By Karen Post, on March 18, 2012

Have you called yourself recently? On all of your phones? If not, it’s a fast find and fix to improving your brand impression.

How do I know this? Because I was grossly guilty of phone message neglect.

Fortunately, I have good friends who tell me the truth.  Here’s a recent call I received.

“Hey Karen, Ms. Branding Diva your phone message stinks. It’s too long, you sound like you are in a tunnel under ground and teetering on having a bad day.”

She was right. This was a big disconnect from who I am and what my brand stands for. Here’s the really sad part, it’s been like that for a year, YIKES!

Five simple tips to a better telephone branded signal.
1) Be clear – Always state your full name.
2) Be brief – In our fast paced and busy world, short and to the point are best.
2) Have tone – Include some branded attitude, for me it’s energy and confidence.
3) Be current and relevant – Keep things fresh, consider changing your message with the seasons, the months or for no reason at all.
4) Provide a clear call to action – What do you want the caller to do? Leave their name and what they need? Or even better their American Express number?
5) Manage expectations – If you can’t check messages for along period of time, provide a timely route to you, request a text message or email from the caller.

Don’t ever, ever use the default, computer message. That clearly communicates nothing except you are unprofessional or so unorganized you can’t find the time to set up.

Bottom line, your phone message is often the first impression a new contact has with you. Make it a great one. And it does not hurt to make sure your visible phone and accessories are on board with your brand too. It’s all part of the personal branding package.

Still don’t have a smart phone? It’s 2012. Plus, being a tech dinosaur is no marketing edge.

And if bold styling is part of your image, consider a retro hand set (like pictured above) to plug into your iPad, iPhone or other smart phones and a cool, matching phone protector. I’ve usually sport the Branding Diva® red set —phone case, handset and fire engine hot lipstick.  It’s an excellent conversation starter at coffee shops and airport lounges, after all that’s where new business often starts.

Got to go catch a call! Talk soon! Brand on!

By Karen Post, on September 14, 2011

Social media continues to get lots of media coverage and buzz. Some, very well deserved and some is just a whole bunch of empty shoeboxes. Not good, because I love shoes!

Many of my blog readers and friends know that in 2009, after reading one tweet on a Saturday night at 11PM – and following up on it – this social connection turned into a million dollar consulting contract for me. I will forever love little blue birds!

I’ve also connected with and discovered some amazing professional resources through LinkedIn too. I love to find competent people that I can count on to help me do my work!

That’s all good, but as entrepreneurs and small or big businesses, can one count on meaningful results from social media? Like a concentrated 25-point social media blitz without investing any money, just time.

I’m curious too. So I’m going to conduct a test. We’ll call it the “25- point social media project”. This week my staff and I will leverage a two-part blog post article in 25 different ways through social media. In 2 week days we will report back the results. We will also track our time so you we can weigh out the investment to the return.

Here’s the test.
Join me, if you want to try this too and then we can compare results and lessons learned.

My blitz was geared around my new book, Brand Turnaround. I started by writing an article, which included excerpts from the book. The article was about brands gone bad and how they return to glory. The two-part series was called Branding and the Beast. So beyond the text, I had the book art and an image I bought from istock.com.

My 25-point social media blitz/how to promote your blog:

1. I tweeted about it, included a link to the blog post and a unique headline.
2. Posted a discussion about it on LinkedIn in my Brandturnaround group.
3. Found a popular LinkedIn discussion, made a comment and included the article link.
4. Posted a discussion in blogengage.
5. Posted on .docstoc with links to blog.
6. Turned it into a PowerPoint and posted it on Slideshare.
7. I utilized pinging services.  By pinging the blog post I let search engines know I just updated my blog.
8. I posted it on Facebook with a different headline (because the blog autofeeds to my Facebook author page).
9. I bookmarked the post on Reddit.
10. I bookmarked the post on StumbleUpon and grew my stumble followers.
11. Bookmarked the post on Delicious.
12. Created a saved search for Twitter based on the blog’s keywords, replied to those tweeting the keywords with a comment and a link to my blog.
13. I bookmarked the post to Digg.
14. I found a high traffic site, TalentZoo, where they invite guest bloggers to submit stories.
15. I submitted it to technorati.
16. I wrote another discussion about it and posted a question on another LinkedIn group.
17. I bookmarked the post to Blinklist.
18. I posted it on Bizsugar, so readers could vote on it.
19. I added my blog to Ping-o-Matic – it updates different search engines that your blog has updated.
20. I produced a 3 minute video on the book Brand Turnaround, posted it on YouTube, Vimeo and then promoted it in Twitter, Linkedin and on my Author Facebook page.
21. I posted my blog on blokube – a social voting site dedicated to professionals in blogging.
22. I added 5 linkbacks within my blog to other blogs in my niche.
23. I commented on 5 other blogs in my niche, with links back to my blog.
24. Started a discussion on Google Groups.
25. I posted an article on EzineArticles.com with a byline link to my blog.

and be sure to use a URL tracking system for every single URL you create, which tracks the effectiveness of your links.

