2011 May | Branding YOU Better!

Do You Know How to Express What Your Business Is and What You Do as an Entrepreneur?

May 10th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | No Comments
Tags: 2011 rock the world, amphibian cause founder, Angela Jia Kim, being a panelist with expertise, environmental poster designer, erin huggins, expressing your talents and business, green graphic design, knowing you business, learning from business experts, LinkedIn panelist, nicole abbott, reaching our potential, rock the world nyc, rock the world nyc 2011, savor the success, small business usa, social media panelists nyc, susan newman, susan newman design, Ted Rubin, understanding our mission, understanding your mission, visual broadcasting, visual broadcastingTM, women entrepreneurs, women in business

I have had my own business for 17 years now and as my business expanded across different platforms and media, I have become confused on how to express what I do. I sometimes speak at events, have been on the radio, interviewed in print and online, attended openings and event gatherings and when someone asks me, what I do, I’m afraid I stumble a bit.

I attended a gathering of amazing women entrepreneurs at last week’s Rock The World NYC. So many women, each with their own original personality, mission and drive for success. There were women who invented products, some with a heartfelt cause, and some with just the right company and attitude to get where they want to go.

It was an action-oriented 2 day conference, with so many plans for us to set in motion… branding & marketing, money maps, and social media.

But I must say that the more that I think about what drives me, the more I’m just not sure how to express it.

So here is what I believe my mission is: I help people realize through Visual Broadcasting™, how to express themselves on multiple platforms. Do I read their minds? How do I know when they talk to me, or show me things, just what they need?

Perhaps that’s why I have trouble expressing what I do. I’m the one behind the scenes, giving them what they need visually to soar. It’s not graphic, web, social media, promotion or advertising, it’s all encompassing. Sometimes I try out different hats: I’m a green graphic designer, I’m a book designer, I’m a web programmer, I’m a Facebook page designer, I’m a brand identity designer, environmentalist with an amphibian cause, and so on.

It certainly is an interesting place to be. I must look at the big picture and see my combined worth. Not that I do this or that, but find a way to say it cleanly so I don’t have to explain it.

In the coming weeks, in addition to implementing my action plans, I’ll be writing a new business plan, rediscovering myself and what my mission to help other businesses truly is.

Do you know how to express what you do? I’d love to hear your comments.

rock the world nyc savor social media panelists

From left: Angela Jia Kim, Ted Rubin, Nicole Abbott, Erin Huggins, and Susan Newman

LinkedIn Video Tutorials for Connecting Using Groups and Powerful Search Capabilities

May 4th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | 1 Comment
Tags: difference between linkedin and facebook, group discussions and participating, linkedin company search database, LinkedIn connections using groups, linkedin video screencast tutorials, linkedin vs facebook, linkedin vs twitter, videos by susan newman

Over the past few years I have been building my reach on LinkedIn. It has led to very valuable connections. People who share a common understanding and mission, or those whose capabilities can help me or visa versa. LinkedIn is quite different from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare and other social sites. On these others sites you can follow or fan someone or their company just because you want to. On LinkedIn, in order to connect, you need a reason. In other words, there has to be something that the two of you have in common. Either you are already friends, know each other from another source, like you worked together at a previous company, went to school together, or belong to a common group.

LinkedIn is very business oriented and is the largest database of working professionals that there is. It’s really the best place to connect to build you and your company’s professional profile. For LinkedIn to work for you, you must fill out your profile completely, and while connecting with people, ask them to write recommendations, the more, the better. 10+ will really help your credibility and visibility.

The groups section of LinkedIn is a very powerful way to reach many at once and build connections, better than searching for people or companies and adding one at a time. Let’s say you’d like to join a group on social media and marketing, or maybe you’re an animal lover like me and want to follow what’s happening through the World Wildlife Fund, you can join these groups and be connected with thousands through the discussion groups. Just put in any search criteria and the results will appear. It will display starting with the group that has the most members. When you find a group that seems interesting, look it over, read what they’re about, and what the most recent discussions were. Then join! Once in, you can either participate in discussions or start one on a topic you feel the group would like to learn about. Your discussion will be sent out in the daily/weekly digest to those thousands of members and the potential to connect to others is enormous. A discussion will list how many comments have been posted and if you add a comment, that’s nice visibility to all who are in the discussion with you. Just remember not to spam the list with selling tactics or you’ll soon be dropped from the group.

Another reason for joining groups that interest you, is that is gives you a “way in” when searching the company or people database. All those details are woven together. Let’s say you’re searching for companies in New York City who are in the marketing field. The results will be displayed and the companies will show how many employees there are and how many shared connections you have… then once opened, the people within the company will show who your shared connections are and if you have a group in common. Now you have more information and can write to connect with that person using the people you both know and the group in common. Think of LinkedIn as a place to build your business posse.