Channeling Voices - Or Channels and Voices

I'm taking the plunge into a new venture soon and I feel a little like the image below--exihilarated, excited, and a bit out of focus in the moment.  It isn't that I don't have a clear direction for where I think I am going next, but I have not put all the tools in place to take me there...yet.

Image courtesy of Kyle Lang

I am soon going to run into the struggle between personal and professional.  I'm realizing that the online presence I have is going to become a bit of an issue as I will need to "brand" myself and my services soon.  Also, I am using personal tools to execute on a professional project.  This won't do.  Some of you who have followed the blog in the past may notice that the name of the blog has changed.

When I set up this blog as a place to contemplate identity and social roles, I didn't foresee the direction my life might move.  When I logged into the blog the other day, I realized that its title might be off-putting to people who might try to find me professionally somewhere down the line.  As a result, a fracturing must occur.  I must separate my personal online presence from the professional one.

This will result in "channels" of online identity.  Places where one may find the professional side of me and one where you may find the personal side of me.  The two must play nicely, like siblings within a family, but they are allowed to be their own separate beings.  The two must represent the family well, but each is allowed a distinctive voice that contributes to the family's larger image.

I won't be posting much more about the technical side of my future endeavor, but I will be talking about the challenges this new role will bring to me personally.  I don't want to bog down my friends and family with too much of the technical and professional, and I don't want future clients to have to wade through family photos in an attempt to find me and my services online.  I'll have channels for each, and each will have their own voice.

It's a one of many new challenges that will arise in the coming months, but one that I am eager to explore in the near future.

Say Something, Say Something, Anything

In the '90s the band James released the album, Laid, and it was a hit among the teenagers of the time.  One of my favorite tracks was always "Say Something".  Its lyrics are as follows (image courtesy of Wikipedia):

Say something, say something, anything.
I've shown you everything.
Give me a sign.
Say something, say something, anything.
Your silence is deafening.
Pay me in kind.

I love this song and lately it has bounced around my head as I think of different types of blog posts for potential customers.  This has become a bit of an obsession as as it applies to multiple sectors of the economy.  Although I love this song and its lyrics, it isn't quite the right sensibility for content marketing.

Content marketing is the concept of providing quality information about your business in an effort to allow your customers to get to know you better, to build brand loyalty, and to bring self-serve information to them when they are ready to find you out in a crowded marketplace.  It is a unique idea in that content marketing isn't just about launching promotions, about "selling" yourself to your customer, but making yourself available to them when they want you.

Content marketing is sincere, informative, timely, and necessary in a fractured digital marketplace.  According to Youtility by Jay Baer, customers in 2011 needed 10.4 sources of information before making a purchasing decision.  This is up from 5.3 sources in 2010.  With this dramatic increase in customer researching trends, companies that stay on the forefront of information will be the ones who are found.  As such, content marketing, the act of providing sincere and informative resources to customers, is becoming more and more necessary no matter what segment of the marketplace you are in.

This is where the James song comes into play, although tangentially.  As a company in the modern marketplace, you need to "say something, say something," but it can't be "anything."  The information modern consumers are looking for is open, honest, and revealing about your company.  They aren't looking for more hype, more media noise.  They are looking for a reason to connect with your company in particular.  It is my mission to help you find that content, develop it, and deliver it.  If you say the right something, if you develop your online presence in open and responsive ways that your customers crave, then they will surely give you a sign and pay you in kind.

That is the mission.  I choose to accept it.  Thanks, James.