We are off to the research laboratory and we’ll let you know our results.

For more on social media tips, view:
If you are going to tweet, why not make it really sweet.

By Karen Post, on August 30, 2010

I have worked on both large and small marketing and branding strategy projects. As one would expect, the larger ones, by nature of their size, require lots of time and energy. Not always. Here’s some lessons I’ve learned about managing projects, clients and expectations.

I am not sure if this is an anomaly, or something that others have experienced, but on more than one occasion, I’ve had small clients who were paying smaller fees but who were more demanding than the larger clients. I found that if I broke down my fee for the project by the hours spent on the assignment, I was making much less hourly than on the larger project. I also felt beaten up, overworked and under appreciated by some of my smaller clients. They were getting a lot more out of me than they paid for.

So, how do you manage your time and your clients’ expectations? I always aim to provide outstanding service, but on a few occasions, I’ve felt like I’ve given my services away. Has this ever happened to you?

Here’s the scenario that caused me to develop some guidelines for future clients. I should have seen it coming. The beginning of the relationship started with me crossing the 50 yard line. The client balked at the price of the project. I said I couldn’t do it for less and they said, “well, if you find that you can, give us a call.” It had been a slow month and the project pipeline was less than full, so I reapproached the potential client and discounted my price. But, I offered the same services. I felt like I was on call 24/7 and each communication from the client included phrases such as, “can we also do X,Y and Z.” Email by email the project scope was becoming gargantuan. I was harboring resentment against said client and wanted to, on several occasions, let them know that they were getting high quality work at a bargain basement price. Thankfully, I was able to contain my composure and project a cheerful attitude toward the client through the duration of the assignment. My trusted canine office companion dutifully listened to my colorful venting.

The client was delighted, but I decided that I did not want to experience that again.  So, I sat down and put pen to paper to create some rules.

Have an initial meeting to discuss their needs to that you can create a document that will outline the scope of the project. Have your client be candid about their budget so that you can work with them to best allocate their funds. Perhaps you can do things in phases to work with the timing of their cash flow. This is a wonderful way to provide value and to become a trusted partner. You are working in their best interest and not ripping them off.

Allow the client to review the document and make any changes before you start so that you can price the project properly. Make sure everyone is on the same page before said document is signed, even if you have to discuss it five times. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

As part of the planning, establish who will be responsible for what and make sure that this is crystal clear.

Establish a routine for communication. Promise to return calls in a timely fashion, for example, within 24 hours. Also, establish the best way to contact you (phone, email, etc.). Do not disappear; radio silence will kill a relationship.

Have the client agree to send organized communication daily whether it is one voicemail with a list of questions or one email as opposed to a constant stream of one-off questions. Try to avoid having them track you down via every available communication portal (IM, text, facebook, linkedin, email, Skype, fax, carrier pigeon). Establish one main line of communication and one back up.

Unfortunately, extra items cannot just be “tacked on” to the original proposal. I have been on the other side of a signed agreement SOW and was annoyed by “change orders,” but I can see why they are necessary. This goes back to points 1 and 2, careful advanced planning will, hopefully, avoid this.

Create a timeline with reasonable, achievable deadlines and establish how you will review progress with your clients. In person meeting, conference call, Gotomeeting. Deliver everything on time and keep excellent records. Get good feedback at each checkpoint and make sure that expectations of each party are being met.  Organization is your friend. Create a separate inbox in your email for correspondence with the client, document phone calls, send follow up email with notes from phone calls to confirm what was discussed.

Hey, stuff happens. If you screw up, or there is a delay, inform the client IMMEDIATELY. Don’t cover it up. The truth will out. Hopefully, you will be able to find a solution and prevent it and your client will understand. Try to encourage your client to be upfront if they experience any delays or setbacks on their end, too. And, when stuff happens, don’t make it personal. Even if your client is being a bird brain and you are tempted to pull a Steven Slater, remember this “focus on the problem, not the person.” If you solve the problem, you will likely improve your client’s mood and be able to get back on track.

As the project is coming to a close, create a final checklist to make sure that all deliverables are on track. Try to find something to exceed the expectations: an earlier than promised completion date, a roadmap for phase II, an extra mock up in addition to what was promised, a winning lottery ticket.

Follow up after the project and make sure that the client was (at a minimum) satisfied. Dig for constructive criticism. If there is something you can fix that will leave the client happy and perhaps put you first in line for future projects, do it.

I learned that communicating expectations before any work got started and learning how to communicate the value I would be contributing, as opposed to what dollar amount the client would be handing over, vastly improved the experience for all parties involved in future assignments.

Other resources that can help
Creating your own consulting practice Ta-Do list