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photo: Bob Elsdale

From Linda Zimmerman, in response to Is Your Social Media Director Qualified?

One point you made in the video I’d like to highlight. You mentioned Frank at Comcast who has taken his knowledge of customer service and social media and meshed them together. This is key. EVERY professional needs to understand social media in their own context so they can *interpret* it into their profession and job. This by the way should be part of a social media director’s job – educating.

I must take you to task on one point however. I think you fall into a common trap in your definition of “first type” using “recognized thought leader” as a criteria to be considered “first tier.” I see this generalization of “celebrity” in social media equating to “first tier” as an equally disturbing problem in the social media profession.

I have the privilege of working with many professionals who equal or often out-think those “thought leaders” every day, who have been evolving with the web culture longer, who deeply understand and interpret social media in a broader business context, and who are plodding away profoundly changing the way businesses run, understand and interact. They are behind the scenes, quietly affecting change. They engage with the tools to understand consumer trends and cultural shifts, then interpret them for the business.

I applaud your list of competencies (marketing focused as they are), as they get at the heart of how to identify these “invisible giants.”

In my world view, a Social Media Director needs to be able to broadly address your point about cross-functional impacts – marketing is only one application of social media.

Brilliant. I love it.

So, two points:

1. Social Media “thought leaders” and rock stars have their place, sure… and I have to tread lightly since I might have a toe or two planted on that side of the fence, but beware the “blogger-turned-Social Media genius” syndrome. It’s one thing to evangelize Social Media, even if you do it extremely well, but another COMPLETELY to work within an organization at the Director or VP level actually INTEGRATING and OPERATIONALIZING Social Media (or anything, for that matter).

Before you can be a Social Media Director within a Marketing department, you first have to be a Marketing Director. Before you can be a Social Media Director in a PR department, you first have to be a PR Director. Same with HR, Business Development, IT, etc. See where I am going with this? An individual with “extensive” Social Media experience (please forgive my liberal use of the term “extensive”) cannot function at the Director level without prior experience at that level outside of “Social Media.”

Your knowledge of the function of a department (or group of departments) takes precedence over your knowledge of Social Media.

Why? Because the function(s) of one or more department don’t change when you add a social component to the mix. How they go about doing their work, sure, Social changes the strategies and tactics, but not the function. Look at it this way: Social ENHANCES Marketing, Customer Service, HR, IT, Sales and PR the same way that web and mobile do. If you don’t understand how a Marketing or PR or Sales department works – from the perspective of a Marketing/PR/Sales Director or VP – you aren’t ready to be a Director in that department, no matter how comfortable you think you are with FaceBook, Twitter, Radian6 and ScoutLabs. This is a FACT. You need a rich blend of both worlds – “Traditional” and “New/Social” – if you are to be successful in this space at the Senior level.

Hiring a Social Media “rock star” who understands how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendfeed, Google Buzz and a dozen other tools and has a really good blog about it but has ZERO experience working as a Director in the type of environment you expect them to operate in is a disaster waiting to happen: Nothing will ever get done. Politics will turn every project into a time-suck. Nothing will click. Your Social Media experiment will be all pain, no gain, with your rock star complaining about how you need to “chaaaaange” and “let go of your oooooold ways,” and how he “just can’t function in that kind of environment.”

Apparent knowledge of Social Media (the ability to talk at length about Social Media) doesn’t trump operational expertise (the ability to actually turn knowledge into action – and successful action at that).

First, as Linda brought up in her comment, there is a HUGE difference between Social Media Evangelists and Trained executives with a practical understanding of Social Media integration and management.

Second, there is also a huge difference between Social Media practitioners who can operate at the junior level, and Social Media practitioners who can operate at the senior/executive level. Huge. Massive. Humongous. (Category 1 vs. Category 2 in my previous post.)

How do you tell them all apart? Simple:

1) Establish that they do in fact know what they are talking about in SM (Google them, read their blog, see where they are in SM and what they do there, how they behave, what they talk about, if their content is their own or a constant rehash of someone else’s work, etc. Don’t forget to see HOW LONG they have been in the space. A self-professed “Guru” with all but three months of activity on Twitter, no blog to speak of and a network of twenty people on LinkedIn, for example probably shouldn’t move on to the next step in your selection.

