I realize so many people feel the same way, and they totally are missing the point and the value of social media.

Talk with anyone who owns their own business, or is a solo practitioner, or is looking for a job. They will tell you the two most important tools they have are their network and their reputation. Both of these are built today with social media. Without question, Twitter contributes to building your personal brand.

How you use social media, what you say, and the pictures you post will all become part of your permanent record. Not participating will also speak volumes about your brand.

“I have a good job, so I have no need to build a personal brand, right?”

There is no such thing as job security in the digital age; therefore, everyone, regardless of current position, should be building their personal brands because your business worth is becoming more and more predicated on your “Google juice” (getting a high representation in a search for you.)

When was the last time you Googled yourself? That’s right, put your name in the search box and see what comes up. How many times did you appear on the front page of the listings? Did you even appear on the front page of the listings? How many pages deep did you have to search before anything about you appeared?

If I can’t find you in a Google search looking for you, you are brand-less to the world. Who you are and what your skills, talents and capabilities are matter in today’s business environment. Companies are shifting to a more talent-focused approach to hiring and promotion than the old school experience-based hiring approach. Why the shift? Because everything is changing so dramatically that experience is becoming of lesser value compared to skills and talents that apply to current job demands. So what if you have 15 years of experience working with outdated technology? It just doesn’t matter anymore.

So how do you make yourself relevant? By building your personal brand.

Building a personal brand is tough. There are over 845 people in the United States named Russell White (and I think every one of them must have a Facebook account.)  One Russell White was a Heisman Trophy candidate out of California. Another is a gospel singer. Yet another is wanted for armed robbery. So how do I jump above this crowded space to grab some Google Juice and make my brand heard?

Start with creating distinction. I use my middle initial (Russell J White) in most everything I do. That gives me traction on Google with Russell White AND I dominate the first two pages of search results when people search “Russell J White.”  Personal branding takes time, consistent effort and participation in a number of social media outlets. In this article I don’t have time to go into all of the most obvious social media opportunities to build your brand such as with LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and the importance of blogging. I’ll save those for future articles, but I do want to answer my card-playing friend’s question about Twitter.

Twitter

How do I use Twitter to build my personal brand, reputation and network? I simply treat it like a conference hospitality suite. Talk a little business, talk a little fun, and share information. Unlike a hospitality suite conversation, people can find everything you tweet, so keep it clean and friendly — use it to develop your reputation, not harm it.

Think before you tweet.

Many employers check the public record of Twitter streams of employees as the proverbial fly on the wall. It gives a great insight to the thoughts of the individual, how they approach life, and what is important to them. It will also reveal how they view work and relationships and how they communicate. Many celebrities and professional athletes forget the permanence of a tweet and how fast they can be shared. It’s hard to believe how 140 characters can ruin a reputation and cost someone an endorsement deal.

So what do I tweet?

Information you think your followers will find interesting. Monday at 9:04 am, I tweeted that Jim Tressel had resigned and included a link to the Columbus Dispatch article. On Memorial Day, thank those who serve us in the military. I have commented on the storms we are having, that I will be attending the next tweetup, and that I will be going to an upcoming concert if anyone wants to join me.

I will let people know where to find this blog article with title and link. The last blog article I posted someone retweeted it (copied the link and sent it to all of their network, thus building my exposure!) Like I said, a little business, a little fun and sharing information.

Respect the power of Twitter and use the medium to your advantage.

My Twitter account name, @BizWizTV, has over 6,000 followers and is growing. I use that account to specifically refer to my BizWizTV.com television channel where I post weekly three-minute videos. Google still sees my name tied to that account as it is registered in my name, so I still get good juice. Your Twitter name should speak directly to either who you are or what you are talented doing or, in my case, a specific destination that is about me.
Solely because of Twitter I have made many local connections with business owners, and I am offered a number of free networking events, lunches and meetings known as tweetups that have helped my business, my knowledge and my network.

As Twitter is maturing, it is far less about “what I had for breakfast” and more about breaking news stories, making meaningful business connections, and gathering meaningful information that speaks directly to my interests. Twitter is a great tool to build your business reputation, build your network, and build your brand. That is why I think it is the most underused tool in the traditional business person’s toolbox.

Every business executive talks about innovation, the need for innovation, they have to innovate or die, and some say how great they are at innovation, but their innovations never reach the customer in time. Why is this the case? Because when innovation is expected because it’s the most important word in Buzzword Bingo, it fails to have the passion to see it through.

Talk is cheap, ideas are free, and intent is easy.

If you want to truly give your customers some meaningful innovations follow these rules to S.T.A.R.T. Something.

S.     Show Initiative

If your best innovation is covering ground your competitors have already walked, you are not innovating – you are catching up. Creating a Phone app? Are you the first to have this? Who else in your industry has one? Is your app doing the same identical things? There is no competitive advantage to being next in line, but you probably need this simply to stay competitive. True innovation comes from showing initiative. For example, being the first to take a customer pain and figuring a way to eliminate it. Start simple, take an internal process that is painfully slow and fraught with pain points (errors, internal bickering, etc) and tackle it once and for all. True innovation doesn’t come from copycats; it comes from those who strive to be unique in the market place.

