The best kind of personal branding combines real-world communications with virtual visibility and community-building via social media. Online brand-building enables you to reach beyond the people you can connect with in person and allows you to measure the impact of your actions. Since online personal-branding efforts are easier to track and measure, ... more

What are so-called Trust Agents? Trust Agents have established themselves as non-sales-oriented, non-high-pressure marketers. They are digital natives using the Web to be genuine and to humanize their business. They're interested in people (like prospective customers, employees, and colleagues), and they have realized that the tools that enable more unique, ... more

Small-agency quirks don't have to be fatal. In fact, many can be fixed by applying simple technologies that provide big-business tools while allowing firms to stay true to their small-business core. The following eight cures to the common small-marketing-firm ailments will help ensure that your company doesn't fall into the ... more

Color is powerful. It's an important personal-branding tool, so use it wisely and consistently to support your personal-branding activities. To make the most of your color, follow these five rules. more

If the company you work for is like many companies in today's economic climate, it isn't hiring too many people and its marketing budget has been cut. Employees are being asked to do more with less. Now more than ever, however, marketing efforts are needed to drive sales. What options do ... more

If you want to get ahead in your marketing career, stop using four-letter words that begin with the letter "F." No, we aren't talking about THAT word. (Although cursing your boss is probably not going to get you very far, either.) But the F-words here are far more lethal, more destructive, ... more

It might sound counter-intuitive, but "sweating the small stuff" is actually a recipe for success. In fact, it can be one of best weapons in your business arsenal. more

Effective networking is all about giving. One of the best ways to give to your network members is to help them build their personal brands. And if you help them build their brands on the Web, you demonstrate how savvy you are about the new Web 2.0 world we live ... more

Although she has been successful in promoting and extending corporate brands, the author entered into another chapter of her life a few years ago: re-energizing an acting career. Eventually, she came to see marketing herself as an actor as the same as marketing any other product or service. She revisited ... more

While games remain the most widely downloaded smartphone apps, developers haven't forgotten about those of us who have work to do. In fact, we found quite a few apps that are useful for marketers. Take a gander, and then tell us the applications you've found useful for improving productivity and ... more

Before you ask me to go to work for you, go to work for yourself. When you've implemented the suggestions above, I'm more receptive to helping you connect with your next job opportunity. But I don't have time or inclination to work with job-seeking networking spammers. Heed the lesson of the ... more

Personal branding is something that every career-minded professional needs to be thinking about—every day, and with everything they do. With the recession growing in severity and marketing budgets being cut, now is the time for you to be thinking about your personal brand—before your name lands on the layoff list. more

Gems of 2008: If you're like most of us, you probably have a LinkedIn profile and a slew of (or at least some) connections there. But are you leveraging LinkedIn to the best of its abilities, as both a marketing tool and career resource? more

Gems of 2008: Online reputation management means tracking your brand and reacting when necessary. Brand monitoring can save you from a potential disaster when someone cites your name in an article that misrepresents you. What's more, it can help you proactively join conversations around your topic area, helping to get ... more

Gems of 2008: Ever sigh to yourself, "There just aren't enough hours in the day!"? You're not alone. Most marketers are overloaded and under-resourced. But it doesn't have to be that way. And managing your time more efficiently isn't the answer. more

During the 12 years that Christa Carone has been with Xerox, the company has been on quite a roller-coaster ride, having gone through significant challenges back in 1999 through 2001/2002, when the company's brand and reputation really took a hit. Recently she discussed with Roy Young her work to strengthen the ... more

Paul Barsch, Marketing Director at Teradata, the business intelligence and data warehousing firm, is responsible for coordinating services engineering teams to define, build, and bring new offers to market. A self-described "information junkie" with over 15 years in marketing for information technology and consulting firms, Paul challenges all marketers to bring ... more

Do you know what people are saying about you? Online reputation management consists of tracking your brand and reacting when necessary. Sometimes it's tedious. But brand monitoring can save you from a potential disaster. It can also help you proactively join conversations around your topic area, to get your brand ... more

Matt Strain is director of worldwide relationship marketing at Adobe, where after just three years he is recognized as a Marketing Champion who adds financial value to the company. He has had a distinguished career in technology marketing. He recently took time to share his thoughts about what makes him ... more

Film festivals have become the prime venue where independent filmmakers launch their works to the public. Festivals offer an excellent place to build buzz about your film, find distribution deals, network, get press coverage, and experience an audience for your movie. Despite the importance of film festivals, most independent filmmakers have ... more

Like most of us, you probably have a LinkedIn profile and a slew of connections there. But are you leveraging LinkedIn to the best of its abilities, as both a marketing tool and career resource? If you aren't sure, you aren't alone. Indeed, many of the 16+ million people who have ... more

Luanne Tierney, Senior Director US and Canada Channels Marketing at Cisco, has had a 20-year career in technology marketing—the past 12 years at Cisco, and before that at Apple, HP, and 3Com. She is a "Marketing Champion," because she drives cash flow for Cisco by helping channel partners market more ... more

As a marketing professional, you likely work in a specialized function that may feel like a silo in your company. But you're also best positioned to break down the walls between your function and others (like R&D, sales, finance, and so forth). It's not an easy task, but the following ... more

Ever sigh to yourself, "There just aren't enough hours in the day!"? You're not alone. Most marketers are overloaded and under-resourced. But it doesn't have to be that way. And managing your time more efficiently isn't the answer. Nor is simply delegating. You also need to be discerning about what you ... more

What goes unnoticed by many can be an keen advantage for the few. By taking steps to not only build a personal brand but also seek new ways to circulate your name, you will be more successful. Here are three easy (and easily overlooked) things you can do to juice ... more