I was reading a blog last week on FastCompany.com regarding a report from Vivaldi Partners on the “Social Currency Ranking” of various brands from Apple, to BMW, to JetBlue.

The concept of social currency is different than overall brand value. Where brand value is based on the difference in cost between a given brand and the generic version (think Coca-Cola and the grocery store brand soda), Social Currency Rankings are based on affiliation, identity, information, advocacy, utility and conversation. As Vivaldi states, it’s “the extent to which people share the brand or information about the brand as part of their everyday social lives at work or at home… Our study shows that social currency significantly drives brand loyalty. Moreover, brands with a high social currency command a price premium.”

In short, if your audience adores and talks about your brand on a social level, there’s a good chance they’ll pay more to remain loyal to your brand.

Out of curiosity over the weekend, I polled my Twitter followers about some of their favorite brands. I asked “What brand makes you feel the most proud, special or hip? Which brands do you aspire to use, own, interact with?”

Here are a few of the responses I received:

@a_kilbourne: my local Starbucks knows my name and my favorite drinks. Many times I will go out of my way to stop there.

@MattWallpe: Always though Kenneth Cole was pretty cool and loved wearing it.

@danebenton: target, starbucks, apple, luxury vehicle brands, just to name a few.

@danebenton: for me it’s a close tie between BMW and Audi, based on style and brand.

@meladorri: I gotta admit I really enjoy the experience of driving my Acura. Been impressed with most brand interactions.

@phidaniels: diesel jeans.

Not surprisingly, you’ll see many of these brands show up in Vivaldi’s report. Check out their findings. Some of the results may surprise you:

“The strongest brands in America, according to a new study, are not American. They are German and Japanese luxury car brands: BMW; Mercedes; and Lexus. But the U.S. brand with the greatest “social currency” is one that has existed a mere ten years (and it’s not even an Internet or tech company): JetBlue.” continue reading on FastCompany.com

What does your tradeshow booth say about your brand?

Our branding firm had the honor of sponsoring the opening reception of a regional conference this past week for an association of professional architecture, engineering and construction marketers called SMPS Heartland. While we enjoyed the fact that as sponsors, we were allowed to have “a booth,” we didn’t want to be one of those displays that people would just walk past. Our number one goal was to engage with conference attendees and SMPS members.

This coaster is looking for conversation.

Our intent was to give multiple ways for attendees of the conference to engage with our brand and to begin thinking about the real value of branding – uniquely positioning your brand in the marketplace.

Our objective was to connect with conference attendees in-person, by interacting with our booth, and social media. Here’s a few samples of how that played out. Let us know what you think:

Tradeshow backdrop: featured our message for the week, our #SMPSHeart Twitter tag, and room for attendees to literally write on our display with orange Miles Design sharpie markers. There’s nothing like a little “audience participation” to encourage engagement with your brand.

Our booth "before" the opening reception.

Our first brave volunteer.

A detail view of "after".

Reception Table Tents and Coasters: the coasters continued the theme of writing about your brand message (right on the coasters), and were complemented by table tents with fun and thought-provoking branding questions.

Social Media and Email: Lastly we used email and Twitter to communicate with conference attendees pre-, during, and post-show about our presence at the event, and the breakout session we led at the conference. More about that later…

We had a great time at the conference, and look forward to continuing our conversation with SMPS. Let us know what you think, and if you tweet about this, please tag it with #SMPSHeart – thanks!

Something happened a few weeks ago that really got me thinking about the importance of networking, and more importantly, developing a solid strategy for it. I was at an event, and I was introduced to a group of college students from a local design school. I talked with them for a while, and before I left, I gave them each my business card. In design, like many fields, connections are crucial. The people you meet today can open a door for a job or project tomorrow. By giving them my card, I was offering myself as a connection and resource–knowing they will eventually graduate with the goal of finding a job.

After I left, I thought to myself whether I’d hear from any of those students. Unfortunately, I doubted it, and so far I’ve been correct in my assumption. This really made me think. What happened to the traditional rules of networking–to following up after a meeting, sticking your foot in the door, and creating a memorable connection? Are these rules obsolete in a society whose natural, everyday forms of communication, connecting, and maintaining relationships are online?

I don’t think so. I think they’re
more important than ever.

We talk with our clients about the importance of developing a solid strategy for marketing their businesses–both online and off. The same applies for marketing ourselves as individuals. Whether you’re a student about to embark into the professional world, a professional looking for new business, or a seasoned business veteran, we each need a strong, balanced strategy for networking.

So, how do we strike a balance between online and in-person networking to create a well-rounded approach? The key is to realize that there’s an appropriate place for both, and one or the other will be a better fit in certain instances. You can’t discount the value of a face-to-face meeting when it comes to making a first impression, forming a new partnership, or presenting a new idea. Conversely, your online social networking is great for staying top of mind, staying in touch, or even for generating leads.

There’s a lot of chaos in the online world these days, and it’s important and necessary to separate yourself with more personal, memorable connections. Talking in-person or even over the phone can be necessary to stand out. Successful networkers have found a balance of both–utilizing the tools available online for convenience, speed, and efficiency but relying on personal, in-person contacts in those cases where an impression must be made.

