Using Social Media as a Voice for Personal Branding

Using Social Media as a Voice for Personal Branding

I was recently inspired by David Garland from a recent blog post from The Rise To The Top titled “Why Doing Business Now Is Like Being on Camera 24/7,” because he talks about social media giving everyone their own “voice.” This is one of the main points of social media that has always excited me. You can quickly reach a large audience with all of the various platforms that are currently available to everyone, such as blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and so on. This gives you the opportunity to allow your followers to get to know you on a more personal level. 10 years ago you wouldn’t have been able to instantly network with various professionals as you are now with the tools available to you.

I will be periodically publishing unedited videos on topics I enjoy in social media, new discoveries we’re playing around with at Comet Branding and various tips I continue to learn along the way. I hope you all enjoy getting to know me more on a personal level and I look forward to continuing to talk with people on all cool things social media.

Videos are a great way for everyone to start personalizing their own video profiles to build up your personal branding “voice.” 5 Tips to get you started on spreading your message are:

1. Setup your personal video profiles on Vimeo, YouTube or SlideShare.

2. Utilize these platforms to promote content on your blog, LinkedIn profile, Facebook and promote through Twitter.

3. Talk with your connections. Use the video content as a way to move beyond the “140-character” message and let people truly get to know what is on your mind.

4. Listen. What kind of feedback are you getting and what do people want to know more about you or the topics you’re discussing?

5. Have fun with it. We’re in a world where everyone truly has a “voice” and it’s what you make of it.

The Google Job Experiment: Genius Use of Pay Per Click Advertising

The Google Job Experiment: Genius Use of Pay Per Click Advertising

Personal branding and striving for creative ways to get the attention of potential employers, is becoming more of the norm. When I created my “Laura Gainor Utilizing Social Media” SlideShare presentation to get the attention of Comet Branding, I knew I was taking a large risk putting myself out there for one company, but the excitement of the potential result was so exciting.

By expressing eagerness to set himself apart, Alec Brownstein has impressed me with his recent Pay Per Click campaign, “The Google Job Experiment,” to eventually land himself a job at Y&R New York. This is an absolute genius and hidden way to pitch his personal branding campaign through pay per click ads for individuals’ names at agencies of interest for Brownstein.

This shows another unique example how young professionals are using their personal brand to get their foot in the door. It pays off to plan your resume distribution strategically, and in this case for Brownstein, it cost $6.

Congratulations Alec and best wishes to you at Y&R New York!

Happy 30th Birthday Haley!

To a wonderful sister-in-law, Happy 30th Birthday! Sorry we were unable to make it down to Atlanta for your surprise birthday party. Even though we weren’t able to attend in person, we felt it was right to make sure we were able to be there in some form.

Have a great 30th! We’re almost catching up with you.

Love, Brian & Laura

Happy 30th Birthday Haley! from Laura Gainor on Vimeo.

Video Messaging with TokBox: Face-to-Face Interaction is Back

Video Messaging with TokBox: Face-to-Face Interaction is Back

Many of you use video conferencing, such as Skype, every day to have business video conferences, stay connected with family members, or use the chat features to communicate interoffice. Now with TokBox, you can bring back face-to-face interaction with video messaging.

When I was first introduced to TokBox, I liked the feature of being able to chat with multiple people at one time. Many of my family members use Skype as a way to stay connected and multiple user features was exactly what we needed. As many of you also know, Skype has just announced they will be releasing a feature allowing you to chat with up to five people at one time. With both of these platforms, it all depends on which one has the clearest video stream.

With TokBox you can chat with up to 20 people for free. There are options to upgrade your account to have access to other features, such as scheduling video chats and having a broadcast video chat with up to 200 people. TokBox has a lot of opportunity for growth as they continue to upgrade their features and make sure the streaming of the video conference is seamless.

As I have been testing out Tokbox’s features, what I like the most is the capability to send a video message. It’s very simple to record your video message and send the recipient the recorded video message through an email. The recipient receives an email notification that they’ve received a video message from you that looks like the screenshot below:

The recipient then clicks on the link within the email to directly open the video message in their internet browser, which immediately starts playing the recorded video message. With this video message, you can have it replace a simple email that you would want to send the end user or leave a personal video message for someone. Many times when sending emails, your message can come across differently than intended, or it takes out the personable touch that you’re hoping to achieve. With video messages, it brings back face-to-face interaction to make sure your message is received correctly and help build a relationship.

I’ve recorded a video message for all of you to see and tell you a little more about why I’m excited about video messaging with TokBox.

Click HERE or on the image below to hear my message.