Cristal Carrington

With so many social media applications out there and so little time, how does one manage to utilize them all effectively? I have recently come upon this dilemma and decided to create a social media calendar to assist the juggle between all that I have to do with what I need to do technologically. Some of my favorite social apps are Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, but a few others that may be relevant to you and your business are: 1. Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. Submit items often so that you'll gain a more loyal following and increase your presence on the site. 2.Digg: Digg has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more. 3.Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites like del.icio.us, which invite users to organize and publicize interesting items through tagging and networking. 4.StumbleUpon: You'll open your online presence up to a whole new audience just by adding the StumbleUpon toolbar to your browser and "channel surf[ing] the Web. You'll "connect with friends and share your discoveries," as well as "meet people that have similar interests." 5.Technorati: If you want to increase your blog's readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology. 6.Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone. 7.Squidoo: According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" Share your industry's secrets by answering questions and designing a profile page to help other members. 8.Furl: Make Furl "your personal Web file" by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features. 9.Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services. 10.WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company's services with the public for free. 11.YouTube: From the fashion industry to Capitol Hill, everyone has a video floating around on YouTube. Shoot a behind-the-scenes video from your company's latest commercial or event to give customers and clients an idea of what you do each day. 12.Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized. These are just a few of many sites that will allow for greater exposure of your company and its core mission/values. Enjoy! *Sites and descriptions compliments of InsideCRM -Cristal Carrington

Pinterest is fast becoming the hottest little website on the net. Users are allowed to pin their favorite pictures to a virtual board and share those pins with others seeking to express themselves through visual replicas of things they want, need or desire. Don't know how to use the application? Don't worry,with this diagram you will be well on your way to building your brand while utilizing the latest social networking tools. Find me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/thesocialiteprj/ Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on FB at Cristal Carrington Smooches & Stay Fabulous! -Cristal Carrington

Enthusiam is a must each and every day. We are encouraged to be enthusiastic with our brand and our personal journey. Smooches & Stay Fabulous -Cristal Carrington

Have you ever called a company with a comment/concern or suggestion and felt like you never got a response? How did that make you feel? Unappreciated? Taken for granted? Did it make you feel like the company really valued you as a customer? Did you decide to purchase that product again, or did you abandon the product/brand of choice for a more responsive, comparatively priced product? How did the choice company’s non-response affect your thoughts about the brand? Did you still believe wholeheartedly in the brand? Could you?

Brand loyalty is a hard thing to build and even harder to keep. New brands are developed each and every day with the desire to replace other brands, even yours. So how do you keep your brand loyalty campaign in tip-top shape? Some of the easy ways to do this is to keep your customer engaged into the core philosophy of your brand and what it stand for, as well as taking the time to reply to your customers, especially the most important ones that are brand loyal, yet are feverishly courted by other brands for their business.

Sometimes it’s not about a company producing a better product as it is the effectiveness of its relationship with its customers and clients. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and the companies that actively apply the Marketing 101 adage that the customer is king rules the roost.

Brand Loyalty Campaigns are much more than loyalty rewards programs or awarding discounts. Yes, customers love gifts and discounts, but true brand loyalists enjoy the thought that their chosen brand cares about them in an individual way instead of just being one in the number. This is where many companies have gone wrong. Compromised brands think that the easiest way to keep a customer around is to dangle discounts as a trade-off for loyalty, when in reality certain consumers prefer not to have a discount, but a more solid relationship with the brand itself. Everyone loves discounts, but people (myself included), love superior products more.

However, just having a superior product is not good enough. Customers value the engagement that a brand provides and this is a deal breaker when it comes to brand loyalty. If the customer feels un-valued, it won’t be long before they find a comparable product that values them. Customers that have proven to be brand loyal don’t mind working hard, paying top dollar, or being a champion for the brand as long as they feel appreciated in the end.

