Your Personal Brand

Author: Zak, Posted On: May 20th, 2012, In: Brands, Marketing, Passion, You

Everybody has a personal brand. Quite simply, your personal brand is how others view you in comparison to the rest of the world. Fortunately, many people are well-aware that their personal brand exists and, for the most part, have a pretty good understanding of what their personal brand looks like. However, what so many people do not realize is that they can actually control nearly every aspect of their brand.

Think about your personal brand in today’s economy. With reports of the average number of people applying for a single job ranging from the low teens to upwards of nearly 1000, companies can certainly afford to be picky. So, here is my question; how do you distinguish yourself from the other job seekers?

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What are your thoughts on creativity?

Author: Zak, Posted On: April 20th, 2012, In: Brands, Collaboration, Create, Engagement, Passion

This was a question I answered on a “tell us more about yourself”-type form at MPLS.TV. I remember thinking something along the lines of, “hmm…that’s a pretty vague question,” but you know what? I think about this kind of stuff all the time and it was refreshing to have the opportunity to give my thoughts on the matter to people who were genuinely interested in the answer.

Here is how I responded:
“My take on creativity is that it’s a process, not a product. It’s the journey you take to accomplish a goal or come to a conclusion.  And to me, that means that everyone possesses creativity. The people who are labeled as creative’s, are the people who have the balls to express their creative side publicly…mad props to them. Whether you’re creativity lies in art or in business, express it. Shit’s better with creativity.”

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Passion Drives Advocacy, Advocacy Drives Engagement

Author: Zak, Posted On: March 19th, 2012, In: Brands, Communities, Core Customers, Engagement, Passion

As social beings, we are interested in exploring other people’s passions. Whether we share a passion with someone, or we are simply comparing ourselves to others, we tend to listen to those who convey an authentic passion for something. A good example is professional sports. Think about the die-hard sports fans you know. I’m willing to bet that at some point you have been interested enough to have a conversation with that person about why he or she is so passionate about their team.  It is the desire to discover why a person is so passionate about something that drives our curiosity and prompts conversation.

This inherent interest in what others around us are passionate about is not limited to interpersonal interactions. In fact, we frequently interact with the brands that we have overlapping passions with. These are brands that have established themselves as advocates within the communities that they share an interest and passion with.

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Strategic Content Creation

Author: Zak, Posted On: February 29th, 2012, In: Brands, Content Marketing, Digital Media, Marketing

As consumers of media, particularly digital media, we are constantly exposed to an overwhelmingly large quantity of content. The vast majority of this content is content that, as individuals, we don’t have much interest in. Whether the source of the content not credible, the content is low quality, or the topic of the content is simply not of interest, there is just more content than we care to view. Some studies have suggested that individuals may consume as little as 10% of the social media content that they’re exposed to through their networks.

Obviously, this presents some challenges for brands hoping to engage in digital content publishing. If content from a media consumer’s personal network is being ignored, then how can brands expect their content to be consumed?

Maybe even more importantly, if that content is consumed, how do brands foster the ultimate objective of brand engagement?

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