Rahna’s Latest Radio Interview

Posted by Rahna on October 22, 2010 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Click here to listen to Rahna’s Latest Radio Interview

Turbo-Charge Your Career, October 25th at Quinnipiac

Posted by Rahna on October 14, 2010 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Here’s the press release sent out from Quinnipiac University about a talk I am giving starting at 5 pm on Monday, October 25^th.  It’s free to the public; I hope you will join me to learn how to turbo-charge your career!

Hamden, Conn. – Oct. 13, 2010 – Rahna Barthelmess, a personal branding expert, will present the lecture “Turbo-Charge Your Career With Strong Personal Branding,” at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25, in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room in the Lender School of Business Center at Quinnipiac University. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Southworth^® Paper Company, the leading maker of fine cotton-fiber business and resume papers.

Barthelmess, who has more than 20 years of experience with such brands as LEGO^®, Miracle-Gro^® and Texaco^®, will share proven tips, tricks and tactics for the best ways to get a job, get promoted and maximize career potential. 

“I have real world marketing experience to share to inspire, motivate and educate,” Barthelmess said. “Personal branding, both on-line and off, is critical to ensuring career success. My mission is to empower students to maximize their career potential by actively managing their personal brands.”

For more information, call 203-582-3645.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 5,900 full-time undergraduate and more than 2,000 graduate students in 52 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac ranks among the top 10 universities with master’s programs in the Northern region in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges. The 2009 issue of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges. For more information, please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

Powerful You! Transformation 2010 National Tour comes to Connecticut

Posted by Rahna on September 21, 2010 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Wednesday, October 6th 9 am to 3:30 pm

Share the day with inspiring women, hear professional speakers who provide practical tools you can use, browse our vendors, enjoy a delicious lunch … all this to grow your business and yourself.  Give yourself and your business the gift of this incredible event.

Join speakers Pamela Carignan, Kathy McAfee, Rahna Barthelmess and Powerful You! co-founder Sue Urda for a unique day of business, personal and spiritual growth.

You will be transformed by:

1. Gaining practical tools to build your business and create momentum;
2. Re-igniting your passion and gaining clarity about your purpose;
3. Learning to align your actions more closely with your personal values and goals.

I will be presenting a workshop entitled: “Your Signature for Success: 7 Success Principles of Personal Branding”

Read more about the speakers, programs and schedule of events.

The event details:

• Date/Time: Wednesday, 10/6/2010 from 9:00am – 3:30pm.
• Location: Sorrento on the Green, 600 Cold Springs Road, Rocky Hill, CT
• Fee: remember to use the DISCOUNT CODE: rahna to guarantee yourself the low member rate of $39 (saving you $10 off non-member rate)
• Vendor tables and sponsorships are still available. Click here and scroll to the bottom of page for more info on advertising/sponsorship oppty.

Powerful You! Women’s Network believes: in the Power of Connections, in the Power of Being Present, in the Power of Relationships, in the Power of Women.

Join Us!

Posted by Rahna on August 23, 2010 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Come find out more about your Signature for Success on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at Sorrento on the Green, Rocky Hill, CT for the Transformation 2010 National Tour.  This event is geared to women who are in a constant state of transformation and want to understand how their personal brand can turbo-charge their careers!  This event is designed to touch you in many areas of your life and on many levels. You will be provided with practical tools to build your business and create momentum. You will re-ignite your passion and gain clarity about your purpose. You will learn to align your actions more closely with your personal values and goals. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a conscious employee or a woman in transition, this event will touch you where you live. 

• Tune In to Your Passions.
• Tap In to Your Strengths.
• Turn Your Actions into Abundance.

Join Us for a full-day event filled with 4 amazing speakers, vendors, networking, lunch and door prizes.  You will meet many incredible women who can assist you in your business and personal life, and you will be fulfilled as you give yourself and your business the gift of this inspiring and information-packed day.

This event is hosted by Powerful You! Women’s network as part of the Transformation 2010 National Tour.  Powerful You! provides connections and networking events for business, personal and spiritual growth across the USA.

Join Us for this Inspiring and Transformational Event.
You’ll be Grateful You Did.

Keynote Presentation by Sue Urda

Author, Speaker, Inspirer  & Co-Founder of Powerful You! Inc.

Sue will present the topic “The Art and Truth of Transformation – How a Few Tiny Shifts Can Make Your Changing World a Great Place to Be.”