2) Dive deeper into their content. Are they really a master of their trade, or are they little more than a cultural evangelist inspired by other people’s blogs? (Is their advice practical or theoretical? … assuming they provide advice at all.) Do they actually solve problems, or muse about what could be? Are they truly THINKING about Social Media from a strategic or tactical standpoint, or just yapping about the latest tool they read about on Mashable?

3) You’re going to laugh, but yeah, look at their CV/Resume. (I know, it’s old school, but bear with me.) Where have they worked? What have they done? What level of management have they reached? Just because someone understands Social Media through and through (and shows tremendous promise for your organization) doesn’t mean they are experienced enough to be given a Director level position. Could they be mentored and fast-tracked into the position after some time? Sure! Make them a Social Media advisor to the CMO if that works. An in-house consultant, even. But BE CAREFUL how quickly you promote or hire someone for a key leadership position with a) P&L and staff responsibilities, and b) a need for a tremendous amount of change management savvy (which comes with a need for serious political Kung Fu skills). Even someone with lots of community management experience isn’t necessarily ready for a Director-level role.

Among the things you should look for in their CV/Resume, apart from their Social Media savvy: Director-Level experience or above, change management experience at the corporate level, a capacity for adaptation, solid leadership experience, crisis management experience.

I have said it before and I will say it again: Social Media is an integration piece. It needs to be embedded in the organization. If it isn’t, it won’t do a damn bit of good to anybody. Can you outsource some elements of it? Yes. All of it? No. You don’t outsource your email, do you? Everyone still has a phone on their desks too, right? Okay. This is no different. Agencies can handle some of this for you, but the kernel has to be managed within, and someone with operational savvy has to help you build a framework to do just that.

Consult with with Social Media rock star bloggers if you must (and there are some great ones out there who can help you out,) but when it comes to HIRING a Social Media Director (who will take you from “talking” to “doing”, look for folks with REAL EXPERIENCE in the corporate world, who have figured out how to bring Social Media into their field(s) of expertise. Those are the folks who will actually make Social media work for your organization. The folks who will put it into practice and into action. Those are your “invisible giants.” (Though be ready: They won’t stay invisible long.)

2. If you still think that Social Media is a Marketing function, start over from the beginning. You still don’t understand how this space fits into your business or the way your customers expect it to fit into their lives… and we need to get you back on track fast.

* * *

Incidentally (and please forgive the self-promotion since I am behind these events), if you are still curious about how to plug social media into your organization or business, Red Chair training events are launching in the US this year, starting with Portland, OR. These events are usually broken down into two sessions:

Day 1 – “Red Chair: Executive” is a one-day course specifically designed to teach CMOs, CEOs, executives, VPs, Director level professionals and senior-level consultants how to properly build, integrate, manage and measure Social media programs across their organization.

Day 2 – “Red Chair: Studio” is a half day course specifically designed to teach Department Managers, account-level managers and junior consultants how to build, manage and grow specific social media programs based on their specific departmental needs.

Unlike the types of presentations you usually sit through at conferences or via webinar, Red Chair training is designed to teach you how to actually plan for and manage your Social Media infrastructure. This is the real thing. No evangelizing, no rehashed theory, no Facebook 101 junk… Real training for real world applications, from the perspective of running a business.

Stop Number one is in Portland on March 11 and 12. If you or someone you know in the Portland/Seattle area is interested in actually having someone show you how to do this properly, consider registering. (If you want to fly in from another part of the country, that’s cool too.) Go register now.

• February 16, 2010
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Originally published in the Shutterstock newsletter as a two-part series…Part I

To keep things consistent, I didn’t change the headline. However, for the sake of reading this post in context, SMO should be part of an overall SEO strategy (SEO + SMO = Amplified Findability in the traditional and social Web)

As a brand, publisher, designer, photographer, artist, or filmmaker, the social web is your new distribution channel as well as your portfolio for intellectual assets. Whether you’re in the business of creating, marketing, selling, or distributing media, the social Web is an incredible medium that can create a brand, establish visibility, and build demand, all without active promotion. It’s about letting your expertise or work market itself through the practice of a socialized form of inbound marketing that helps make content discoverable when people search.

This may sound a bit familiar to you; after all, this is the purpose of search engine optimization (SEO) right? We know that people use search engines like Google and Yahoo to find relevant content and as such, we optimize our work so that it is discovered in search engine result pages (SERPs).

