This week seems to be sending me inspiration left and right. First my small talk post, now this week’s tip of the week! I was reading Chris Brogan’s blog (say THAT 3x fast) the other day, and he had a great post about the questions that we should ask ourselves and our business – especially with regards to social media.

As usual, his post brought up some great points and I got to thinking about each question and the impact it had on my business. (I’m not going to regurgitate all 7 questions here, you can check out his post by clicking this link).

Then I realized a question was missing. It got me thinking and here is the question I have posed:

When it comes to our practices, whether those be business, branding, or marketing, how are we differentiating ourselves from the pack? In essence, what makes US unique?

I know not all of you own your own business, plan to own your own business, or are even passionate about being an entrepreneur, but my point is that this theory can be applied to any of us, no matter our role. We are all, in and of ourselves, our own “business.” Our personal brand is our business. How we market ourselves, how we represent our brand, and how the world sees us, are all part of our overall “business plan.”

But in this day and age, it is easy to get lost in mix and mass of content out there. For example, when looking for a job, how do YOU make yourself stand out above the other hundred-or-so applicants? Or if you’re a business, how do you make your business stand out against your competitors?

The short answer is to find that unique angle or perspective that differentiates you from the pack.

The long answer is, unfortunately, that can sometimes be difficult.

For me, it has been a challenge. I am passionate about social media and marketing, but so are a gazillion other people out there. So how do I make my brand different than the rest? I don’t want to be better than anyone, but I do want to stand out and I want people to know my name.

My other passion, comedy, was something I thought for a long time that I had to keep separate from my social media brand. Then it dawned on me: Why do I need to separate the two? They are both part of me. Why not combine them? Which is where I came up with the idea of THE Molly Buckley – where I put the MEDIA in comedian.

I am who I am and I’m going to own it. THAT makes me different. THAT makes me unique.

So, my tip this week – is to find out what makes YOUR brand unique. From what angle do you approach your business so that you can stand out from the crowd? What makes your business special?

Find that niche and OWN it. Be the rockstar you know you are. What do YOU think?

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Word.

You’re probably asking: “Molly, what does that mean? “Rick Rolling Yourself?”" I’m sure some of you over the age of 22 remember Rick Astley. Anyway. This is a rick roll:

Why am I Rick Rolling myself? Because I’m never going to give up on myself. I’m never going to let myself down.

Today I go in for training at my seasonal part-time retail job at Anthropologie (I’m going to try to not drool on every piece of clothing in there…). So, I will be at Anthro for training from 9AM-1PM. But, in fact, I have to leave training early to go to my other part time job at the most awesome Wootini Gallery. I’ll be there from 12PM-5PM. And then I will go to DSI Witness News rehearsal an hour late. I’ll be there until 6PM. Then I’ll eat food? Then I will have Improv SLAM rehearsal from 7PM-9PM. Then after Improv SLAM I will go home and I will probably stay up until at least 2AM or 3AM doing work for my business. The work will entail writing/responding to a gazillion emails, doing updates, generating content, etcetera, etcetera. And it’s a Sunday. Sunday is supposed to be a day of REST.

I didn’t mean to regurgitate my schedule to you, but I did so in order to make a point. I am now working two part-time jobs in addition to still trying to run and build my own awesome rockstar comedy social media empire business. Why am I doing this? Because I’ve now been on the “real job” hunt for six months – not that Anthropologie and Wootini aren’t real jobs. They totally are. You know what I mean though. The whole process has not only been difficult, but also somewhat disheartening.

Searching for job after job and never getting a bite or never getting a call can be a real downer. But you see, this is all part of the process. I have to Trust the Process. T the P. So therefore I am staying totally positive. I know I’m awesome.

After reading CRUSH IT, by Gary Vaynerchuk, I know that no matter what, if I’m passionate about doing what I want to do, then it will happen. I know that this, too, shall pass. Patience, in this case, is not the only virtue. Passion is a virtue. Passion is my virtue.

I’m not giving up. I’m never going to give up. And THAT’S why I’m Rick Rolling myself.

If you could Rick Roll yourself on something? What would you never give up on?

Word.

Although this is a local-topic post, the message is relevant no matter what city you live in.

For the past two and a half months, I have been spending my early Wednesday mornings attending the Chapel Hill Leads Group. Three months ago, I didn’t even know what a Leads group was, let alone did I know about one to attend. Well, as I was cold calling businesses trying to network, I met a man by the name of Jamey Tippens, a local home inspector. As I spoke to him about being new to the area, networking, and the like, he told me about the Chapel Hill Leads Group and suggested that I come check it out.

So I did.

For those of you that don’t know, a Leads group is a meeting/forum for individuals and/or businesses to meet, network, and talk about their business and goals. In just two months, I have met some incredible people at the Leads group, so I’m very grateful to Jamey for encouraging me to check it out.

I even had the privilege of volunteering for a few hours at the annual Chapel Hill Leads Group Food Drive to benefit the Food Bank of North Carolina. We collected over $1,400 and enough food for 10,001 meals. That’s right… 10,001 meals. How awesome is that?