Stay tuned for more fabulous branding commentary at www.theuptowndiva.com and don’t forget to find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and Facebook at Cristal Carrington
Smooches & Stay Fabulous!
- Cristal Carrington

This year, Burberry announced that it will allow customers to create their own trench coats and tap into their own self expression on Burberry's sister site located at http://tiny.cc/BurberryBespoke.

The coats, that can range from $1,800-8,800, are just an example of how brands are putting the customer in charge and giving them the power to create a more personal look.

Some ways this can be done by you and your firm are through rewards programs, surveys and online customization.

Start with the three above mentioned tips and stay tuned to www.theuptowndiva.com for more tips on how to enhance your brand.

Smooches & Stay Fabulous!

- Cristal Carrington

According to Al Ries, Author of the famed book, The 22 Laws of Branding, Ries suggests with the third law that a brand must consistently seek publicity to remain healthy.

Leadership is the most important motivating factor in consumer behavior. Leadership makes the difference between you and other brands. Being a leader means you will attract all types of attention, good, bad and even uneccessary snide remarks. However, I recommend that you take imitation of your brand or snide remarks as the highest form of flattery; it just means that you are that good and highly sought after.

Building publicity means building your subject matter expertise to the point where people recommend you for it. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent hard work and dedication to your dreams, you will be well on your way to the success you desire.

There are many small ways to gain publicity, because quite frankly you may never get on the front cover of Vogue, but with consistent articles written about you over time, you will gain a reputable name with your target market.

Consistency is just as good, if not better than landing the front cover. How many times have you seen professionals of any industry on the front cover and never heard of the next? Many. This is why having a consistent approach is more important that being on the front cover. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shoot for the cover, it just means you need to be in as many issues as possible over time.

A few ways to gain publicity right now:
Hire a professional PR/Branding Consultant to enhance your branding campaign.
Hiring a professional to oversee your campaign is an effective way to get your name in the media. Companies such as Aqua Promos have landed brands and social causes that had no name on large news networks such as ABC and your brand should have a piece of the spotlight. Hiring a professional doesn’t have to break the bank, but it can yield dividends as you become noticed.

Write a blog about your subject matter.
Blogging is an easy and economical way to push your product and services to your target audience and another way to enhance your rankings on Google and Bing. Use a blog service such as Blogger or Wordpress and try to post fresh articles at least 3 times per week.

Chat with other bloggers and pitch stories to them surrounding you and your expertise.
Chatting with other professionals and influential bloggers is a great way to tap into the framework of technology and build alliances along the way. Make it your business to seek out professionals that write about your field and alert them to trends in your industry. This is a great way to become a leader in your profession. Those that spot the trends ahead of time are those that are valuable to the marketplace.

These are just a few ways that you can enhance your brand power right now and remain a healthy brand.

For more information on Aqua Promos and what how we can enhance your branding campaign effortlessly, find me, Cristal Carrington at aquapromos@gmail.com. Shoot me a line about your company and let’s find cost-effective solutions for your Branding/PR needs.

Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington.

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

-Cristal Carrington

As a busy professional, I find it hard to consistently promote my various campaigns on social networks. If this is happening to me, I'm sure all of you marketers out there are probably having the same problem. With that said, I had to do further research.

I found out that the best days to promote your brand, product or service on Twitter is on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Apparently this is when the most people are online and actively participating on the site.

The worst day to promote on Twitter is on Mondays and Saturdays. One would think Saturdays would be optimal, since most people are not at work, but apparently not. So since it is Tuesday, I will take this opportunity to promote a campaign that rewards its patrons. I have literally found the worlds easiest way to have a personal shopper for all your favorite brands. I discovered it years ago, but decided to kick back up my promo campaign and tell all of you today.

Guys and dolls need apply, for they have clothing and accessories for all.
Feel free to share this link.

http://tiny.cc/YourFavoriteBrands - Just tell them The Uptown Diva sent you.

P.S. - Don't forget to find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington

Smooches & Stay Fabulous!

