The Art Of Networking: Staying On The Cutting Edge And Delivering A Powerful Message

with Debra Dixon Founder and CEO of Light of Gold PR Marketing and Consulting LLC

Presented for National Association of African Americans in Human Resources

Getting the most out of any networking opportunity

Know the goal of attending an event

Listen more than you talk

Build business relationships

Give the first referral

Networking

Be specific regarding referrals

Reciprocate when it is appropriate

Participate in the networking time

Follow up with people within 24 hours

Leveraging your business connections to elevate your brand

Branding is the Name, Design, Symbol, or Feature of a person or company

Signifies Goods and Services

Defines personality and what characterizes the Company

What is Branding?

Broken Brand?

Brand not attracting your target market?

Misinterpretation of your brand?

Constantly explaining what your brand is?

Managing brand with consistent change of climate

Brand consistency over time with a series of products that reinforce the company's central identity

Start by creating a clear identity regarding what your brand represents

Constantly shifting marketplace creates the need to be creative with your approach.

Managing brand with consistent change of climate (continued)

Branding is as much about controlling perceptions of your products as it is making sure people are buying the product in the first place.

Create strict brand licensing requirements that include a tight fit with the brand promise, identity and quality standards.

Stay in touch with consumers through social media to make sure your brand image still resonates in the right way.

Branding Assessment

Get a clear sense of who participates with your organization

Offer core competency that has value to the target audience

Give the donors and sponsors knowledge about your brand

Branding

Deliver your end of partnership requirements

Be responsive with donors and sponsors needs or requests

Brand Identity

• What is the strength of your brand identity in today's market?

• Can your brand be adapted to multiple platforms?

• Use brand image to better position yourself with consumers or workforce

Utilizing social media and what it means to your business

Social network service:◦ Focuses on building

online communities of people who share interests and activities.

Social networking

oMostly web based and provides a variety of ways to interact

oCreates new ways to communicate and share information with others

Benefits of Social Networks

Connects people at low cost

Expand contacts and customer base

Customer relationship management tool

Advertising using banners and text ads

Change management for business growth and improved opportunities

Marketing measurements identify trends that create opportunities.

Customer needs are measured identifying future new product demand.

Identify areas in which competitors' actions can be replicated for increased growth.

Help prioritize and rank growth opportunities to optimize future growth.

Market segmentation strategy identifies niche markets, geographic areas, new customer applications, and the like that can be targeted for growth.

Change management for business growth and improved opportunities (continued)

Customer demographic measurements identify the true future potential of markets.

Customer drive improvements in sales and distribution strategy utilization to gain more growth through existing customers.

Competitive measurements and profiles identify companies that could be acquired.

Competitive analysis identifies poorly served customer segments that can be exploited for growth.

Stats on Social Networking

o As of September 2013, 73% of online adults use social networking already

o In May 2013, 74% of women were users of social networking sites, compared with 62% men

o As of January 2014, 19% of online adults use Twitter

o As of September 2013, 71% of online adults use Facebook, 17% use Instagram, 21% use Pinterest, 22% use LinkedIn

Social impact

Do social networking sites isolate people and truncate their relationships?

Are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way?

In November 2010, a SNS survey found that:

◦ Social networking sites are increasingly used to keep up with close social ties

◦ The average user of social networking sites has more close ties and is half as likely to be socially isolated as the average American

Social impact (continued)

Facebook users are more trusting

Facebook users have more close relationships

Internet users get more support from their social ties and Facebook users get the most support

Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people

Facebook revives “dormant” relationships

Statistics for Media Sites

Networking Benefits

Guidance - Whether you’re just entering the workforce or you’re a veteran executive, guidance is something you should never be short on. Building and maintaining a network of industry contacts is one simple way to ensure a continued level of guidance throughout your career.

Benefits

Support- You’re likely to be faced with a variety of trials and tribulations throughout your career journey. A strong support system will help you manage your challenges and celebrations more effectively.

More

Opportunities- A vast, well-maintained professional network will likely be ripe with opportunity. In fact, according to a recent study, employees hired through referral are hired 55 percent faster than those who come from a career site.

About Light of Gold PR

Specializes in public relations, media relations, marketing plan development and branding

The agency’s direct social media and technology knowledge spans over 20 years of experience ranging from web development, search engine optimization/ training, technical support, social media optimization

Recent new vendor: It’s Playtyme

Our upcoming events:

It´s Playtyme:◦ Fun networking game show◦ Games, Food, Drink, and FUN!◦ When? August

Gold Business Connect Networking Cruise◦ Fun networking cruise which tours around

Manhattan◦ Food, Drinks, Music, and FUN! ◦ When? September 25th

Thanks for your attention!

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