However, the technicalities involved with wiring SEO are not the same processes required to boost visibility in social networks like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter. And it’s in social networks like these where people are increasingly spending time communicating, finding relevant and interesting content, and sharing it with their connections. So now, in addition to SEO, we have to implement and manage a Social Media Optimization (SMO) program around our content to increase visibility in these new environments.

A failure to do this could be an enormous loss. Everyday people are taking to social networks to discover new content in and around their social graph. According to a recent Nielsen study, social media sites such as Wikipedia, blogs, and social networks account for 18% of where searches begin, outperforming sites that are dedicated to publishing information specifically to help individuals find deeper analysis and details. This is a trend that’s only now gaining momentum; as Nielsen observes, “Social Media is becoming a core product research channel.”

This momentous shift in behavior represents an opportunity to connect your value and insight to those who can benefit from it.

I’m not a professional photographer, but you wouldn’t know that from where my images have appeared. Through the diligent posting of pictures on Flickr and Facebook, my pictures eventually earned the attention of Hollywood, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and event organizers. However, it wasn’t the unique quality of the pictures, the framing of each shot, the artistic views, or the dramatic compositions of my subjects that earned prominence. It was simply making the pictures findable by those looking for related content. The same is true for the many articles and papers I’ve written and published in content networks such as Scribd and Docstoc.

SMO is defined by the distribution of social objects and their ability to rise to the top of any related search query, where and when its performed.

At the center of any successful SMO program are social objects. Social objects represent the content we create in social media, including images, videos, blog posts, comments, status updates, wall posts, and all other social activity that sparks the potential for online conversations. As such, the goal of SMO is to boost the visibility of social objects as a means to connecting with individuals who are proactively seeking additional information and direction.

Serving as conversational hubs, these social objects are personified by the pictures we publish to Flickr, the videos we upload on YouTube, the events posted in Upcoming.org, the wall posts shared in Facebook, the tweets that fly across Twitter, the links bookmarked in Delicious, the votes cast in Digg, the places we check into on Foursquare, the documents published in Docstoc, reviews posted in Yelp, communities built around themes in Ning, a thought shared in a blog post or a blog comment, etc. They are to social media what web objects, pages, and sites are to the traditional Web. As SEO helps increase the visibility of content in Google and Yahoo for example, SMO helps build the essential bridges between social objects and the individuals performing searches to find relevant content.

Social objects are also the catalysts for conversations and occurrences — online and in real life — and they affect behavior within their respective societies. Have you ever wondered how YouTube recommends related videos or how content within social networks is linked to the keywords you use in search? Search results in social media are defined by the elements ingrained in each social object, which is commonly referred to as Metadata. Essentially, metadata is the data that defines other data.

The Social Web relies on metadata, leveraging “the crowds” to classify and organize the volumes of user-generated content uploaded to social networks and blogs everywhere. In some ways, we became the web’s librarians by indexing the volumes of useful social objects to help others discover them quickly and easily.

At the very least, social objects are contextualized through keywords, titles, descriptions, and/or tags. Understanding these attributes of social objects, which is a topic I will discuss next month, is one of the most important aspects of a successful Social Media Optimization plan.

Continue to Part Two

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

I was digging through the vault yesterday, when I stumbled upon this fantastic post from Chris Brogan I had bookmarked almost a year ago:

I believe we’re going to shift back to thinking customer service and community management are the core and not the fringe. I believe we’re going to move our communications practices back in-house for lots of what is currently pushed out to agencies and organizations. I believe that integrity, reputation, skills, and personality are going to trump some of our previous measures of professional ability. I believe the web and our devices will continue to move into tighter friendships, and that we will continue to train our devices to interpret more of the world around us on our behalf.

Read the rest here.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. In his post, Chris also talks about bringing value-add and core competencies together – which is a drum I have been beating for years.

This is by far the best piece of advice I’ve heard this decade, also from Chris:

Here’s a quick way to really turn around your clients: be helpful.

I know what you’re thinking: “Duh!” Right? But when was the last time you actually said those two words outloud during a strategy meeting or quarterly business review? When was the last time someone actually suggested this as a course of action? As a core competency? As a business objective? As a mantra?