- Cristal Carrington

I recently read in the book Managing Brand You by Ira Bluementhal that to perfect your brand you must begin with the basics of self-evaluation. One of the ways to do this is to create an adjective list of who we believe we are. He suggests creating a 25 word list to do this and I must say it has helped me tremendously.

He was sure to point out that we should be brutally honest with ourselves, not only mentioning the awesome adjectives, but the not-so awesome adjectives as well. As we all have negative and positive traits, it is important that we examine both.
Learning more about yourself helps the process of branding and allows you to concentrate on how to become a better you. This is what the branding process is all about and since I'm also doing it, I find it quite rewarding.

Below is a link to a list of adjectives for you to mention on your personal list. http://tiny.cc/ComprehensiveAdjectives Out of 25, there will probably be at least 8-10 negative traits that you know of. Taking a look at where we fall short, even if our friends think we do no wrong, places us well on our way to a more fulfilling life and a more viable and fabulous internal brand position. It's the inside that counts. Be your best self.

Find me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

-Cristal Carrington

What a busy week. Hope all is well for my fabulous brand builders out there. As promised, I will briefly talk about the second law of branding: The Law of Contraction.

In the masterful book written by Al Ries, The 22 Laws of Branding, the second law of branding suggests that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. Ries expounds on the first law of branding: The Law of Expansion, reinerating that when you put your name on everything, you lose your brands essence and power, at least with those of us with discerning tastes. A powerful branding program always starts by contracting the category, not expanding it.

For more fabulous brand chatter, follow me on Twitter @thesocialiteprj and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington.

Happy Monday to all my readers.

Mondays most people dread, but I find them to be quite rewarding. For me, this monday has been fun and overall a joy.

Here is how to have a fun-day branding monday.

Visit the library for a new branding book related to your niche.
Find events in your area that will take place later on in the week.
Believe in your brand, no matter what.

Sometimes there will be events that seek to move you from your happy and on Mondays that can be so easy to do. However, believing in yourself and your brand, no matter what diffuses hectic mondays and turns them into fun-day mondays.

Enjoy!

Find me at www.Twitter.com/theuptowndiva or on Facebook at Cristal Carrington

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

Cristal Carrington

One of the very first books on my reading list during my personal branding journey was The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries. This book was very helpful for me and I wanted to share it with all my readers. I will be bringing all the laws and exploring other great books for you to read during this fantastic time in your branding process.

The Law of Expansion: The law of expansion suggests the power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. The law proposes that one should overwhelm a small niche within their business to protect the brand and to stand out as a brand leader.

I will continue to bring you the remaining laws of branding and other helpful books in the future. Until then...smooches & stay fabulous!

- Cristal Carrington

Your brand. As true to you as blue jeans and apple pie. Your brand, classically rugged with a hint of swag. Your brand. A measure of your capacity for violence?

Today, I got the opportunity to march in the city of Baltimore for a victim of racial profiling and deadly violence, Trayvon Martin. This young adult lost his life in a senseless fashion and Geraldo blamed it on fashion? This is absurd, but a reality in America.

I ask that all my brand warriors of all races and genders stand up against violence of any kind and speak true to your brand and what we know to be right.

Race does exist. Racism shouldn't.

Smooches & Stay Fabulous

- Cristal Carrington

Find me and let's chat brands @thesocialiteprj on Twitter.com and on Facebook at Cristal Carrington

Whenever I can't sleep (prime example: last night), various thoughts come into my mind. Last night, the thought popped up for me to create a dream board, so I am doing one right now and want you to join in on the fun.

Dream/Vision Boards are used to create a visual example of the things you want to manifest in your life. In the world of branding, having visual examples of who you aspire to become is a great step towards enhancing and adding the fuel necessary to fully gauge your potential and activate your success.

Whether its about your career, your love life, or creating a more grounded spiritual existence, you can achieve it (in theory), by looking at these images everyday and working hard to produce the results you want.

