Author: Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.  Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat- a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.
Career Resourcesentrepreneurship

Personal Branding Weekly – Manage Things. Lead People.

I’ve never been fond of the title “community manager”.  After all, a community is created of individual people. And, for a long time, I’ve tried to live a life engaged with others with this thought in mind, “Manage Things; Lead People”. This amazing group of individuals don’t just “manage” their community – they lead, nurture, …

Personal BrandingSkill DevelopmentWorkplace Success

3 Thoughtful Thanks Necessary to Build a Stronger Connection

We know that appreciation that is seen as fake or manipulative is not received as appreciation at all. That fact, most all of us get. Yet, what also happens is mediocre attempts to appreciate someone that’s done more out of obligation or convenience can also have no effect to negative effects, too.

1. Appreciate someone …

entrepreneurshipPersonal BrandingSkill DevelopmentWorkplace Success

Personal Branding Weekly – Your Brand Story in 60 seconds

This past weekend the Personal Branding Blog was down. If you tried to reach out, you only saw “Error in Establishing Database Connection”. That’s why you’re receiving the Personal Branding Weekly so late this week. We were not able to establish the connection until late in the evening of this past Monday into early in …

entrepreneurshipPersonal BrandingSkill DevelopmentWorkplace Success

Personal Branding Weekly – Servant or Salesperson?

To this day, the term “used car salesperson” still conjures up a specific persona that many feel is a very negative way to describe someone.  The generalizations around this title are “pushy, fast talking, aggressive, high pressure, deceptive, rude, pesky, annoying” (and these descriptions came up quickly on the first page of a Google search …

entrepreneurshipNetworkingPersonal BrandingSkill Development

Personal Branding Weekly – Developing Your Offline Connection Skills

Ever connect with someone who’s so witty, quick to respond online who has such an engaging online personality and then is a total dud when you meet them away from the keyboard?

Communication matters both online and offline. How do you connect in a more effective with people face-to-face?

Provide them an opportunity to be…
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