And more importantly, with all the commotion around Social Media tools, platforms, channels, measurement, content and tactics, when was the last time you looked at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, etc. from the perspective of being helpful? Of providing assistance and value to customers – instead of merely promoting your wares? Best Buy has. So have Starbucks, The Home Depot, Virgin America, Comcast, UPS,and scores of companies gaining traction in the space AND converting these net new positive interactions into new business and increased loyalty. So my question to you is this: As a company, what are you doing to be helpful TODAY? How are you using communications platforms to be helpful? Phones, email, mobile, web, Social, print, radio, etc.? Where are you scoring high marks? Where could you do better?

Is the “just be helpful” mantra so simple, so obvious that we might have forgotten to make it a cornerstone of every interaction we have with the public? I hope not, but I’m thinking yeah, probably.

I think I just gave you your assignment for this week.

Note: Chris and I will be speaking, listening and being as helpful as we can at the Like Minds conference and summit in Exeter, UK on February 26 and 27. Look for #LikeMinds on Twitter if you want to follow the fun.

Then on March 4-5, I will be answering questions in Chicago in an “open mic” style event at a #SohoSeminar. This will be kind of cool: Usually, I spend more time presenting than answering questions in a live forum, so being able to devote ALL of my time to answering questions is something I look forward to. Click here to register for the event now. It should be well worth it.

Cheers.

• February 17, 2010
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Originally published in the Shutterstock newsletter as a two-part series…Part I / Part II

To keep things consistent, I didn’t change the headline. However, for the sake of reading this post in context, SMO should be part of an overall SEO strategy (SEO + SMO = Amplified Findability in the traditional and social Web)

In the previous post, I discussed the importance of social objects (images, videos, blog posts, comments, status updates, wall posts, etc.) in a Social Media Optimization campaign. This month, I am going to explore the five major ways that these social objects can be contextualized: keywords, titles, descriptions, tags and/or links.

Keywords

Keywords are the terms that people use to find relevant information in searches. When selecting keywords for your social objects, it’s important to remember that the keywords used by customers and influencers are not always what you think they’d be. To help, I suggest visiting Google Adwords to generate keyword ideas:

• February 19, 2010
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Interesting headline I know…However, it’s not intended to be sensationalist, simply a matter of fact and also a topic worthy of discussion.

Facebook announced that active users of its mobile platform surpassed 100 million, each and every month. And, this usage happens on almost every carrier in the world. If interaction and participation serve as the foundation for social media, then Facebook is setting the standard. Facebook is reporting that mobile users are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

According to estimates, the number of mobile Facebook users far exceeds the total active user base for Twitter, including mobile, Web, and through third-party applications.

This news also represents a concentric ring around another major milestone the company reached earlier this month. On February 4th, the burgeoning social network celebrated its sixth anniversary as well as hosting more than 400 million users.

In a recent statement, Facebook voiced its dedication to mobile platforms…

Facebook’s goal is to enable our users to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends whenever, wherever they are. To accomplish this we are working with every major operator and mobile device maker to ensure that users are able to access Facebook – through SMS, mobile web sites or an application – from the device of their choice.

To further improve the mobile experience, Facebook redesigned m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com enabling people to access Facebook from any mobile browser in more than 70 languages.

Text messaging remains significant, with more then 80 operators in 32 countries enabling millions around the world to stay connected via SMS. The Facebook team also introduced FB.ME that makes it even easier for people to share content from their mobile devices.

Of course dedicated applications for Facebook remain paramount as smart phones gain traction within the marketplace. The network recently released updates for the dedicated Facebook applications on Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia and Samsung and it also supports a broadening array of new devices from HTC, INQ, LG Electronics, Palm, Sony Ericsson and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Let’s quickly recap…

100 million active mobile users. 400 million total Facebook users. Facebook is truly gaining prominence all over the world.

While Twitter is seemingly stealing the real-time spotlight, Facebook is where brands, whether local, national, or global, should concentrate significant attention, creativity, and engagement. And with 100 million active users interacting with other Facebook contacts from their mobile devices, creating portable brand experiences is now predominant.

Why?

The social graph that each individual user builds within Facebook is unequaled in its design and effect.

The average user on Facebook has over 130 friends, sending eight friend requests per month. Individuals spend more than 55 minutes per day interacting with contacts while also exploring the activities of those defining their social graphs (which is exactly where brand opportunities reside).

More than 35 million users update their status each day with more than 60 million status updates posted daily.

More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day.

Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans.

