Word of Mouth 2.0: Personal References by Google

When I started Vizibility last year, we hired accountants, lawyers and other professionals to help us get the business going. Very few of us choose a lawyer or doctor or realtor or [fill in the blank] based solely on the company’s television ad or website or phonebook ad or referral alone. We may start with one of these, but we validate what they tell us by getting input from friends, family, and past and current clients.

And Google.

For service professionals, the best way to find new clients will always be word of mouth and personal references. The Internet won’t change that. But it has changed how word of mouth is spread. Online due diligence is a routine part of evaluating service professionals, and ‘Googling’ is now standard practice.

Having a strong game plan to understand and manage what is being found about you online is just as important as having a good website. What do people find when they search for you? Does someone else share your name and dominate the results? Did the media run a positive story about you that just doesn’t show up for some reason? Did a disgruntled client post a comment somewhere that keeps popping up? Is Facebook showing up everywhere?

To help potential clients find accurate information about their attorneys, leading Intellectual Property law firm Novak Druce + Quigg recently decided to add Vizibility SearchMe buttons to the corporate profile pages of its attorneys (http://bit.ly/96UfBh). Vizibility ensures that their attorneys can be found quickly in Google so they don't miss an important opportunity to validate their credentials and make a powerful impression. In short, Vizibility will help Novak Druce + Quigg get more business. And we expect to see to see thousands of other law firms and other professional services organizations follow suit by adding SearchMe buttons to the bios of practioners on their corporate websites.

Along with Vizibility, there are other tools that can help manage your online presence. But the single most important method of generating positive word of mouth will never change: deliver great service to your clients.

---

Guest Expert:

James Alexander is the founder and CEO of Vizibility. A serial technology entrepreneur, James has been involved with Internet search since starting eWatch in 1995.

Most recently James served as General Manager of Jupiterimages. Getty Images acquired the company in early 2009. Before that, James was Director of Product Management at Adobe Systems years where he created, built and managed Adobe Stock Photos, which served more than 7,000 creative professional customers in its first 36 months of operations. He joined Adobe in 2001 to manage and build the company’s early-stage electronic book (ebook) business.

Prior to Adobe, James led venture-backed Mibrary Inc., a New York-based software start-up founded in 1999 to make electronic books and other digital content easier for consumers to use. Prior to Mibrary, James co-founded the Internet brand monitoring service eWatch, which was purchased by PR Newswire in 1999.

James was awarded a patent for search innovations on Adobe Stock Photos and has other patents pending. He earned his Masters of Business Administration with distinction from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rockefeller College at the University at Albany in New York.

Google James at http://vizibility.com/james.

View the Original article

Personal Branding Basics

A lot of my people tell me that they hear and read a lot about the personal branding in a job search but don’t really understand what it means.

To me PERSONAL BRANDING is how you differentiate yourself from your competition and let people know how special you are.

So here are a few ways to establish a personal brand on your resume, online and in person.

1: Create a tag line that sums up who you are in one or two sentences.
For some it can be a very simple statement and for others something a little more innovative. Then place it at the top of your resume directly below your name and contact information separated by a double line. Here are 2 examples.

PPM \ PMO Manager
"Expertise developing process & methodology to manage a portfolio of 200 projects valued at $275M annually"

OR

Highly Skilled R&D Engineer
“Transforming your existing products and processes into ones your competition will envy”

2: Design a great business card that accentuates your brand
Depending on your field, you can be conservative, colorful or innovative. Whichever you choose, use both sides of the business card. Generally the front has your contact info and your brand, and on the back of the card place has an ad for what you have to offer.

There are several companies online who have professional templates to choose from, or will print your artwork for you at a reasonable cost. Zazzle and Vistaprint are two I know of. They can also print matching stationary, return labels, hats, tee shirts and other materials to help grow your brand.

3. Work on your public persona
Position yourself as an expert in your field by seeking public speaking engagements in front of target audiences. You can join civic and fraternal organizations which can help you solidify your bonifides and help you build your network.

4. Be a networking group leader
Join a group and become the most active member, or start your own live or online networking group in your field or community. Look at what interests similar groups and bring your name and expertise to the forefront by asking and answering relevant questions and exchanging job and networking leads with as many people as possible.

5. Create a public perception
Work on your social media profiles. Keep them current and relevant and make sure they show people more than just a boring "widget maker" looking for a job. Let your personality shine through. Set goals and a schedule of how many group responses you will reply to and how many tweets you will post each week.

6. Maintain your own blog
Blogging is a great way to establish your brand, show yourself as a subject matter expert and network to get other people to join and contribute.

7. Be open and available
Let people you know, as well as total strangers know that you are always available to help them by sharing your knowledge, your skills and your contacts with anyone who needs it. Get in the habit of Paying It Forward and you will see a lot of payback.

---

Author:

Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com/, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

View the Original article