This week we hit a milestone in a twitter chat that I started five years ago. In fact, our #brandchat birthday is this Wednesday, February 19th. In five years, we’ve met many BRANDidos (a term of endearment for all those who chat and share their insights and resources). Some have stayed, others have left and many have taken ownership in shaping and growing the community, feel and focus on the chat.
If you look at why people have stayed and taken ownership of the chat, take a moment to reflect on your own brand or the brand of your small business.
Exhibit, or even more so embrace, the following practices to create a community of advocates around your brand:
1. Meaningful conversations
This doesn’t mean it’s a “tell all” bare your soul type of conversation. It does mean that you must be honest, authentic and appreciative of everyone involved.
2. Be present
Our chat is just one hour. The benefit of that is during that hour we are present – fully listening, conversing with and sharing our time, talent and resources with fellow participants.
3. Open your mind and be willing to change your beliefs
When you’re truly listening to someone and treating their opinion and beliefs as valuable, then you are open to altering your own opinions and beliefs after learning more about theirs, how they substantiate it or why they believe what they do. It’s important to note that I didn’t say anything about changing your values. Your values are at the core of who you are. Your beliefs can change while your values stay firm.
4. Consider that the way you’re valued and appreciated might not look like what appreciation should look like to you
Recognize that what motivates you might not motivate others. [tweet this]
The people you work with need to be shown appreciation in a manner that means something to them and encourages them.
5. Value those who are there
Honor those who participate. It can be just one person. Focus on them instead of focusing and discussing those who aren’t there.
6. Know why you’re doing what you do
Strategy and how tactics connect with your overall goal is important to keep at the forefront of every interaction.
What else would you add to the list?
I hope you’ll join us this week and jump into the chat to say Happy Birthday and to introduce yourself. You’re always welcome!
What we covered this week to help you in managing your personal brand:
- The Damage of Using Sarcasm in Workplace Communication by Skip Weisman
- Are You Making Enough Money? by Debra Benton
- Romancing the Brand: An Interview with Tim Halloran by Bill Connolly
- Why Your Boss is a Jerk by Nance Rosen
- How to Negotiate for What You Want by Crystal Washington
- Maintain Your Brand When You’re at Your Lowest by Heather Huhman
- Change Vocabulary to Build Relations and Increase Sales by Elinor Stutz
- 7 Signs Your Sales Training Needs a Revamp by Eddy Ricci
- Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions for 2014 by Glassdoor.com
- How to Make the Most of the Conference Season by Jeff Shuey
- LinkedIn as a Career Networking Tool by Richard Kirby
- Bland to Brand with Appreciation by Maria Elena Duron
- When to Get a Graduate Level Degree? by Ceren Cubukcu
- How to Improve Your Interviewing Skills by Alex Freund
- Ten Minutes per Day Could Improve Your Personal Brand by Beth Kuhel
- Don’t Be Shy: Brand Building for Introverts by Leslie Truex
- 5 Questions to Ask Before Going from For-Profit to Non-Profit by Marc Miller
- Greener Grass? – Leave for the Right Reasons by Debra Benton
To help you with some valuable tweets to share with your connections:
- The best way to engage an audience is to tell a story without pitching your business. http://ow.ly/tEXCx [tweet this]
- “A matcher is somebody who tries to maintain an even balance of give and take.” Read more from Adam Grant: http://ow.ly/tEXL2 [tweet this]
- The number one reason people leave their jobs is the boss. http://ow.ly/tEXRN [tweet this]
- To ace a video interview, you must be tech savvy and comfortable seeing yourself on video to make a lasting impression. http://ow.ly/tEXUe [tweet this]
- When someone says “thank you” and their face and demeanor don’t match, we don’t believe them. http://ow.ly/tEY0B [tweet this]
- Sarcasm in workplace communication either instantly kills or begins to slowly erode a relationship. http://ow.ly/tEYaz [tweet this]
- By using your abilities and making money, you give yourself power, leisure, solitude, and liberty. http://ow.ly/tEYgW [tweet this]
- “A brand is a representation of an entity. Whether a product, a service, a company, or an individual, we’re all brands.” http://ow.ly/tEYnv [tweet this]
- When you lack empathy, your boss will surely seem like a jerk. http://ow.ly/tEYsE [tweet this]
- You can’t advance your career or be a successful business owner if you avoid asking for precisely what you want. http://ow.ly/tEYAs [tweet this]
- Feeling low? Make a point to challenge yourself to do at least one thing every day to maintain your personal brand. http://ow.ly/tEYEs[tweet this]
- Your words are your marketing tools that will negate or build sales. http://ow.ly/tEZCY [tweet this]
- Training that revolves around the differences in potential prospects and how to identify and adapt is key. http://ow.ly/tEZI2 [tweet this]
- With job searches already heating up thus far in 2014, job seekers should be ready to impress during any interview. http://ow.ly/tEZOQ [tweet this]
- Following up after conference season seems like a simple step, but it will set you apart from 80% of the competition. http://ow.ly/tF0a2 [tweet this]
- LinkedIn: Connect-ability is the key factor you need to understand and leverage to maximize your proactive networking. http://ow.ly/tF0p5 [tweet this]
- Appreciation knows no boundaries, and it’s up to you to set the foundation for the best business climate. http://ow.ly/tF0Uj [tweet this]
- Before deciding on a graduate level program, you should know your career goals. http://ow.ly/tF15f [tweet this]
- In an interview, never underestimate the importance of showing the interviewer you understand issues the company faces. http://ow.ly/tF1j1 [tweet this]
