Every Monday and Friday I feature someone or some organization that understands what it means to be a brand champion. A few months ago I had the fortune of connecting with Katherine Maund through twitter. I was impressed with her ability to deliver on-brand experiences with her tweets. She clearly gets how to utilize social media as a primary communications and marketing tool for the organization that she represents, and as an effective way to develop her own personal brand strategy. Today, Katherine shares her perspective on what it means to be a brand champion.
" My name is Katherine Maund and I am a recent
graduate of Champlain College in Burlington, VT. I
graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and landed a job as a
Social Media Marketer for Such A Voice, a company that trains aspiring voice
over artists. In my free time, I enjoy photography, singing and playing guitar at local
venues, traveling as much as possible, and volunteering.
"Social media and internet
marketing have become a part of my daily life. After the plug was pulled on a
job offer as I neared the end of my senior year, I jumped on the job search
train immediately just like millions of other Americans facing the economic
downturn. Faced with daily remarks like, “you’re graduating into the worst
economy since the Great Depression,” only fueled the fire in me to not become
part of the unemployment statistic. Little did I know, I would learn how to
brand and sell myself to potential employers.
"I spent the next few weeks
after graduation defining the brand of ME: my core values, my short and long
term goals, key differentiators that would make me rise above the rest of the
job-hungry graduates, my mission statement, and my credibility. I spent
countless hours on Craigslist, Careerbuilder, LinkedIn, and Twitter looking for any position that
slightly resembled my skill set. It was through Twitter that I realized I had a
knack for social networking online and suddenly, my brand found its identity! I
began marketing myself on various social networking sites with descriptions such
as social media marketer, Web 2.0 enthusiast, and wanderlust adherent (to demonstrate
my passion for travel). Before I knew it, I was interviewing for jobs I never
thought I would be able to because I suddenly had relevant experience in social
media marketing.
"I now work as the Social
Media Marketer for a company called Such A Voice. I landed the
job because I demonstrated my ability to market a brand (myself) to the online
community and to potential employers. No matter what your product or service is,
it’s crucial to identify your brand and in turn, make others aware of it. I
recommend the following resources for brand identity and
marketing."
- Dan Schawbel’s book, Me
2.0
- Brand Yourself Blog
- Small Business Branding
Katherine you are the epitome of a social media marketer and understand brand. As a result of your insight and ability to connect brand and social media, you are the Brand Champion of the Day!
Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog
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