Business Success Video Series

Presented by Vince Rogers for

Today's business marketplace is as competitive as ever, so it's always important to use whatever you can to get ahead and stand out from the competition.

Learn about the

Keys to business Success

with help from the

Principal Change Agent at

Vince Rogers & Associates

in this free video series.

www.ehow.com/videos-on_12239455_business-success.html

Using Expert Videos to Build Your Brand

 by Vince Rogers

You’ve reached the pinnacle of your profession. Now you want to continue building your brand by sharing your expertise on the “big screen”. Okay maybe we’ll start with computer monitors and "smartphones" and work our way up to the big screen later. Lights; Cameras; Action! – you’re ready to make a professionally produced expert video.

I was recently called upon to do just that, by filming a “Business Success” video series for eHow.com. Although the experience was personally and professionally rewarding, it was certainly no “walk in the park”. Many elements go into making a high quality video that presents your brand in the best light. You must select the right topic for your audience, refine your content for effective presentation and also choose the right location in order to produce a high quality finished product. Most importantly, you must work with a highly experienced, technically proficient, and creatively perceptive filmmaker. 

The filmmaker for my project certainly fit the bill. Atlanta filmmaker Edward Castner has 20+ years of experience in all aspects of film production camera work and film editing. Some of his previous projects include work for the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, BBC ITN and the National Gallery of Art. He also spent three weeks in New Orleans covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Even before the actual video shoot took place, Ed was instrumental in advising me to create visual aids that would enhance my oral presentation. According to Ed, “Most people fail to realize how important strong visuals are to the effectiveness of a good video.”

The actual “filmic” elements of the video are not the only details you must pay attention to. When making an “expert” video, your appearance and presentation are still the most essential elements.  You should pay close attention to the following personal details:

1)      Wear attire that is well suited to your level of expertise

2)      Make sure that your voice and language are tailored to your audience

3)      Limit the length of your video to the minimum time needed to explain the topic

4)      Try to be aware of your facial expressions, posture and body language

Even with Ed’s patience and professionalism, I still found the experience of making my first videos much harder than I anticipated. Getting used to the camera as your only audience is a challenge to say the least. Getting used to the penetrating hot lights burning right through you is another matter altogether. It would have been almost impossible to manage this process without the help of a seasoned professional filmmaker. 

If you would like to contact Ed Castner to capture your brand and expertise on film you may contact him at www.edcastner.com/contact

To view the finished product of our video shoot visit 

http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_12239455_business-success.html  

Branding Fundamentals: The Golden Rules of Personal Branding

by Vince Rogers 

Your branding strategy should be viewed as a living, breathing and perpetually evolving entity. Just as with the actions of an actual person, your branding efforts will build a lasting reputation. This reputation is based on people’s perception of your brand’s appearance, its personality and by how many people have been influenced by your efforts. Your branding strategy irreversibly shapes your public perception, professional reputation and enduring legacy. 

Your branding strategy consists of more than just creating a nice logo and printing up some business cards.  Although these things are important, they represent only one aspect of your successful branding strategy. Just like an Olympic athlete who strives to stand on the winner’s podium, mastering the fundamentals is the key to “Going for the Gold”. Also like an “Olympian”, building a successful branding strategy is governed by adhering to the principles of the I.O.C. – Identity; Outreach and Consistency.

There are 3 essential Branding Fundamentals that make up the Golden Rules of Personal Branding:

1)      Building Your Brand Identity

2)      Focusing Your Brand Outreach

3)      Maintaining Your Brand Consistency

The Brand Identity Package

Your Brand Identity Package consists of the tools that you will use to present your brand to the world. The basic components of your brand identity package are a logo, tagline, business card and letterhead. In addition to these basic components, most companies will also need a website or blog and a brochure. In many instances, the first time that someone receives your business card, letterhead and brochure or views your website and blog; they will make a first and final decision about who you are and what value you bring to the table.  

Most people give the creation of their logo primary emphasis when formulating their identity package. Although often neglected, you should give the formulation of your tagline some very serious thought as well. Your tagline serves as a succinct but permanent Elevator Pitch. A powerful tagline should communicate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) creatively, but clearly. In other words, it should explain in one sentence what it is that you do and what value you bring to the table.   

Reaching Your Target Audience

You’ve invested a lot of time, money, effort and creativity into creating your brand identity. Now you want people to see what you’ve done. You really want to impress people with your big title, cool logo and witty tagline. Therefore, you should just give out all of your business cards to every pretty girl you meet at the bar and every old high school friend you run into at the reunion - right? Wrong.

The most effective way to succeed at building your brand is to determine your specific Target Audience.  The fist step to deciding on your Target Audience is to create a profile of your Ideal Customer. Once you have done this, you should try as much as possible to reach those people and only those people with your message. This will be the key to success of your well focused brand outreach strategy.

Always Be Consistently Consistent

It has been said that the only thing constant in life is change. On the other hand, it is also fairly clear that most people don’t really like change. It is an absolute fact that the worst thing you can do when trying to build your brand is to keep changing the message. You should use the same images and value propositions consistently across all marketing channels.

Channels overlap frequently in today’s complex marketing environment. The tagline on your business card can’t communicate that you’re the “low cost leader”, but the tagline on your website says something different. Whether it’s colors, graphics or taglines; constantly changing the elements of you brand identity leads to confusion. Confusion leads to uncertainty - uncertainty leads to risk. Ultimately, this perception of risk will lead to your prospects choosing the competition.

