It ended up not being as hard as I was making it which seems to always be the problem. In my podcast I talk about why I am interested in marketing and how this is going to help our family buisness. I didn't add anything earth shattering to the podcast, cause I need to get down the editing part next.  This podcast stuff is pretty interesting and its kinda enjoyable.

Well its official, I need to get in the books and determine how to upload a podcast to my website. I am having problems with getting it to work I am trying to upload an MP3 file but it seems that the Google server is down, and not letting me upload which is a bummer. 

This is the error i am running into and the plan is to get this worked out before next week.

Professional Social Media

When utilizing a professional social media site liked LinkedIn, I like to approach them with the mission of creating an online persona, that most businesses that operate in my employment area. My persona is a jack-of-all-trades that can fix problems. Its hard to create a persona online so let the groups and the people you link with help.

I personally follow groups that are associated with the military and the rate in which I was a part of when I was a service member. In the government job arena, knowing that jobs are available and who is doing the hiring is important and LinkedIn can assist you in finding those jobs.

Groups I follow in LinkedIn:

Sonar Tech LinkedIn

IUSS LinkedIn

Video Blogging Ninja Style

My personal brand strategy is an eclectic training approach to solving training problems. Because my job is to fix problems I need to constantly add tools to my toolbox. When it comes to training videos, my favorite way to increase my expertise is to watch a bunch of training videos. Individuals video blogging give advise (training), that’s one reason people watch them. My goal is to determine why do people watch them, what techniques does the producer use to get high amounts of traffic and what makes the video good?

Lets take a look at a Ninja Training Video Blog for example:

Good Technique:

-      At 55 Seconds into the video you can see that producer uses a separate video screen showing the technique the narrator is talking about. I like the technique; especially early when the narrator is using vocabulary the audience has not learned yet.

Bad Technique:

-      During the first portion of the video the narrator is providing an introduction with his assistant standing next to him. Personally, I think the assistant should not be standing next to the narrator during the introduction; it’s distracting and awkward.

I want to learn from my peers, determine what they do well and then I imitate it and hopefully get it right, and if I don’t I can always learn how to be a Ninja!

Other Bloggers

I am currently helping a good friend create his business’s website and social media presence. He is a homebuilder and remodeler. When coming up with his brand and mission statement, I wanted his business to be a reflection of him and ethics.  The Definitive Guide To Building Your Personal Brand Jayson DeMers  really speaks to that approach to marketing. This is the framework of my marketing approach for small business. First you have to know the laws and Susan Gunelius lays them out in a way only laws can, from 1 to 10. 

Now lets fill in the details and use the tools to get this done!

Choose and prioritize the arrows in your quiver carefully; each has it’s own purpose and time. For my friends construction business he doesn’t want to focus on Twitter because it’s time consuming and might not have that great of a turn on investment because of the high post rate required, and his target audience doesn’t use it. Facebook on the other hand builds a network of loyal followers and transitions age. Now that the tool is correct, he should focus on his handy work and expertise. He is a rock star at everything construction and it dovetails into his business nicely, something Kevon Lee discusses in his blog.

Lets get more detailed now that we have selected the Facebook arrow from our quiver and it’s all about content:

How to take good pictures for social media: Daniel Lemin did a great article on Photography for Social Media: 5 Detailed Steps. While we understand when creating pictures for social media we aren’t creating works of art following simple rules will really put some quality on the page.

Now lets create some video: Donna Mortiz shows us exactly how to do that for Facebook its important to know how important short videos are for our business and how to shoot good quality ones. I love straight and to the point. I aint got no time for that! This video on how to make chicken and brussels is perfect!

Build a great framework with a brilliant personality and business plan and then:

1. Mold your personal brand and business together, let them become

2. Pick the right tools for the job! Might want to learn to use them too!

3.  Get in the weeds; make beautiful things like pictures and videos!