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Jan
19

Join Me! Headshot Days – February 2012


I’m delighted to bring back one of the most popular events I’ve ever hosted in Chicago: Headshot Days!  As we all know, having a polished, professional headshot is critical in this age of social networking – it’s your online “first impression” and tells the world that you mean business! Whether it’s LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, [...]

Jan
16

Social Networking @ Work


Can you imagine telling a potential new hire that you don’t allow people to surf the web at work? Of course not. But it wasn’t too long ago that many companies, fearing their staff would get sucked into the unproductive abyss of the world wide web, tried to limit access to the Internet, permitting only a [...]

Dec
16

Bias And Personal Brands – What No One Is Talking About


Dear Readers, I confess, it has been nearly a month since my last post but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. I recently penned another column for Social Media Marketing Magazine about personal branding and bias. If you’re a business owner, a rainmaker, a career climber, or a job seeker  - have I left [...]

Nov
17

Battle Of The Online Brands


I’ve been getting a bunch of requests lately from forward-thinking businesses looking to show their employees how to build strong personal brands. Yes, you read that right. From start-ups to mature enterprises, companies everywhere are learning not only too trust their staff but to leverage their online output – what I call the collective digital [...]

Oct
31

Engage Employees To Build Brand Ambassadors


I had the good fortune to hear Kip Tindell, CEO of The Container Store deliver a keynote speech at the International Housewares Association conference for CEOs I was also speaking at earlier this month. Tindell talked about the importance of delivering unrivaled customer service by putting employees first – a corporate tenet so vital to [...]

Oct
25

Your Email Signature Needs A Sedative


I’m so over the email signature. Enough already. What tipped me over the edge was an email I received this morning. It was easily half a page long and included two different Facebook icons, two different Twitter icons, links to three separate websites and a graphic image of the Las Vegas strip inviting me to [...]

Sep
28

What Playboy, State Farm And Weight Loss Have In Common


What do bunnies, bumper-to-bumper coverage and energy balance have in common? Social media. That’s the discussion I’ll be moderating on Thursday, October 6th at the Chicago American Marketing Association event entitled  ”Zen and the Art of Social Media*.” As any good moderator will do, I’ve been doing my homework, chasing all manner of links about [...]

Sep
23

Social Networking Experts, Ninjas And Gurus – Oh My!


It’s been said that to be an expert at anything – be it skateboarding or social networking – you have to spend 10,000 hours practicing your craft. Ten thousand hours! When it comes to social networking for business, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that just because your 19-year old niece [...]

Sep
12

Your Calendar, Your Wallet And LinkedIn


If you’ve ever heard me talk about social networking then this will not be news to you because it comes up every single time I deliver a keynote or workshop. Without fail someone asks, “Is it worth it to upgrade my LinkedIn account?” Yes. And no. Allow me to explain. To be successful on LinkedIn, [...]

Sep
5

When Your Online Personal And Professional Worlds Collide


Repurpose. Repurpose. Repurpose. For my social media consulting clients, this is a familiar refrain. Create content once and repurpose it in every way possible. Got a white paper? Break it up into blog posts, a video interview, a slideshare show and Twitter strategy. Sounds simple enough but the truth is it takes time. And planning. [...]