Unsure where to start on either front? Here are a few tips for standing out both online and in-person:

In-person networking:
Aim for real connections. Form real, memorable connections by remembering details from past conversations and meetings.

Mind your P’s and Q’s. Always ere on the side of etiquette and politeness. You only get one first impression, so use it wisely.

Remember that it’s a small world. Don’t talk poorly about your colleagues or company. It only reflects poorly on you.

Be prompt with your actions. If information is exchanged, don’t wait too long to respond with a “nice to meet you” email or phone call.

Be proactive. Unless it’s specifically discussed, always aim to make the first contact after meeting someone new.

Online presence:
Carefully select your outlets. Online networking can take off quickly, so choose your tools and determine your strategy in advance.

Be proactive with your online presence. Stay top of mind with someone by following them on Twitter, commenting on their blog articles, etc.

Audit your content daily. Make sure your content is appropriate and relevant to your personal and professional image and goals you’re trying to achieve.

Be dependable. Online networking tools are most effective when you actively maintain, respond, and post fresh content.

Use online tools to your advantage. Online tools are great for finding new connections and can provide an excellent transition to an in-person meeting.

Are you a little leery of jumping into Twitter? I think that’s a common feeling among many high-end attorneys, accountants, architects, engineers, and technical consultants that we’ve spoken to over the past few months. It’s not that these professionals don’t have anything valuable to say, they’re just not sure how best to get started.

All you need to do is jump online and post what you had for breakfast, right? Easy there… let’s take a step back first.

Let’s pretend for a moment you don’t need me to convince you why you should be tweeting and that you’ve already established a solid set of goals for utilizing Twitter with your branding and marketing team. Let’s assume after a long, focused discussion with those teams, your vision looks something like this:

1. Expand your network online to create top of mind awareness of your firm
2. Establish or reinforce your firm’s areas of expertise
3. Attract the top talent in your space by showcasing your firm’s thinking

You’ll want to spend some time designing a vision specifically for you, but that’s a good direction to begin implementing your Twitter strategy. From here, nearly everything you’ll need to get started can be included in one of the three following categories: Start, Share, and Expand.

1. Start – Basic recommendations to get you tweeting:

- Choose your handle. Visit Twitter.com to select your own unique handle. It will be your username, and your posts will show up with “@” in front of them. Pick something like your name or your company’s name. I’m @joshmiles. You can also upload your own avatar or photo and customize your page.

- Explore different user interface options. You don’t have to be on Twitter.com to use their service. Tweeting functionality is built into various websites, smart phones, and desktop applications. One of my favorites is a free desktop application, which has a companion iPhone app called TweetDeck. It allows you to manage tweets in groups, shorten links, post photos, and even allows for multi-account support.

- Make smart posts. In general, stick to what you know. This doesn’t mean you have to be robotic, but if you’re tweeting about sushi more that you tweet about your area of expertise, some followers may lose interest.

- Schedule your tweeting. Choose specific times in the day or specific days in the week to spend some quality time on Twitter. It could be 5 minutes or 5 hours a day, depending on how Twitter best fits into your overall communications strategy. Bottom line – decide how important it is to your own strategy, and get in the habit of making regular updates.

- Follow smart people, or anyone you like for that matter. But since we’re talking about building up the reputation of your firm, be smart about who you choose to follow. Clients, vendors, coworkers, and even other experts are great people to follow.

2. Share – What to tweet:

- Share your firm’s thought leadership content. One obvious use of Twitter is to share your firm’s ideas, links, and articles. Just remember: share, don’t “sell.” Users follow people for various reasons, but few will continue to follow users who post blatant sales messages.

- Share great posts, blogs, etc. Anytime you read a great relevant article, post a link to it. You can also forward other users’ posts to your own followers, called a “ReTweet.”

- Don’t limit your thinking to what you can fit in 140 characters or less. You can link to longer content such as websites, videos, blogs, etc.

- Company Blogs. Speaking of blogs, every posting at your firm would be greatly complemented by a Twitter mention.

- Email Newsletters. Do you have an e-newsletter? Provide occasional links for email newsletter sign-ups.

- News, Events, and Awards. Twitter is a great platform to make announcements, share news, awards, mentions, etc.

- Have Fun. If used in good balance, Twitter is a great way to showcase some of your firm’s culture or some of your personal interests. But like we discussed earlier, don’t get carried away on the personal stuff.

3. Expand – Don’t stop there…

- #Hashtag Keywords. For some topics, you may want to “tag” your post the with the pound sign such as #branding or #followfriday – click here to learn more about #hashtags.

- Stay on top of your account. Keep an eye on who’s following you, and choose who makes sense to follow in return. Find other users who talk about similar keywords, and consider following them as well.

- Hello my name is @joshmiles. Add your handle as another piece of contact info: email signature, email newsletter, blog, website. If it makes sense, consider even adding your handle to print materials (business cards, etc.) or sharing it in articles, presentations, or networking events.

Remember to commit some time to discussing your goals and strategies before jumping right in, but don’t sit back for too long. Being an active Twitter user may be one of the best ways to position your brand as an expert firm.