Brand Me Please!

Create A Knockout Brand:

Social media has leveled the playing field for the entertainment industry, making it so ALL artists have the ability to build an audience, it has also leveled the playing field for every business within every industry as well.

In the eyes of the average social media user (your potential audience), your presence is the same as any and every other audience, company and organization out there… and only those who establish an effective Brand will be able to keep their attention and loyalty.
So how do you establish an effective brand?
 
CONSISTENCY!

Create consistency across all platforms.
If you have a defined look and feel on one platform, it is important that the look and feel remain the same on other platforms so your current audience (and new audience) can identify you easily everywhere else.
The stronger your Brand becomes, the easier it will be for your audience to identify you through the social media clutter.

Here are 4 different elements of Digital branding that you must ensure are consistent across all of your platforms:

Fan Page Images:  Profiles pictures, timeline banners, logos, album covers, etc. should all be of the highest quality (i.e. no fuzzy or grainy images taken from an iPhone) and should be the same on all platforms. Your profile picture on Facebook Fan Page  should be the same as your profile picture on Twitter, Youtube, Google +, Soundcloud, etc.

Color: Be consistent about color palette.  

Bio: Who you are should be on every social media platform you use.
There is no better example of a wasted opportunity than one where a new potential audience stumbles upon your Facebook page (or your website!) and wants to know more about you but there is no bio available there.Your bio gives you the opportunity to control YOUR story, telling new and existing audiences what you want them to know about you.

Content: Social Media is all about content.The look, feel, style and frequency of the content you publish (images, music, videos, blog posts, etc.) must be consistent on every platform in order to stay relevant and keep your existing audience interested. If you change your content style too often, your audience may grow to not know what to expect and will be far less likely to come back or look for you on other platforms.

CONSISTENCY! 

 

YouTube Joins Elite Club Along With Facebook

Eight  Years, One Billion Users And Really Just Getting Started.

 Google held a fancy press event in Santa Monica, California last month to tout that its video site YouTube is now averaging 1 billion monthly users who are streaming a stunning 4 billion hours of content every month. The purpose of the gathering was to let advertisers know how great a platform YouTube is so that they spend more money there in the upcoming year rather than on traditional TV.

7 Ways To Promote Your Video

Since YouTube is the second most searched engine in the world (and by the way: owned by the #1—Google), there is good reason to be smart! Make the MOST of each upload.

Here are the 7 tasks vloggers (bloggers) should do whenever you upload a YouTube video to your YouTube channel.

1.  Add an SEO-optimized title:
   The title is key in helping your video to be found, so use appropriate keywords.
2.  Add an SEO description: Add a description that isn’t keyword stuffed, but has your main keywords.
3. Add your blog/website link to the description: Be sure to provide a link back to that.  You can also include links to all of your social media platforms.  When posting links, be sure to include the “http” or the “https,” as that’s the only way YouTube can automatically hyperlink it. What?! No website/blog? Get one!
4. Maximize your tags
5. Create A Facebook Company/Fan page
6. Share it on other social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn (if appropriate), Pinterest etc
7. Create video responses: Search for videos that are similar to yours, and instead of writing a comment about it, create a video response that will attract the audience you want back to your videos. Be sure to provide links to your blog/website too.

#StPete Native LadyBroadway Martina Sykes Returns Home From Her Exclusive Norwegian Cruise Performances

 

   Singer, Actor, Dancer and Activist 
visit: Martina Sykes

7 Ways To Build Brand Using Instagram

What Every Artist Can Learn From Jay-Z, Rick Ross and Keyshia Cole

Anytime you become a detractor, you end up causing criticisms for yourself. Keyshia Cole discovered that via social media earlier this year. Not only should you be aware of your rants on social media, you should not be a detractor and only under certain circumstances should you make headlines for performing outside of your job.  

• Artists must be conscious of their platform and who they are on that platform. Many agreed with Keyshia. However, they have the public platform to vocalize their opinion; radio/TV talk show hosts, etc.  Keyshia is an artist, a singer not commentator or panelist.

Not only should Rick Ross' rhyme:  “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it,”

Have NEVER been recorded in first place, his initial statement (probably not written by him) called the lyrics a: “ misunderstanding”

Ross' recent apology statement came only after Reebok dropped the endorsement deal: “Most recently, my choice of words was not only offensive, it does not reflect my true heart,”    Which was it? Was the rhyme misunderstood? Or was it a rhyme that was offensive and does not reflect his true heart?
 

• Artists must be careful and should communicate clearly when there is a misstep

After his crisis, Jay-Z released a new song, titled “Open Letter,” that expresses his disgust at the political nitpicking about his trip. In doing so, Jay-Z took control of the situation and turned the entire episode into a branding opportunity. 

His response to his critics provides a valuable lesson for artists because he responded to his critics through the medium that made him golden. A written statement from Jay-Z would NOT have had nearly the impact—pop culture or media hook—that his new song has. 

• Artists should know: when it comes to getting your messaging across and neutralizing your detractors, always play to your PR strengths, tap into your art while using the traditional medium that best suits your brand. You can never social-media yourself out of a crisis. Instead, use social media to direct audiences to the art. 

  

Social Media For A 3rd Grader

Eye Opener on Company/Fan Pages

source: Recommend.ly,

YouTube!

Guess which social media platform is now officially the biggest search engine for music?
In addition, for every one minute of video you upload, 350 additional social interactions are generated. 
How amazing is that?

A Thin Line Between Content Marketing & Publicity

Content marketing can highlight a post via a blog, Twitter or Facebook as the lead generation and brand awareness weapon of choice, but what if you have the ability to pitch a reporter a great byline that discusses or links to another piece of powerful content? Research shows that there’s a lot of potential for publicity opportunities when content marketing is used effectively and strategically. Bylines can lead to blog posts, blog posts to bylines, and press releases can serve as gateways for both. 

Example: Jada Pinkett Smith's recent headline making  "Are we bullying our young artists?" Facebook post.

So, now the question is: do personal brands have enough time to do it all?

Creating Content that Works

The social media goal of a personal brand is to create intrigue. It is important to mix content with traditional and/or digital PR.
 

• A photo increased views by 14% 
• A video increased views by 20% 
• A photo and a video increased views by 48% 
• Photos, videos, presentations, or PDFs increased views by 77% 

Source: March Communications Boston, MA 02114

The Power of Twitter

Look Closely at the Anatomy of a Tweet

Now, Look at the Journey of A Tweet

Bay Area Pros My Digital Press Agent

Bay Area Pros

Building A Brand For the New Frontier

A Frontiersman: 

 A person who works or resides in the farthermost limits of knowledge or achievement.  

 

A Frontier Brand, a brand of the New Frontier of social media, must have 4 fundamental components:

 

A frontier brand is free from pretense and/or deceit.   

• No pretending to do and/or pretending to be what you can not deliver. 

•  Being consistent: online and in person.

 

Frontier brands are remarkable and noticeable                        

• They create content in a polished, professional way (either themselves or by a professional)

• Their product and presentations of their product stands out a bit more from that of their peers

Frontier brands stir up emotions

• People buy based on an emotion: a conscious mental reaction.

• Humans like to remember as well as think ahead

Frontier brands are personable 

• Even if you have a professional providing content, it is important that the brand speak on occasion and speak as if s/he is speaking to just one person.

• It goes without saying, but, being polite to a buyer is essential.