I say in theory, because if we don't actively work towards our goals, I believe these images are simply pictures on paper that get lost in the frames of our mind and eaten up by the other images/thoughts we see/think about more often. That's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Dream/Vision boards are used to create the destiny you want. It is a way to bring clarity to your desires and a way to help the universe know exactly what you want and help you to naturally attract it.

According to Christine Kane (www.christinekane.com), Mentor to Women who are Changing the World, there are at least three approaches to a vision board. One is the, “I Know Exactly What I Want” Vision Board. The second is the, “Opening and Allowing” Vision Board. The third is the “Theme” Vision Board. These three approaches I have found exceptionally helpful and I urge both women and men to visit her site for her full article on how to create a vision board. Also, make sure you download her FREE Ebook entitled, The Complete Guide To Vision Boards. Find the article link here:

We shall have whatever we say, think and visualize that is in line or agreement with the universe. For example, you can't make someone like you who doesn't; but if you both like each other, you will know that your love is supported by the universe by the vibrations that surround you and your beloved. They will be intense and powerful and will be utterly natural. Have confidence that the things you want and desire will happen. Sometimes, you have to work through the kinks to get there, but if you really want it, sometimes you have to learn a few things, or understand yourself or others better first. Believe in yourself and the world you want can be yours.

Smooches and Stay Fabulous!

- Cristal Carrington

I love when I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea. Last night was no different. I'm listening to the audio book Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and I have been talking so much about recipes this week, maybe this is where all the inspiration is coming from. Because of this, I've come up with some recipes for success when discussing/activating your brand.

Be Yourself - Nothing is worse than people who aren't comfortable in their own skin. Having a sort of grace and flow with yourself will help you project your brand better to anyone who is interested in learning more. If you're wacky - be wacky. If you are stern and serious all the time - all the time it is; as long as you feel comfortable.

Be Relevant - Staying relevant in any industry can mean alot of things. For some, it means staying in the press. For some, it means taking classes relevant to your profession. For some, it means attending events and just being seen. So find your own way of being relevant and you will.

Be Diligent - Branding yourself and your company isn't easy. I read somewhere that there is no value in a smooth ride, so staying diligent when the ride gets rocky is imperative to your success. Staying persistent and dedicated to making your own impact is what you need. Just add a sprinkle and you will go far.

Be Interesting - Nothing is worse than a bore. In life and in your career, staying interesting is paramount. Being interesting shouldn't take work if you are staying true to the first ingredient of being yourself, but if you find it hard to be interesting, try a new hobby, meet up with new friends or pick up a new exciting project that you've been thinking about for a long time. That's interesting.

Be Consistent - Consistency is something that any one of us can fall short of, especially if we don't see any impact right away. Rome wasn't built overnight and neither will your brand. Do something everyday to enhance your brand and those little things will add up. Be Consistent.

For more recipes - of the liquid variety, visit me on Examiner.com - Search for the DC Cocktails Examiner

- Cristal Carrington

How many people do you know?

I'm sure those of you reading this post can say you've probably met 1000's of people in your lifetime and you will probably double or triple that number before you die.

In the business of personal or corporate branding, meeting people is essential to the viability of your brand. Simply put: Brands that demand to be known and successful, must know people and the companies they represent.

Networking helps to create/identify win-win situations and you've got the expertise and skills to be a source to others and vice versa. Maybe you've got a worthwhile foundation and you need advocates for your cause; by networking within non-profit circles, you may find journalists or government officials that can help with your mission. In return the journalist will have something to write about and the politician will have a potential new campaign platform for their next election.

Lots of people believe that you can gain employment opportunities by simply sending out a resume or advertising your skills. This is some what true, but the most likely way to land great opportunities is to know people who know people.

Having supportive loved ones is critical to the success of your growing brand, so let family and friends in on your plans for networking and practice your 30 second elevator speech on them. I'm sure they will be delighted to be apart of your growth and will be proud of your success.

