even in uncertain times.  I’d love to see you there!

I am very tactile, I love how paper feels, how packaging reflects the light. And I have a question that fleetingly runs through my head. Does the packaging match the product, does it reflect the same goals as everything else about the branding? With Aveda, the question is barely there because the answer is a resounding yes. From the smooth, non-glossy paper packaging to the brushed metal look of the lipstick tube, it gives off the impression of a organic, herbal, and environmentally conscious company.

As of right now, I am not sure why brushed metal gives that impression, but it does. My theory is that it just isn’t glossy. Which reminds us a bit of the 80s. Glossy and high color and nothing natural. And brushed metal is the look of the future, literally the Bill and Ted future, but take away the glossy. This brushed look evokes calm, and purpose, and restraint. And now I am making myself giggle, because I am waxing eloquent about a lipstick tube and a Bill and Ted future. Thursday here I come.

New name, new look. Same killer skills.

Speaking of new looks, consider spending your upcoming Sunday with Voco Creative and the women of we2e at the NewYou 2008 Expo at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder. We’ll be joining other female entrepreneurs for a day of networking, learning, and close encounters with experts in the areas of relationships, wealth, beauty, wellness, and environment. Better yet, the event benefits the Boulder YWCA and will feature the unveiling of ten whole-life makeovers donated by the women of we2e!

Still on the fence? In addition to goodie bags with freebies like microdermabrasion and CDs and an amazing keynote by Gina Schreck, you’ll be able to check out yours truly at Branding Boot Camp from 2:30 to 3:30!

We’ll see you there…and we’ll see you much more often on our new home on the Web!