At a time when businesses are rushing to create Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter profiles without necessarily calculating or defining goals, intentions, or targets, the question becomes, how are you optimizing your brand or story for the Facebook and also the Facebook mobile experience…?

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This is part two of a three-part series on how to profitably translate advice from old-school marketing guru Dan Kennedy to a new online environment.

Last week we looked at the first 5 steps in Dan Kennedy’s Ultimate Marketing Plan, and how you can translate those old-school ideas into an online marketing strategy.

This week we’ve got five more for you.

6. Get Free Advertising

In the book, Kennedy focuses on methods for getting free advertising through traditional media. However, times have changed. These days, it’s social media that can best butter your bread.

If you’re comfortable navigating online, you have a clear advantage here. Other than the expense of time, the majority of social media tools are entirely free. There have never been more easy to implement and widely available instruments to help you smartly promote your business.

If you’re a regular reader of Copyblogger, you already know this goes hand-in-hand with the content marketing gospel flowing from the pulpit, day in and day out.

If you deliver value on a consistent basis, eventually others will help you with the hard work of promotion. They’ll spread your influence and draw prospects to your business like metal to a magnet.

Whether you do this by being flamboyant, an expert, an observer, or otherwise, it’s never been simpler to reach a worldwide audience without having to have a war chest budget.

7. Become Hot!

Trends are great; fads are not.

The last thing you want is to be here today and gone tomorrow. Getting people engaged so they are not only talking about whom you are but also what you’re doing is a tremendous way to increase business.

Once in your sphere, you can groom your one-time prospects into evergreen customers.

Kennedy cites seven ways to get people talking:

• Gain prestigious recognition. Get name checked by someone in the know. Perhaps Chris Brogan or Darren Rowse mentions you, thus instantly putting you on the radar of a wider audience. Guest posting is a great shortcut to accomplish the same thing.
• Offer new products. Offer something new or put a unique spin on something old. Offer something decidedly different or measurably better than your competitors, and people will be talking.
• Offer new services. Find a unique way to service your clientele, or create an unbeatable guarantee and people will naturally want to share it with their friends.
• Tie into trends and news events. Always have an open ear for what people are discussing these days. This doesn’t mean you need to jump on a Tiger Woods Infidelity Special!, but you can find ways to make the headlines relevant to your business.
• Tie your business to seasons and holidays. From Groundhog Day to Christmas, there’s always a jubilee to jump on. Be creative. Why wait for a “Harvest Sale,” when you could promote your business during “Talk Like a Pirate Day?” The possibilities here are endless.
• Tie your business to movies and entertainment events. We love to talk about the latest movies we’ve seen or television we’ve watched. Even if we pretend not to, most of us glance at the tabloids while paying for our groceries. Make your business a part of the water cooler conversation.
• Piggyback off the fads of others. Fads are here today and gone tomorrow. Though you wouldn’t want to build your business on a passing whim, it can be great to ride the waves while they’re good.

8. Poor Boy Marketing

It’s easy to fritter mountains of money on poorly placed advertising, but moving your enterprise online has made it far easier to avoid this tragic mistake.

See #6 – Get Free Advertising. Get online and get going. Don’t spend tons of money on Adwords or banner ads when you’re getting started. Instead, spend tons of time making connections and getting your message heard.

9. Maximizing total customer value

The life of a customer over time is, by far, one of the biggest assets your business can have. The cost to gain a new customer is substantially higher than that to keep an old one happy. Yet a common mistake many business owners make is giving too much attention to getting new clients, rather than focusing on their existing loyal customers.

Losing some customers is unavoidable, but there are many things you can do to avoid the fallout.

According to Kennedy, businesses lose customers because:

• 1% die. Until we figure out how to cyborg ourselves, there’s not much we can do about this one.
• 3% move. Offline, this is due to geography; online, it’s due to shifting interests. You must do all you can to hold the attention of your audience. Some loss is acceptable over time, but stay remarkable and you will minimize the losses.
• 5% switch to something else due to a friend’s recommendation. There is no more valuable referral than that from a friend. Yet, if your customer is truly happy with your product or services, the odds of them leaving are slim.
• 9% switch to a better product or service. The best way to fight this is to make sure your products, services, and offers are simply the best around.
• 14% leave for general dissatisfaction. Again, it’s a good idea to trim the tribe, as you’re never going to please everyone. However, if a customer leaves, make sure you did everything within reason to keep them.