Some factors that you should consider in order to insure your brand consistency are to: 

1)      Use the Same Graphics Elements Across All Mediums

2)      Formulate a Core Message and Stick With It

3)      Always Communicate Your Unique Selling Proposition 

4)      Separate Business from Personal When Using Social Media                                                        

You should adapt your message to changing conditions if the essential elements of your branding strategy actually change. However, you should avoid making changes in order to chase trends or just to suit a single prospective client.  Instead, when “going for the gold” you should always remember to adhere to the rules of the I.O.C. and stick to the fundamentals by playing by the “golden rules”. Build a unique brand Identity, focus your brand’s Outreach and maintain your brand’s Consistency.

“Re-Branding” Yourself When Facing Adversity

by Vince Rogers

You graduate from a historic and prestigious university. You land your dream job in the glamorous entertainment industry. You work directly with a music legend and famous celebrities. You are regarded in your profession as a highly talented and extremely energetic “go-getter”. You become a Vice-President at one of the most iconic brand names in the entertainment industry. You are regarded as a real “Big Deal”.  You have it all.

You are diagnosed with MultipleSclerosis (MS) at the age of 22. For years you manage to hide the debilitating limitations the condition imposes on you. Nevertheless, you devote 15 years to building an identity that is synonymous with confidence, competence and consistency. You accomplish all of this under the most challenging circumstances.  But ultimately, the pressures of the fast paced, stressful world of the entertainment industry become too much to manage. This eventually leads to you being laid off from a job that has been your identity for more than a decade. You’ve lost it all. Now what?

Six years ago, Atlanta based Personal Brand Strategy coach Kelly Green was faced with this exact dilemma. The simultaneous challenges of managing her serious health condition and the loss of her high-status career seriously shook the core of her identity. She affirms that

“When I got laid off, I was hurt, angry and embarrassed, but most of all I had no idea what I was going to do next!”

After no small amount of soul searching, she decided for the first time in her life to put a priority on her own personal well being. This was not easy for someone who was used to putting their career first. As she puts it, “My ego wanted to continue living the lifestyle I had been living for 15 years, but deep down I knew that I needed a mental and physical break from it all.”

This realization highlights the first stage of what "Coach Kelly" characterizes as the process of “Personal Re-Branding” Many people are currently facing the process of repositioning their lives after facing serious adversities. Home foreclosure, job loss, severe illness and other major challenges can send a persons life into a tailspin. Not only can such life altering adversities affect how the world sees your personal brand identity, but they can deeply alter your personal self-image as well.  Kelly believes that the first question you have to ask yourself in this process of personal “re-branding” is

“What do I want to do with my life now and how does my new situation affect that?”

She realized that if she was going to continue pursuing her dreams, she would first have to address her health situation. During this process she met with a Holistic Nutrition Coach while still residing in New York City. Not only was this encounter beneficial to her health, it also helped her identify the path she should take towards “re-branding” herself professionally. Luckily for us, she also decided to relocate to Atlanta to pursue what she describes as a “better quality of life”.

Based on her experiences with wellness professionals, Kelly went on to become a Certified Wellness Coach herself. However in an “Aha Moment” she ascertained that her client’s needs went beyond their emotional and physical wellness. She realized that they also needed help “developing and clarifying their Brand”. Her years of experience in Marketing and her passion for helping people motivated her to combine these abilities to also become a Personal Branding Strategist.

The marketing of entertainers had been her job function in the fast-paced music industry. However, she realized that essentially her true passion was helping people realize their full potential. As she states it, she identified that there were other “People just like me who needed to “re-brand” and needed to build a new identity.”

Identifying your true passion and unique skills are essential to the “re-branding” process. This is true whether you find yourself facing the best of life’s good fortune or the hardest of life’s bad times. Some other key steps to follow in this process that Green has identified are:

• Position yourself as an expert regarding what you are passionate about.
• Identify a targeted niche population that needs your unique skills.
• Create a profile of an ideal client that needs your services. (Be Specific)
• Understand your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that appeals to your ideal client.

Kelly emphasizes that understanding your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the key to understanding how to convert your passion into an actual income generating enterprise. Having faced great adversity herself enabled Green to embrace one of the most essential components to developing your USP. You must be able to

“….Speak to a potential client’s “Pain Point” and demonstrate that you are uniquely qualified to solve their problem….”

An organization’s “Pain Point” is defined as an area in which they are having trouble fulfilling a consumer’s need. Green believes that her ability to empathize with people who are searching to establish or re-establish their identity is one of the keys to her success. “I’ve seen what it’s like when you don’t understand your brand and how things open up when you do” she says.

This process of “re-branding” has value not just for Green’s customers who are mostly entrepreneurs and “solo-service” professionals. Developing your Personal Brand and identifying your USP can be useful for job seekers, career changers and even for people making a decision about academic pursuits. This is especially true when facing adversity.

Green firmly believes that you “Don’t be afraid to take the first steps no matter what the outcome will be.” This process can be a totally individual effort, or it may require that you seek the guidance of a mentor or Branding Coach. In any event, Kelly believes that

“In order to communicate your value to other people, you have to know and understand your value first.”

To learn more about Kelly Green please visit www.insiderbrandingsecrets.com or contact her at kelly@insiderbrandingsecrets.com

Continue reading on Examiner.com “Re-Branding” Yourself When Facing Adversity - Atlanta personal brand | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/personal-brand-in-atlanta/re-branding-yourself-when-facing-adversity#ixzz1sLEBVvWT