{"id":5633,"date":"2014-10-22T13:24:21","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T13:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5633"},"modified":"2014-12-20T16:33:27","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T16:33:27","slug":"how-crazy-socks-became-the-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/how-crazy-socks-became-the-key\/","title":{"rendered":"How Crazy Socks Became the Key\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you\u2019re struggling with how to build your personal brand online, you may find inspiration in this expert\u2019s branding story.<\/em><\/h3>\n

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

Building your brand can feel like an uphill battle at times. Anyone with a clever idea and the guts to try it can do so on social media\u2019s global platform\u2014and there are a whole lot of people out there with clever ideas.<\/p>\n

How do you set yourself apart when there are thousands of people trying to do the same, in the same spaces? Once you get people to visit your social profiles, how do you keep them coming back?<\/p>\n

My solution: socks. No, it\u2019s not an acronym. It doesn\u2019t come from an obscure definition buried deep in some dusty reference book, either. I\u2019m talking about the cotton things you wear between your shoes and your feet.<\/p>\n

Still not with me? Read on.<\/p>\n

Building a Brand From the Feet Up<\/h2>\n

The \u201csock thing\u201d started as a happy coincidence, more or less, but it ultimately confirmed much of what I believe about marketing. I\u2019ve long enjoyed wearing wild, vibrant socks, and I would show my latest pair off at speaking engagements on occasion or simply sit with my feet up where people could see them.<\/p>\n

After one such engagement a few years ago,\u00a0Sandy Jenney<\/a>, a blogger friend whom I like and respect, asked to take a photo of me and my socks, and I was happy to oblige. She posted the photo to\u00a0Twitter, as did I, then went about my business.<\/p>\n

When I returned to Twitter, my feed was jumping\u2014people loved the socks, especially the bloggers attending the conference and those following the conference via social media.\u00a0They were sending me pictures of their crazy socks. They asked where I found mine and offered sock-shopping tips for when I visited their city. The next day rolled around, and my socks were still a hot topic. Yesterday\u2019s socks were great, but what pair is Ted wearing today?<\/p>\n

These days, my social connections get a little worried when I haven\u2019t posted a sock picture in a few days, and\u00a0I\u2019m as likely to be asked about my socks by a CMO or CEO as I am by an online acquaintance.\u00a0Most people are willing, or even anxious, to join in on a sock photo\u2014my socked feet next to theirs\u2014and let me share it with the sock-loving public.<\/p>\n

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Defining Your Brand<\/h2>\n

More than ever, your brand is what your consumer thinks your brand is, and your social presence informs\u00a0the consumer\u2019s opinion in a major way. That\u2019s true for both personal and business brands. I\u2019ve long believed that effective marketing is all about building relationships\u2014connect with people on a meaningful level, and the possibilities are limitless.<\/p>\n

The trick is finding a way to engage people, including those who connect vicariously by\u00a0following your stuff closely without necessarily jumping into the conversation. I\u2019m often approached at conferences or speaking engagements by people who know me, even though we\u2019ve never met. The cool thing is, they\u2019re totally comfortable asking me about vacation pictures, socks and anything else I\u2019ve shared on social channels.<\/p>\n

Still \u2026 socks?<\/p>\n

\"socks-relationships-rubin-open-forum-embed-03\"<\/a><\/div>\n

You might never have guessed that socks could be a great relationship-building tool, but that\u2019s the point. I enjoyed my funky socks long before they became a daily topic of conversation on social. The fun that I have with the whole thing comes from a genuine place. People are able to sense that and engage on a personal level.<\/p>\n

Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. Show people what you do best and enjoy most, and they will enjoy it with you. Even if they don\u2019t share your interest in a particular topic or hobby, they\u2019ll be drawn to your passion for it.<\/p>\n

In a world of carefully scrubbed corporate tweets, simply showing your creative, human side has serious value. After that, building relationships and growing your brand comes naturally. Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I\u2019ve got to pick out tomorrow\u2019s pair of socks.<\/p>\n

Read more articles on\u00a0social media<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos: Courtesy of Ted Rubin<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally posted\u00a0SEP 29, 2014 American Express OPEN Forum blog<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014\u2013 If you\u2019re struggling with how to build your personal brand online, you may find inspiration in this expert\u2019s branding story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,7],"tags":[1370,358,479,1951,1952,1899],"class_list":["post-5633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-tedrubin","tag-ronr","tag-relationships","tag-ror","tag-sockie","tag-socks","tag-tedrubin-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5634,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633\/revisions\/5634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}