Personal Branding Weekly
Editor’s Note: Have you ever experienced a low-ball salary offer and wondered what’s the best thing to do to come back from that? Author Skip Freeman, share some helpful tips to do that.
This week we covered that and what makes you valuable; the importance and power of Google AuthorRank (if you blog or write any guest articles – take note of this); strategies to maximize your opportunities; how to fight age discrimination are just some of the highlights from last week’s post. Here are the links to them directly if you missed it during this hectic and trying week (especially for our readers and friends on the East Coast).
- How to Fight Age Discrimination by Donna Fuscaldo
- What it Takes to Start a Company by Jun Loayza
- Branding Yourself as Perfect for a Specific Opportunity by Phil Rosenberg
- The Only Reason to Create a Personal Brand by Nance Rosen
- Taking a Career Leap: Lessons from the Space Jumper by Heather Huhman
- Giant Lessons to Achieve Goals by Elinor Stutz
- Learning from Henry Ford | Productivity Tips for Personal Branding by Roger Parker
- How do You Handle the ‘Low-Ball’ Salary Offer? by Skip Freeman
- Heroes of Personal Branding (iii) k.d. lang by Oscar Del Santo
- What Makes You Valuable by Jeff Shuey
- Google AuthorRank Helps Personal Branding by Erik Deckers
- Strategies to Maximize Your Opportunities in Today’s Job Market by Beth Kuhel
Catch us this week as we take on why humility is more attractive than arrogance and how to network by linking in, linking up and linking out!
The Importance of Clarity in Social Communication
When it comes to conversing with your audience, whether it is written, spoken, or even tweeted, what you say will affect how your audience reacts.
Consider that what you say is actually a product of information, and it is your task to sell it.
Today’s current audience has an attention span of as little as seven seconds, during which you must sell your brand.
To do this, you must incorporate the characteristic of clarity.
Concise communication
Short, concise, compelling, and to the point can all be difficult to attain in such a short time, but it is incredibly necessary that you do so. For those who practice the art of communication, some writing training may be helpful, but remember that writing more doesn’t mean that you are going to receive more attention. The lesson learned is that you need to use your words effectively and exhibit quality. What needs to be said? With that in mind, consider what it is that your audience wants to hear.
Clear and concise communication does not only include your effectiveness with words, but also takes into consideration that every reader also has their own individual perception and interests. Attention is a commodity that readers are only willing to give to the highest bidder- which means that most people will often scan through something to find that which is attractive to them. You need to be able to get as much attention with as little said as possible.
Remember that people only like what they are interested in; not necessarily what interests you.
When generating a post, blog, or statement, consider if it is what interests others or if it is just something that interests you. There is so much information currently floating around the internet and other communication devices that it can be difficult to compete unless you can deliver exactly what your audience is looking for.
Target your message to your audience
Social communication needs to be focused on the fact that different audiences need different targeted messages. They need to be engaged differently, specifically depending on the social site or communication method (blog or email) you are working with.
Your Facebook audience may enjoy more visual materials while your Twitter audience may more likely want a sound-bite from a recent review.
Social networks may rely on visual, conversational, or even referral content, all of which will undoubtedly affect your word of mouth marketing strategies.
Speaking with clarity isn’t just limited to social interactions; it is a vital part to every aspect of your business. Be sure that wherever you are, you speak clearly to your specific audience so that you not only get their attention but hold onto it as well.
Author:
Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks.com – a word of mouth marketing firm. She helps create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is co-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.