T.     Try Stuff

If you feel the need to hit the Bull’s eye every time, you are standing too close to the target. Innovation comes from a series of failures and missteps that create knowledge to be better on the next attempt. This is why I hate “zero defect” corporate cultures. That mindset eliminates the best innovative ideas and efforts. When you can’t fail you only reach for the sure thing. Instead, create a culture of “try stuff” and watch how ideas get bigger and better and the execution of those ideas improve with every attempt. It’s how real innovation occurs.

A.     Attack Issues

Innovation implementation rarely reaches great heights because people tend to avoid risk, play safe and go for the sure thing. To innovate you must fully attack the issues you are addressing. It might get a bit messy, a few toes may get stepped on in the process, and someone’s feelings might get hurt. So be it. To win the battle with your competitors must first win the battles in-house. Half-hearted efforts never win the big prize and innovation isn’t worth trying if there isn’t a full on attack of the issue you or correcting with your innovation.

R.     Re-evaluate Everything

A large stumbling block to innovation is the transition from the vacuum of a lab to the dirty real world. Innovations don’t stand alone; they can bump into everything else that works with the old rules. The old policies, procedures, department design and even the old technology can be called into jeopardy with true innovation. This is why it is important when pursuing significant innovation to examine every impact a successful launch can have.

T.     Transparently Communicate

When you show initiative, try stuff, attack issues, and re-evaluate everything you have completely challenged the status quo. People like the status quo because they know what to expect, have figured how to be successful, don’t like risk and know where the pain is. Which is why innovation needs a marketing campaign every step of the way. The best marketing campaign for innovation is transparent communication. Let people hear the story along the way, encourage them to buy in, and share the benefits the overall organization will experience once the innovation is the new status quo.

Innovation is a defining tool for the new economy for every organization, especially in well-established industries. Don’t simply play follow the leader – START Something.

Every year at this time people make personal resolutions. Business owners and leaders also set expectations and have high hopes for the new year. Studies show on the average people give up on their personal resolutions by the end of a month and businesses reach the end of the first quarter playing catch up.

Why not try something different this year that will have real meaningful impact on your business?

Instead of trying to set resolutions or hoping business will improve ask yourself the most important business question of the year:

If I were to start my business from scratch with the knowledge I have today, how would it look different?

Most of us who have successfully owned a business for a long time are constantly looking to improve, upgrade or grow the business we have. Sadly, that isn’t enough in today’s business environment – ask Blockbuster.

Blockbuster created an industry and dominated it, and then technology shifted. Blockbuster was the best distributor of VCR products. Every year they worked to improve their title offerings, make their locations more customer friendly, and their staff more knowledgeable. The problem was they were asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking what can we do to be better, they should have been asking: If we started today how would we be different?

Netflix showed them how a new start up thinking fresh can completely change the marketplace leaving the industry leader filing bankruptcy – because they failed to ask the right question.

Netflix learning from Blockbuster’s mistake are now asking this all important question again and forcing their organization and entice customers to join them on the video on demand trend with streaming video.

Look at your business. What are you upgrading you need to overhaul? In what ways are the new competitors kicking your butt? Can’t see it? Don’t believe it? Look harder! Try these 25 questions on for size.

Guarantee: If honestly answering all of these questions doesn’t dramatically improve your business write me at Russell@RussellWhite.com and tell me about it. I will make a donation to your favorite charity in your name for wasting your time!

What new technology makes your systems crap by comparison?

What hours should you be open for business to maximize revenue?

What leadership skills and energy level should be at the helm of your business?

What does your web presence look like?

What social media maximization are you working on?

Where is your mobile phone app?

How are you hiring people differently today?

Are you still wasting time on reading/reviewing resumes?

Why are YOU leading your business? (Remember the bulletproof feeling you had when you started your new business or new position? How does that feel now?)

Do you clearly know your customers?

If you didn’t own/run the business would you still want to be a customer of your place?

Why do you sell your products the way you do?

Does that approach even apply today?

Why are you selling the products and services you are currently offering?

What do you call marketing these days? Why are you using those methods of getting the word out?

How is your product packaged? Why?

Who are you employing? Why?

How often are you completely changing your customer approach?

What in your business is a “VHS tape” in a digital video world?

When was the last time you learned a brand new skill that impacted your business?

If you had an unlimited budget to make a commercial, what would it look like?

How can you make close to that with what you can afford right now?

How can you create such customer draw they will stand in line to get what you are offering?

What corners are you cutting because you are lazy/tired/it’s the economy/it’s good enough/I am just not as committed as I once was?

What process/employee/product/system has a lot in common with a full diaper but you just do not want to face the fact you need to do something about it?

The communication generation is used to being connected to real time information so no wonder they want more feedback and involvement in the decision process. This is a good thing Baby Boomer leaders should try to capitalize on, not get frustrated by. Here is how…

The following questions will help you get the maximum information after watching the video.

1. What is the best insight you gathered from someone asking “Why?”

2. How do you keep your communication-hungry employees well-informed to the degree and on the timetable they expect?

3. What changes might you need to make in your own management style to capitalize on this free flow of information back and forth?

People beat you with sticks like you are a Pinata in today’s world of selling. When working in the business to business arena remember the following three points:
1. Time is money: get to the point
2. Don’t worry on how you are doing — focus on the other guy
3. BS detectors are high, get to the facts. If they want fluff — give ‘em a bunny.