You certainly don't have to network every day, but it is important to schedule a few important events every year such as charity luncheons, golf tournaments, or business oriented happy hours. In these places you will find people from all walks of life and professions that have the potential to be effective supporters for your future professional ventures and events.

Some of my networking tips are:
1. Be yourself
2. Be relaxed
3. Gather cards but remember to follow up
4. Remember to listen to the other person, don't just pitch yourself
5. Have fun

For more brand chatter or for a consultation, find me on Twitter.com @theuptowndiva or @thesocialiteprj. You may also find me on Facebook.com at Cristal Carrington

Get ready Baltimore for the premier cocktail event of the season! TUACA Vanilla Citrus Liqueur is bringing the 2012 TUACA Drinks and Ink tour to charm city and you're invited.

This years event will take place on March 15, 2012 at 7pm and will be hosted by none other than world-famous tattoo artist Corey Miller and his band, Powerflex 5!

Corey Miller, tattoo artist and television personality (LA Ink), is responsible for the custom design of TUACA’s Perfect Chill and he's bringing his band to tear down the house.

On the tour schedule following Baltimore is Denver,CO, Reno, NV and Fresno, CA, so even if you miss this show celebrating tattoo and cocktail artistry, you have three more opportunities this year.

TUACA's tag line is Start Chilled. Finish Responsibly. From our brand tagline examination at www.theuptowndiva.com, this tagline inspires the coolness that is TUACA...and you, if you come out to Drinks and Ink.


Continue reading on Examiner.com TUACA Drinks and Ink - By Invitation Only - Washington DC cocktails | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/cocktails-in-washington-dc/tuaca-drinks-and-ink-by-invitation-only#ixzz1p3EeqU7u

The ever famous tagline. Known in history for being the one thing we remember about a company or brand has become almost, if not more important as your corporate or personal logo. Taglines are to be succinct and poignant. They are the inspiration behind your brand and what you ultimately want your audience to walk away knowing not only in their heads but their hearts as well.

Today our mission is not to create a tagline (I’ll show you that later), but to adopt a tagline that motivates you to build and sustain your personal or corporate brand.

Everyone of us goes through rough, confusing, scary, or even discouraging times where we feel we are delayed from our true path. This is a part of life and we should be thankful in these periods, for in them we have the grand opportunity to gather our thoughts, reassess our goals and work on our personal or corporate brands.

For me, one of the most inspiring taglines comes from the Adidas ad featuring Muhammad Ali. The phrase Impossible is Nothing, is a tagline that resonates with me the most. The way Ali stood over his opponent with the face of rage justifies the knock out and how determined he was to be the greatest.

For us in the branding world, the opponent can be a person, another corporation, or our own thinking. Sometimes it’s necessary to knock out our own thinking so we can accept the future and all it has to offer. If we are stuck within the past, we forfeit our future.

Your mission: To find a tagline that personally inspires you to be a better you. It can be Audi’s Truth in Engineering, AllState’s You’re in good hands, or even Dannon Yogurt’s Love it for life. There are tons of them, but your goal should be to find one that resonates with you and your feelings towards the future of your personal or corporate brand.

-Smooches & Stay Fabulous

Cristal Carrington

Today’s entrepreneurs are trying to balance their daily lives and burden the costs of running their enterprises simultaneously. Entrepreneurs such as Julie Aigner-Clark (Baby Einstein), Bonnie Kelly/ Teresa Walsh (Silpada Jewelry) and Lisa Price (Carol’s Daughter), pride themselves for being businesses that once ran out of their basements.

Just because you aren’t Bill Gates, doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. If they can do it, so can you. The best quote I’ve heard about leadership and living your dreams came from famed motivational speaker Anthony Robbins at the TED Convention.

“It’s not about resources – It’s about resourcefulness”. -
Click Here to Watch Him

So here are three ways to be savvy while branding yourself and your business.