All together, those five reasons only add up to 32%. A staggering 68% of customer loss is due to indifference.

Appreciate your customers, give them value at every opportunity, and allow the relationship to grow over time.

10. Fueling Word-of-Mouth

Online, we call this going viral. The best referrals come from other happy customers. Your job as a business owner is to fuel that praise.

Kennedy suggests using the “EAR” formula:

• E- Earn your referrals. Do what you do so well that others can’t resist talking about you. Publish content that makes others eager to share.
• A- Ask. It might make you uncomfortable, but you shouldn’t be shy about asking for referrals if you are doing a job that warrants praise. Give your customers the tools they need, clearly communicate your desires, and watch your business grow.
• R- Recognize and Reward. Acknowledge your customers when they give you the gift of a referral and never fail to reward them for their efforts. Reciprocity goes a long way, both online and off.

That’s it for this week. The final four elements of Kennedy’s Ultimate Marketing Plan applied online will be in next week’s final installment of the series.

About the Author: Sean Platt writes direct response copy, as well as helping authors write, publish and promote their book. Follow him on Twitter.

• February 20, 2010
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I’m truly excited to share some big news with you…

You are invited to the official debut of my next book Engage at SXSW Interactive.

On Saturday, March 13th at 11 a.m., I will take the day stage along with a special guest to discuss the book and its inspiration, intentions, and aspirations. A signing will immediately follow. To RSVP, click here.

To commemorate the release of Engage, I created a special introduction for all to enjoy and hopefully share.

Looking forward to celebrating with you…

Note: For the full effect, click “More” and view in “Full Screen” mode

(The official Website will go live soon)

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My friend Marsha Collier pointed out something really important for you to know about, if you’re dabbling with Google Buzz. If you disable Google Buzz, Google cans your Google Profile.

So what the heck? That doesn’t sound useful.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

I’m learning to belly dance.

Okay, that’s totally overstating it. I’m wiggling to music in what is labeled a belly dancing class.

I’ve found that I enjoy the constant movement, manipulating my limbs and taking any excuse I can to be silly. But more fun than the belly dancing is the instructor.

She loves this stuff. Her eyes light up when she enters the room, her voice changes pitch, and she hops around throwing out euphemisms that make even the bravest people blush. She’s a complete fruit loop. And she’s loved for it. It’s her schtick.

Or, in marketing terms, it’s her personal brand.

Oh no, not another post about personal branding

We’ve been hearing about personal brands ad nauseum for the past year. Even if you’re not sure why you need one, you’re certain that you do. It’s like a 401k. Or a spouse.

The trouble is, most personal brands make everybody else want to jab forks straight into their eyes. They’re based on egos, false promises, and personalities so obnoxious that you’d never be friends with this person in real life.

But as my belly dancing instructor has taught me, you don’t have to build a personal brand on being an egomaniac. You can build your brand on simply being human. Or better yet, you can build your brand on being your favorite version of yourself.

How do you create a personal brand that will garner attention instead of hate? Here are some tips I’ve picked up from my experience on the Web.

And belly dancing.

Claim your niche

My belly dancing instructor doesn’t teach the hip hop class that takes place after her session. Nor does she teach the weekend kickboxing class. She’s limited herself to belly dancing because she knows that’s where she can offer the greatest value.

Trying to teach everything would undermine what she’s about and the tribe she’s looking to attract. She sticks to what she does better than anyone else.

Think niche. You can’t be known for everything. Pick what’s most important to what you do, break it down to its simplest core, and be it.

While Copyblogger has established itself as one of the Web’s top resources on content, Brian Clark has branded himself the master of headlines. It’s a tiny microcosm of the whole content creation space that he owns. It’s where he’s untouchable.

Create your character

Like I said, my instructor is a fruit loop. The moment you think you’ve seen everything, she ups the ridiculousness.

She tears her sweats so you can watch her legs curl, and refers to body parts in ways you wish you could erase from your mind. She knows who she needs to be to attract the right audience, and she plays up her quirks to do so. She builds a tribe that falls in love not only with her class, but with her. It becomes so that the class and brand are so intertwined that you can’t tell them apart.

Lots of people will tell you to “be yourself” in social media. I’d advise creating a persona that mixes who you are and who you want to be. This heightened version of yourself allows you to lose the performance anxiety and magnify the personality traits needed to attract the right people.