Featured Speakers include:

Pamela Carignan, Holistic Health Counselor, Founder & Director of Balanced Nourishment on the topic “Here’s to Your Health: 5 Simple Steps to Enjoy a more Fulfilled Life and Personal Success”

Kathy McAfee, “America’s Marketing Motivator.”, Speaker & Executive Presentation Coach will present “Motivated Networker Follow Up: 7 Keys for Building a Network that Works for You”

Rahna Barthelmess, Author of Turbo-Charge Your Career and Chief Branding Strategist of Beacon Marketing presenting  “Your Signature for Success: Seven Success Principles of Personal Branding”

Event Admission:

$39 Members

$49 Non-Members (Use promotional code “rahna” and save $10)

Social Media Reading List

Posted by Rahna on October 8, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Recently, someone asked me to recommend some books on social media.  They wanted to understand the concepts behind social media and what is happening in those spaces.  Here’s the list I provided to them:

• The Cluetrain Manifesto is a classic, written in 1999 about the “coming” advent of engagement marketing, that predicts much of what has happened in the social media world.
• Groundswell, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff (Forrester research people)
• Tribes, by Seth Godin
• Trust Agents is a new book out by Chris Brogan (leading social media dude)

I hope you find them interesting.  If you have a book that you found particularly compelling, by all means, let me know.  I’m a book junkie who loves to learn!

Enjoy!

Video On-line

Posted by Rahna on May 26, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Interesting to see the figures about how on-line video is growing.  How much video are you watching?  Some recent Nielsen numbers show that on average, people are watching just over 200 minutes of video, with males representing slightly more inclination to do so than women.  However, the 35-49 year old segment is the fastest growing (over the past six months).

While YouTube, with its short-form, typically less-than-four-minute format, is certainly the 100-lb gorilla in this space, there are other providers growing rapidly.  According to Nielsen, the top online brands (as of May 2009) are:

YouTube

Hulu

Yahoo!

Fox Interactive Media

Nickelodeon

MSN/Windows Live

ABC.com

MTV Networks Music

Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network

CNN Digital Network

Other reports corroborate that full-length video is growing in popularity.  Forrester Research wrote an interesting  report about “What it Really Means to Watch TV Online,” that discusses the bright future for on-line video.

 What are you watching, and how are you leveraging this phenomenon in your business?

“Who” versus “What” with Good to Great Jim Collins

Posted by Rahna on April 9, 2009 under Uncategorized | Read the First Comment

“Who” versus “What” with Good to Great Jim Collins

In the excellent Inc. article of an interview with Good to Great author Jim Collins, there are two concepts that really stood out to me.  One is an idea that Collins puts forth that companies move through four stages of development:

1.       starting with a great idea

2.       building an excellent business

3.       developing a company,

4.       being a catalyst for a movement.

The second concept that struck me is an interesting discussion about focusing on the “who” more so than the “what” of a company.  In the course of the discussion, Collins talks about how important it is to make wise human resources choices:  “Do you have a culture of people who A. share a set of values, B. have very clear responsibilities, and C. perform? Those who build a culture around those ideas are building upon something that is largely unchangeable.”

I kept reading, expecting to hear that the “who” focus should include the consumer—focusing on delighting the consumer with amazing products and services and inspiring them to engage in the larger “movements” that he talks about later in the article….He never got to it. 

I contend that any entrepreneur—scratch that, any business professional—must include (at a foundational level) the consumer as a critical “who” element in the mix.

Check out the article here…a very interesting read.

Leadership Lessons

Posted by Rahna on January 15, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

I’m going to Colorado this weekend  for the National Teen Leadership Council meeting of Adventure Unlimited’s  Discovery Bound program.  I have mentored a student throughout this program and he is graduating this weekend.  This program is a four-year commitment for these kids and is an outrageous way for them to learn about leadership, community service and working together.  The young man that I have mentored, along with all the others in his class, are going to do amazing things in the future. 

 

As I reflect on the past few years, here are some thoughts that I have:

 

Mentor someone:

You will learn as much (if not more) than they will. I don’t care who you are…you have something valuable to offer to someone.  Being a mentor means being a cheerleader-encouraging someone to keep going, even when things aren’t going the way they thought it would. How can you cheer someone on if you are feeling down yourself?  You can’t!  So mentoring someone will automatically put you in a more positive frame of mind (something we could use more of in this economy!).  In addition, a mentor is a teacher.  If there is something you want to learn, try to find a way to teach it.  You will have to know it well enough to really understand it. 