Create a blog with personality – Blogging is free, but you just don’t want a blog; you want to showcase your unique personality and create content that makes a difference in the lives of others.

Add your name to online business directories – Branding yourself means that you remain visible to potential clients about what you do. Use Google to find local and regional directories and get listed. They may not all be free, but investing in yourself is paramount in any business venture.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Search Engine Optimization is what takes your brand to the top of Google ranks. If you aren’t technologically inclined you may need help to achieve top rankings. For help with this matter contact Aqua Promos via email at aquapromos@gmail.com for their spring special of $39.95 per account. A small investment in your business can bring your Google rankings up tremendously. Hey, they did it for Cristal Carrington and she owns the first 10 pages of Google and her name competes with a celebrity – that’s results.

-Smooches & Stay Fabulous

Cristal Carrington

Welcome to Google. King of the web.

In the world of branding, using the right keywords in your articles not only make for an interesting read, but catches the attention of the mega intuitive search engine.

Blogging has become such a powerful tool to launch and enhance your personal brand. Visitors are eager to learn and share with you as you take them on your personal journey through interesting, catchy content and pictures that furthers the emotional appeal of what you’re writing. Plugging in words related to shows, movies, trends, personalities and even other brand names, help to get your articles read by a wider audience.

Writing enticing content can make the difference in visitors returning vs. visitors reading your boring article and never returning or sharing a link to your site. It is important to paint pictures in the mind of your audience when describing your product or service.

For example if you sell tshirts, you want to make your product as appealing as possible. Tshirts come in all different colors, price ranges and styles; so what separates your tshirts from Hanes? Could it be the warmth/cooling factor? Do your tshirts have microfibers that absorb sweat better than the competition? Are your tshirts sexy and ideal for women? Does it have naughty or powerful messages on them as a novelty? Do they glow in the dark? Are they made for portly men like Rush Limbaugh? Not only did you just visualize several different tshirts in your head, but I just added several key words to use when classifying my blog post.

Words like microfiber, sweat, sweat absorption, cooling tees, Hanes, powerful tshirts, naughty tees, neon tees and Rush Limbaugh, are just a few keyword examples of how you can differentiate yourself and your brand from the competition and boost your web views.

A great way to see what people are searching for on Google is to visit Google Trends, which will offer the most recent top search trends from visitors on the site. Use this tool to craft content or get involved with topics that are important to you and your brand and boost your web views in no time.

In the world of branding, being perfect will never happen, but having passion about who you are and what you do is what you can absolutely accomplish. There will be many people who will try to ridicule, judge, or make fun of you or your career, but it is important to keep moving towards your goals.

There will be double standards, social barriers and even peers who will not get you, but I urge you to remain encouraged. When you are building your personal or corporate brand you will experience lots of opposition, but remaining passionate about who you are and what you represent are vital to your brands success.

So let’s take you and your brand. What stands out about you? Is it that you have a passion for music, technology, fashion, or wine, like wine Guru and Jets fan, Gary Vaynerchuk? He’s known in the food/beverage industry for his passionate expressions and analysis of wine in a way that makes you excited about the topic in a new way. Gary, although not a very tall man, has a personality that is larger than life.
He doesn’t let what his peers would consider an imperfection affect his impact or his attitude. He’s a business man who’s knowledgeable and passionate about wine and brands and it shows.

I introduced myself to Gary in 2009, as a fellow journalist and he reached out openly. Always on the net, Gary has proven how to make the written and video world coincide to make your brand stand out. Here is an article and video I produced over 3 years ago for Gary V. from my column at Examiner.com. Click Here:

In addition here is Gary Vaynerchuk speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in NY, speaking about personal brands. http://youtu.bessss/EhqZ0RU95d4 . You will begin to see what type of passion one must have to get results in this industry. It’s not personal – it’s business. Get passionate about it and thrive.

My next post will discuss the power of Google keywords…get your pens and paper ready.
Smooches and Stay Fabulous!

Cristal Carrington