We fall in love with those who are brave enough to do what we think we can’t. As long as you’re basing your character off who you really are, you’ll be able to keep it authentic and still look great naked.

Treat people like humans

My instructor has been dancing for longer than I’ve been an adult. She’s trained in moves and styles that my stiff body can’t even comprehend.

But you wouldn’t know that by talking to her. She’s unassuming and talks to you like you’re old friends meeting up for coffee. And she keeps that tone even when instruction has begun. There’s no jargon to confuse us, no making things complicated so we feel dumb and she wouldn’t dare call herself an “expert” or a “guru.” She’s just someone who loves belly dancing and is excited about the opportunity to share it with us.

Finding your voice and using it to be relatable is what will make or break your personal brand. It’s what separates the brands we love from the brands we wish would die.

It’s all about your ability to talk to people in a genuine way and show them that you’re one of them. This is where most people get tripped up. We elevate ourselves thinking that it makes us more impressive and authoritative and that our audience will trust us more. Truthfully, all this does is alienate you from the people you’re trying to connect with.

Figure out what the real you sounds like, and then use that voice to be real with others. You can’t fake this.

Make your brand accessible

My instructor shows up to class early. She stays late. She takes questions in the middle of instruction and will show and re-show certain movements until you’ve nailed them. Her email address is publicly available so that students can email her with questions. She has an email newsletter to help us stay in contact with not only her, but one another.

She’s not teaching a class, she’s creating a community.

When you make your brand accessible, you help it grow beyond your niche. Become part of your community. Answer questions. Lift up those who are doing well. Share trusted information. Look for ways to extend your brand through blogging, guest postings cough, email newsletters, and direct mail.

Everything that you put out should incorporate and promote your personal brand. The more people see you and your tribe, the more they’ll gravitate toward it. It’s social proof.

Your personal brand is you. It’s who you are, what you believe, and what you want to put out there to others.

Use the social tools available to be you as loudly as you can, while always offering a benefit to those around you. Your personal brand may be all about you, but it’s also about how you make others feel.

It’s emotional DNA, and what separates the personal brands we love from those we love to tear apart.

About the Author: Lisa Barone has the totally pompous title of Chief Branding Officer at SEO consulting firm Outspoken Media. She tries to make up for the title by blogging Important Stuff on the Outspoken Media blog and being amusing on Twitter at @lisabarone.

• February 26, 2010
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I can’t believe the day is finally here. In fact, it’s here earlier than planned.

Please join me in celebrating the official release of Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Social media has democratized influence, forever changing the way businesses communicate with customers and the way customers affect the decisions of their peers. With platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, anyone can now find and connect with others who share similar interests, challenges, and beliefs—creating communities that shape and steer the perception of brands. Without engagement in these communities, we miss major opportunities to shape our stories.

However, use of the tools does not guarantee that people will listen. Engagement is shaped by the interpretation of its intentions. In order for social media to mutually benefit you and your influencers and ultimately customers, you must engage them in meaningful and advantageous conversations, empowering them as true participants in your marketing, branding, and service efforts…this is true whether it’s B2B, B2C, government, non profit, education, etc.

With Engage as your guide, you can effectively compete in this new era of digital Darwinism while engendering the support of online champions. Social and participatory media significantly contribute to the success of every modern business, and with this book, you will find out how to:

Create a space in the online ecosystem that truly represents your business and cultivates your customers’ loyalty and trust

Participate in the unique culture of each available social media platform to engage your customers

Establish an organizational structure that constantly targets the next new media trend

Attract online champions and change agents who will uncover the social networks you need to reach and the influencers who will help build your reputation in the networked world

Consistently adapt your company to market needs and trends based on the invaluable connections you forge and the empathy and insight you garner in the process

There are thousands of customers waiting to hear from you about your business and vision. It’s the minimum ante to create a vibrant and loyal online community. When you engage, you will build an authoritative social network that increases your visibility, relevance, influence, and profitability. It’s time to Engage!

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If it’s one thing that I ask, it’s that you please help me share this news with those around you.

This book and all that’s in it, was written with passion and dedication over the last year to address the issues that have now become paramount to the success of social media within businesses and industries of all shapes and sizes. I wrote this book for you…and it would mean everything to me, if you could join me in leading a new, more meaningful era of socialized media and engagement.

Order now from (click on your favorite outlet):

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