*Quick plug: for those of you in and around the Triangle, NC area, you should definitely come check out the Chapel Hill Leads Group. They meet EVERY Wednesday morning at Extraordinary Ventures in Chapel Hill. It’s FREE your first time, and only $5 a week after that (which helps to support the facility and pays for delicious goodies). It really is a GREAT way to meet new people, make friends, network, and learn about amazing new opportunities in business and career development. The group is really welcoming, fun, light-hearted, and well connected. They are really there to help you out.

If you don’t live in Chapel Hill, know that there are Leads groups that meet all over. I’m sure Google can help you find one in your area.

I also wanted to take a moment to plug the CHAPEL HILL LEADS GROUP BUSINESS AND CONSUMER EXPO.

When: Tuesday, November 10th

Time: 5PM – 9PM

Where: Extraordinary Ventures

Who: Anyone and everyone!

The BUSINESS AND CONSUMER EXPO presented by the Chapel Hill Leads Group will feature businesses from all around the surrounding Triangle and Triad communities.

Why not start your holiday shopping Early? Get gifts, food, clothing, and even services all in ONE location. Do a little networking! Bring business cards and make great new connections! Free admission and free catered dinner for ALL attendees!  Bring a friend. Network. Support local businesses. I’ll be there! Come see me!

Check out the event on FACEBOOK. Check out the event on EVENTBRITE.

Okay, back to my original point. Why is this relevant? In an economy such as this, many small and local businesses are struggling, yet small and local businesses put money back into the community. A community thrives through the strong support of small and local businesses.

Movements like the 3/50 project or LocalMotive are great for supporting the local economy. Check out movements in your area. Tell me: how are You helping to support your local economy?

Just food for thought.

Shop local. Buy local! See you at the Leads Expo!

All for now.

So, as most of you know by now, I have expanded my freelancing into the world of social media. I am currently blogging for an awesome company called Just List ‘Em that helps homeowners sell their own home in a non-traditional “For Sale By Owner” way. They are really great and working with them has been a pleasure. Here is an entry I did for them recently on the importance of social media in a business and real estate world. (Oh, and you should follow them on TWITTER. @justlistem.)

Enjoy!

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After reading a great article by real estate guru, Mike Andrews on Real Estate Marketing in an Online World, I felt compelled to write and share some of my thoughts on a related topic. Whether or not a real estate company, or any company for that matter, is working on marketing, buying, selling, or just listing (pretty close to JUSTLISTEM, am I right?), social media has become a viable venue for building and expanding a business. However, when a business is just starting, or if a business is new to the interactive world, it can be overwhelming to decide how to successfully hit and tackle the right social media outlets–there are SO many.

So, here are a few questions and concerns I want to briefly consider and address:

1. What exactly is social media and why is it so important for business, more specifically real estate?

• Social media, in essence, is the new, hip, and ONLINE version of what face-to-face mixers and organized networking events used to be. (Not to say that those things aren’t valid anymore, because frankly, nothing beats meeting, connecting, and relating to someone face-to-face).
• For real estate etc., social media creates an interactive, responsive, and engaged audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Can you honestly say you get that with a print, radio, or television ad presence?
• Real estate can be a tough venue, for anyone, particularly in this economy. When someone is buying or selling a house, stress levels are UP, way up. Social media creates transparency, which ultimately, fosters a more inviting and relatable atmosphere giving potential clients the feeling of working and doing business with a trustworthy resource.

2. Which venues should I tackle first in my social media quest? (Yes, there are a lot of places to start. I say start with the big THREE and work your way from there).

• TWITTER: The micro-blogging, status updating, networking tool-of-champions. Twitter helps connect you to people all over the world. Any business can benefit from the networking power of Twitter.
• FACEBOOK: Quite possibly the largest social networking tool out there. With almost 200 million users, creating a prominent Facebook presence through a group, profile, or fan page sets your real estate business up for far-reaching success.
• BLOGGING. It doesn’t matter where [we like wordpress ], but blogging allows your audience to “hear” your opinion and learn what you know. You are the expert in some area and there are people who want to learn more about that particular topic… therefore, share your expertise, and you are ultimately bound to create a sense of legitimacy among your audience.
• **BiggerPockets.com: This is a great social networking tool for real estate companies. Use it. Share tips. Be awesome.

3. What should I or my business keep in mind when creating an online/social media presence?

• Be honest. Now that your real estate business has an online presence, which is somewhat detached from the general public, the general public is and will be savvy to everything you say.
• Be present. Don’t set these outlets up, post once or twice, and then ditch out on them. You will only be successful if your community is always active.
• Be engaged. Don’t talk AT people all the time. These are called communities for a reason, pose questions, answer questions, share links, respond to hot topics, etc. By becoming active among the communities you participate in, you allow your audience to grow and continue to be responsive. Be a participant, not a lecturer.

So what is the overall lesson here? Don’t just use these tools to use them. Becoming a part of the social media spectrum takes time and commitment. Commit to these things like you would any other part of your business. You wouldn’t set up a time to meet with a potential client and not show up… you would follow through. Treat all of these avenues as a client meeting and FOLLOW THROUGH with each one. You wouldn’t buy a bunch of tools and not build the house. (I like metaphors). We are in the process of practicing exactly what we preach. We recently joined the social media spectrum and we are finding it to be extremely beneficial. In a tough economy, fostering a positive community is key to running a successful business.

Share your thoughts with us!