 

You can learn to be a leader:

Think back to what you were like at age 16.  Were you awkward? Full of bravado? Smart? Smug? Shy? Or maybe all of those things.  The kids that I have come to know in this program have decided that they WANT to be leaders.  So they are putting themselves out there, learning what leaders do and how they act.  If they can learn it, so can you.  The next point tells you how:

 

Continue to Build Your Leadership Skills:

In this program, these kids were learning about leadership skills.  We talked about vision and confidence and passion and servant leadership.  If you are in marketing, chances are you are leading in some capacity….Maybe you lead of team of people at work.  Maybe you lead your clients to the proper marketing execution.  Maybe you are leading a task force in your industry.  Leadership skills are universal and can be applied to anyone in any situation.  Take the time to brush up on your leadership skills.  There are several books on the topic which I highly recommend:

·         The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner

·         Essentials of Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf

·         Authentic Leadership  by Bill George

 

Be confident

One of the key skills that these kids had to build was public speaking.  They had to stand up in front of each other (about 100 people) and often in groups of 500 people to talk about a topic that they cared about.  They had to be prepared, they had to have the guts to get up in front of all those people and give that talk.  That is not easy, especially at age 16. Add to that the idea that you should try to captivate your audience, and it’s really not easy! 

 

Be Prepared:

I have found that one part of leadership (and public speaking in particular) is being prepared.  Yes, it helps if you have a sense of comic timing.  But gathering your thoughts ahead of time makes a big difference.

 

Be Passionate:

Another part is giving in to your passion.  If you are talking about something you care about, you are much less likely to be nervous.  In addition, you are much more likely to have a vision about something you care about. 

 

This weekend is a reminder to me about being a leader—what leaders do and what leaders are…something every marketer should stop and think about every once in a while.

Strong, Branded, Digital, Consumer-Based Resolutions for 2009

Posted by Rahna on January 1, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Happy New Year!  I wish all a prosperous and productive 2009, filled with increasing client lists, growing market share, and stronger brands.  To that end, I have been thinking about my own New Year’s Resolutions.  Here’s what I have come up with: 

I am committed to promoting strong personal brands to everyone I know.  I recently asked a VP friend of mine, “What are you doing to build your personal brand?”  Watch out, because if you see me in person, I’m going to ask you the same question! 

I will deepen the consumer insights for my clients and share the general learnings and consumer trends I see with all whom I am in contact with.  Your consumers are interesting and uniquely qualified to help you realize new business opportunities in this coming year.  I love to help people uncover those opportunities, and Beacon Marketing will do this joyfully in 2009. 

I will focus more on leveraging the power of digital media in the promotion of my clients’ (and my own) branding efforts.  I am dedicated to revamping websites, focusing on SEO, and being a stronger proponent of digital branding programs. 

I’d love to hear your New Year’s Resolutions.  Let me know what you are focused on in 2009!

Spirituality is on the Rise

Posted by Rahna on December 29, 2008 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

I love to get proof of trends that I sense, and so, I am heartened by an article that appeared in MediaPost’s Online Daily that talked about how spirituality was of greater interest this holiday season. According to someone from on-line advertising company Kontera, “Santa letter” ranked at the top of the most clicked-on holiday keywords for 2008, followed by “Christmas wish list,” “Christmas spirit,” “secret Santa,” “gift idea,” “Christmas decoration,” “Christmas stocking,” “Christmas,” “Christmas Party,” and “gift.” In 2007, “Christmas present” topped the 2007 list, followed by “advent calendar,” “secret Santa,” “Christmas shopping,” “Christmas gifts,” “Christmas necklace,” “unique Christmas gift idea,” “holiday gift guide,” “Christmas gift,” and “Christmas gift for her.” 

The article explained that, “Kontera’s technology finds the most clicked-on keyword terms and ranks and matches them to the most relevant contextual ads, content, and information.”  Using technology on search terms, we are seeing a shift away from crass consumerism to a more spiritually-motivated purchase pattern. The article discusses how more people were really thinking about what they wanted to get for someone and how they were going to create meaningful moments over the holidays, rather than just buying the latest “soon-to-be found-in-the-unfinished-part-of-the-basement, never-even-opened-out-of-the-box” gift of the season.  Even thought this increased thoughtfulness may have been born out of economic necessity, I’m delighted to see the shift.   

This is a shift in consumer thinking that every marketer needs to be aware of.   What are you creating in your company that is adding to the emotional value of your customers’ lives?  Are you helping to create meaningful experiences, or create more harmony for them?  What is it about your product or service that enriches their lives?  Answer this question clearly, and you will thrive in this new economy!