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Building a lively Community Around Your Brand

Rebecca Subbiah RD (UK and US), Food blogger, Social Media Consultant, Co – Creator Go Social App, Mum and World Traveler.

+ Introduction

I am a Dietitian both in the UK and the US and worked here in many settings before having our daughter. I decided to stay home and started a blog http://chowandchatter.com

Over the course of the last few years I have written company blogs and helped manage their social media accounts. I have also offered coaching on social media and given professional talks internationally.

I have developed two iphone apps, one Chow and Chatter is a recipe app, featuring recipes from my blog and Go Social is a social media tips app.

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Statistics PR 4

665 followers 1475 facebook

twitter 7840

+ Branding

Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.

Add your site, blog twitter handle to your email signature.

Also add to your business card with a QR code.

Blog consistently and only about a topic you are passionate about be yourself.

Read Crush it by Gary Vaynarchuk, keep on learning its fast evolving

Go to local conferences on different topics, attend local business meetings to network.

Meet up with local bloggers and tweet ups!

+ Great Quotes on Branding

“A Brand is the emotional response your company receives. The emotion behind what someone feels, sees tastes, etc when they come across your brand. A memorable logo is just the beginning.” Richard Branson Virgin

“A brand is a living entity – and is enriched or determined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures” Michael Eisner Disney

"The more you engage with customers the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing" - John Russell, President, Harley-Davidson

Brand equity is the sum of all the hearts and minds of every single person that comes into contact with your company." - Christopher Betzter

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“To connect with your community you have to invest in your community, financially and emotionally. Community takes time. Get involved. Tweet about what is fun or interesting, or controversial in your community. Blog about places you love, or laws that are being passed. Show that you actually care about what is going on, and you aren't just in your little bubble.” Heather DeDona REALTOR/Broker, GREEN @heatherdedona

“Never get tired of repeating your message !! Remember your the only one who hears it repeatedly - to others it can be brand new !!” Keri Gans Best selling Author, RD and Media personality @kerigans

"Giving first is a powerful way to get people's attention, and the battle for attention is the main battle we are fighting these days.” Jeff San George – local web designer and marketer great person @jeffsangeorge

+ The Big Picture

Your brand is made up of many puzzle pieces be that, your website, blog, twitter account, facebook page, pinterest account, interaction with customers or the public.

They all come together and should reflect you or your business.

You have community when other folks talk on your Facebook page it's not all about you.

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+ Twitter

Have the same name as your blog to brand

Follow like minded people, folks in your niche and your interests

Tweet cool articles and interesting things to get retweeted (RT) then more people will follow you

Check your replies! And join the conversation

Fill out a good profile to describe who you are

Don’t talk about yourself all the time!

Have fun!

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+ Facebook

Have a separate page than personal for your blog or business

Connect the blog to facebook then to twitter

Loads of pictures and questions to create conversation

Respond to comments

Like other colleagues pages and comment on theirs

Connect interesting articles and links to the facebook page to add value

If someone on your Facebook wall asks for information where you find it post and state their name this is for you.

+ Google Plus

Google plus is Google’s version of facebook

Allows you to form circles, be that colleagues, friends or family.

You can also set up a Google plus profile for your brand.

Worth joining but to be honest facebook is still number one

I do adore Google hangouts though, like Skype and you can have multiple callers and its free

+ Blog Talk Radio, You Tube, Live Stream and Ustream

-Blog Talk Radio – Chow and Chatter -Ustream and You Tube/video blogging - Great way to be more interactive and add personality to site and blog, interview and reach more people.

+ Pinterest

Pinterest is the fasting growing site so far in 2012, and definitely one to join and have fun with. It is also now the largest driver of traffic to retail sites!

Basically it allows you to set up virtual pin boards, and add articles, recipes, links anything with a picture from the web.

It’s a fantastic way to store recipes, tips and so on to refer back to or as a resource for your clients.

There is also an element of community you can like others pins, comment and have a conversation about them and follow other people.

By being good and fun on pinterest, like twitter its possible to built a following add another great dimension to your brand and in turn bring traffic to your site.

Don’t just pin what is trending have strategy to pin what represents your brand.

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+ Tips for being in a blogging community Read all comments and respond to them, follow back

Like each others facebook pages, follow and chat on twitter

I have met food bloggers in person made friendships and call them on the phone

Guest blogging

Interview fellow bloggers on blog talk radio

+ Tips Use Google Alerts to monitor your brand or Curalate for

Pinterest

Be consistent with how your presence looks: your avatar, online name, what images you use on blog, twitter, pinterest and facebook

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that account for a consumer's choice.

Think about your favorite brands, and what you think about them. How do you want people to perceive you or your business.

Branding is not about being the biggest most popular but about what you can offer you readers or customers

+ Examples of Good Interaction and Branding

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+ Social Media Testimonials "Rebecca knows social media marketing inside and out. She is resourceful, ahead of the game,

ahead of the technology trends, a great strategist and a truly thorough problem solver. I recommend her 100%”

Amanda Archibald Field to Plate, LLC

"Thinking about getting your feet wet with social media, or already dabbling and would like to jump in further… well then Rebecca Subbiah is your social media coach. She is knowledgeable, encouraging, motivating, and humble with respect to her own accomplishments. Her experience and straight forward manner allows even the novice of users navigate through the world of social media. I found Rebecca very helpful in “tweaking” some of the finer points of social media and

also found her extremely encouraging and a true team player. Time spent with Rebecca was well worth it.

"Lisa Bunce, MS,RD Redding, CTPrivate practice and app developer

"My one-hour, twitter coaching session with Rebecca was invaluable. Now, 3 weeks later, I can compose tweets, direct them to a reasonable variety of hashtags, and interact with a twitter

community. Thank you, Rebecca!”

Cindy Silver, MS, RD, LDN Registered Dietitian Winston-Salem

"I got to know Rebecca in seconds...she's so easy to talk to and so helpful and humble. Not many dietitians are as clued up on social media, and she gave me some useful advice on showcasing my

personality.”

Azmina Govindji RD MBDA Registered Dietitian and TV Nutritionist as seen on The One Show, The Wright Stuff and This Morning) Media Spokesperson for British Dietetic Association and NHS

Choices

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Any Questions?