Twitter - more than a soapbox!

A lot of people think of Twitter as a ONE-TO-MANY platform of communication. Yes, you can reach the masses but Twitter has grown because of its ability to connect people tribe to tribe. It's not about reaching woman aged 35 to 49. You aren't just reaching markets; you're reaching targeted people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.

If you use Twitter more like a ONE-TO-ONE communication platform, you'll have more success with it. Think of it as telling your close friend something important to improve their life in some small way or to connect them with someone who can help them accomplish something. Every time you use Twitter to tell your followers that you "like the colour blue", you risk using them.

Ask yourself these important questions before you tweet:

1. Am I sharing useful information that can make a difference in some or all of my followers lives?

2. Is it what I want to say or what THEY want to hear... focusing on the latter builds a richer brand and more respect for you and your advice.

3. Does it have longevity? The answer doesn't always have to be yes... but it lives online and when it's archival information, it has more value for longer.

4. Is it relevant to your company or personal brand... is it what people signed up for?

5. When was the last time I tweeted? This one is tricky. If you tweet too much, people tend to ignore the majority of tweets due to their busy lives. If you tweet too little, you aren't top of mind. It's important that you find the right mix for your followers and only YOU can determine that.

Twitter is a great tool but if you abuse it or over use it, it can work against you. Only you can know what strategy works best for your brand and your followers so do take the time to think seriously about the Value Proposition for them. You'll be glad you did.

by Laura James, Producer at VideoBIO

Video keeps getting easier

Video doesn't always have to be a big deal. It can be easy, fast and effective for day to day communications as well. We have launched a new service that makes it easy for you to record video and send by email, build into a custom page or use on a blog or your website-- just like this!

Try it out at http://www.videobio.co/liverecord3 today.

5 WAYS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

In today’s ever-changing virtual landscape of social networking, information sharing, and communication, it is important to have a firm grasp on who you are and what you can offer to the world. You already have a personal brand, whether you are conscious of it or not. It is how people perceive you. The stronger your brand, the more you will stand out against the clutter of the web.

Here are 5 simple things that you can do today to strengthen your personal brand:

1. 1. State your value in one sentence.

It is important to create a one-liner that encapsulates who you are and offers a glimpse into the value you provide. Use this on business cards, in email signatures, on your social media profiles, and on your website if you have one. A well-written and concise one-liner will capture your audience’s attention.

2. 2. Create a personal pitch.

Your personal pitch expands on your one-liner value statement, and should convince people of your unique value in one minute or less. This is effective in face-to-face communication, and being prepared with a pitch will help you to network in any situation.

3. 3. Maintain your online profiles.

Make sure your online profiles on various social media sites represent you in the best light and be sure your online profiles are representative of how you want others to perceive you.

4. 4. Utilize social media to associate with the right people.

Be active with your social media sites and engaging regularly. Not only will you boost your online presence, you’ll also ensure that you are accessible to all the right people.

5. 5. Showcase your brand with video.

Text on a screen can only go so far, and photographs only tell half the story. Online video is an excellent way to manage your first impression, give your personal brand wings, engage your audience, and extend the reach and impact of your brand in a full communication.

-By Stephanie Kittell, videoBIO Producer

The coveted online profile- build online visibility

In the race for securing online 'real estate' and establishing profile, your online visibility is more and more important? Two ways to improve your online visibility is bringing together two great online tools that help you take control of your brand online. Vizibility, one of videoBIO's partner companies is leading the charge when it comes to managing what search engines say about you with their GoogleMe tool. videoBIO and Vizibility have recently announced their partnership to bring a combined service to our customers.

Social Video- where does it live in the marketing mix?

…and who is making the decisions? In a recent article published by the Business Insider-- The Top 20 Social CMO's Of The Fortune 100 http://t.co/vAKMYD3 we hear that Chief Marketing Offers (CMO’s) are doing more ‘do as I say, not as I do’, and need to get into the drivers seat when it comes to personally experimenting with social media and video if they are going to be credible in leading the charge as the shift to social media in the marketing plan gives new definition to the communication strategy. Often the purveyors of social media are the ones in the trenches experimenting and doing the work, not leading. This poses a new challenge to vendors selling strategic solutions and innovative applications into the c-suite.

Social video is one of the most interesting applications for video as it pushes companies to think about video in the spectrum of uses from spontaneous video clips and messages to polished, highly produced video for what we knew as marketing or advertising uses. But video has changed. It’s no longer an event but a continuum of more personalized communications then you could ever achieve with text or pictures.

User generated video content and personal branding are pushing the volume of video content towards personal video messaging, profiles and spokesperson-led conversations and communications on video. A new communication standard that is coming fast and furious and putting CMO’s in the catch up seat as they figure out where and how they want video to live in their communication mix. Here are a few questions for CMO’s to think about as they consider video and putting video tools in the hands of their teams for self producing video:

1.Is showcasing your people and their respective voices important to your company

2. Do you consider yourself an innovator and experimenter of new technology and do you want to stay ahead of the curve in the video revolution

3. Have you experimented with video (outside of your agency)

4. Do you want to create video content for a variety of uses? If so, how much (a progressive video content creator would be creating and sharing video daily as part of regular communications)

5. Do you envision empowering end users in your company with video tools allowing them to video message, create social video, self produce video content?

6. Is compliance with your brand and messages an important factor in managing and moderating video messages generated by your sales reps, employees etc.

What does your package look like?

My eight year old daughter came down for breakfast this morning in an incredibly sophisticated layering and accessorized look that told a story about her eye for fashion. I told her she looked terrific and commented on all of the specific details—the layering of her two shirts, the cute belt, the leggings. She said to me “it is important to think about what you look like mommy!”. This is her 8 (just turned) year old view. Perhaps informed by people around her or from watching her parents head of to work in suits every day.

I recently interviewed someone who came into my office for the interview but left her A game at home. The way she presented herself distracted me from her otherwise stellar resume, chock full of experience. I wondered, if this was the way she showed up for an interview, where would things go from here? Could I put her in front of a client? Could she convincingly lead a team of people? Her presentation said something about her confidence in herself and ultimately my confidence (or lack thereof) in her. Oh, and I would have loved to have seen a video bio of her in advance of the interview-- perhaps she may have given more thought to her presentation in that then in person? Hmmmm.

Personal presentation is important. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Now, it sometimes gets confusing when we are trying to strike that balance between being real and looking overly polished or scripted, but, a professional, well put together presentation of self is critical in convincingly showcasing your whole package.

I spend 90% of my time out there presenting my company to investors and clients--a tough, unforgiving audience who are expecting big things from a CEO. I need to deliver on these expectations both in the way I present myself and in the content I am sharing. If I have great content but don’t present it and myself in a way that knocks their socks off, I won’t be memorable and I may lose an opportunity. In today’s market, the stakes are high and you need every tool in your toolkit to stand out. Make sure the packaging matches contents inside.

The game changing tool for job seekers

One of our favorite expressions is -- a videoBIO is not a video resume and there are a lot of reasons for this. A video bio at its core is a storytelling and connection tool-- a way to emphasize human traits, ability to communicate, enthusiasm, ideas and establish trust and authenticity. There are many ways to do this and it doesn't have to feel or look contrived or overly scripted. However, it does need to be thought through and leave the viewer with an overall professional impression of you and your abilities. Leave the details and skills for the resume and focus on making a great impression with the video. Marketing Profs recently published a great article authored by @williamarruda and @catharinefennel, yours truly! It talks about the video 'bio' as the game changing tool in job search. Worth a read.