Yesterday a couple of colleagues and I drove over to Tampa for Social Fresh’s annual conference on social media. Great event, and it reminded me of the importance (if you want to grow your reach) of marketing, branding, and most importantly networking! Events like Social Fresh are the perfect sort of place to do such networking.
In thinking about all this last night, I was reminded of this post which is very relevant.
Post originally published November 2010:
Brand yourself.
Market your brand.
Take your brand offline by networking.
We’ve talked about these things many times here on the IZEA blog. You frequently read articles about the topic in industry publications and trusted leaders in the space. If you’re a serious blogger, then you hopefully already do all of these. If you don’t, then ask yourself why not?
Week-before-last I noticed a mention on the IZEA Twitter page that caught my attention. Our friend and recent Grand Prize winner of our BlogWorld Getaway, Nicole Rosen, stated she is getting a job as a result of some networking she did while at that very event.
A closer look:
This happened to Nicole because she understands the importance of the three elements mentioned above:
- Branding. Nicole’s brand is “Finance Diva” (her blog can be found at http://financediva.com/). This is how she’s known to her audience, and how they identify with her. The name says it all: she’s a self-proclaimed Finance expert, and you know what you’re gonna get when you visit her site.
- Marketing. Aside from blogging and being very active on Twitter, Nicole marketed herself in a brilliant way by entering our BlogWorld contest. She went above-and-beyond by creating a unique video that stood out and caused us to remember her. Attending BlogWorld, too, afforded Nicole the opportunity to market herself in-person…to those who also attended the event.
- Networking. Nicole took full advantage of the opportunity an event like BlogWorld provides, and networked. It obviously benefited her as she made some very important contacts as a result. A little nervous about “putting yourself out there”? Start small and either go to a local Tweetup…or host one of your own!
Awesome job, Nicole! You go, girl! (I can’t pull that off, can I?)
So what are you doing to help develop and grow your own brand?