Jalen Rose may have hung up his high tops, but the former NBA point guard and current ESPN/ABC studio analyst is crushing it on the web.How?
Well, first, Jalen wisely chose to align himself with quality advisors that have experience and cachet in the social media space: Vaynermedia (Think Gary, AJ, Sam Taggart and company).
Second, it never hurt that Jalen spent many years in the spotlight; initially, with Michigan's Fab Five, then with a half-dozen NBA franchises, and now with ESPN/ABC.
I can hear you now: "That's great, but I don't have enough money to hire a reputable brand consulting agency, and the closest I've ever been to the NBA was third tier nose-bleeders at my local team's arena."
Second, it never hurt that Jalen spent many years in the spotlight; initially, with Michigan's Fab Five, then with a half-dozen NBA franchises, and now with ESPN/ABC.
I can hear you now: "That's great, but I don't have enough money to hire a reputable brand consulting agency, and the closest I've ever been to the NBA was third tier nose-bleeders at my local team's arena."
I get it, and I respect that.
However, you don't need to be a smooth southpaw playmaker or have a powerhouse agency in your corner (though I would recommend Vaynermedia if you do have a budget) to build a strong brand.
Where Jalen Rose separates himself from most - and where you can, too - is that his personal brand includes three important features:
Where Jalen Rose separates himself from most - and where you can, too - is that his personal brand includes three important features:
- Clarity
- Consistency
- Constancy
Clarity refers to how "clearly" one states their brand's promise. Consistency is a "function of not detracting or wavering from your brand's unique value proposition." And Constancy means always being visible to your target audience.
Let's take a look at how Jalen Rose tackles (excuse the football metaphor, it's Saturday) all three elements.
Clarity: You don't have to turn on ESPN or ABC to know Jalen's a studio analyst or loves talking about a variety of topics in front of the camera. Just check out his blog, Twitter feed, Facebook fan page, YouTube channel, or soon-to-be leveraged USTREAM account. Also, if you read any of Jalen's bio pages or tune into his lifestream, you know the man's serious about basketball, philanthropy and entertainment. There's no ambiguity in his brand.
Consistency: His tagline may be "The Rose that grew from concrete," but Jalen sports a hardwood backdrop across all of his social channels. His roll-up-the-sleeves, thinking man's profile image conveys the message that Jalen's hard working and analytical, not to mention one of the best dressed figures on or off television. Jalen's online touch points are all tightly integrated and his messaging (look, tone, and terminology) - and design (name, logo, tagline, color palette, type styles, sizes, textures, etc.) are remarkably consistent. Consistency begets familiarity and recognition; which, in turn, generates trust, confidence, and loyalty. Repetition wins, on and off the court.
Constancy: Jalen is ever-present on both traditional and social media channels. He blogs, micro-blogs, video blogs, attends and presents at conferences, interacts and engages with old and new media publishers, hosts a fan club, and of course, analyzes basketball games in front of a national television audience. What can you say? The man is ubiquitous on multimedia.
Jalen clearly uses the 3 Cs to crush it online.
How does your brand stack up? Does it pass the test? What can we learn from Jalen? Please leave your thoughts below.
Let's take a look at how Jalen Rose tackles (excuse the football metaphor, it's Saturday) all three elements.
Clarity: You don't have to turn on ESPN or ABC to know Jalen's a studio analyst or loves talking about a variety of topics in front of the camera. Just check out his blog, Twitter feed, Facebook fan page, YouTube channel, or soon-to-be leveraged USTREAM account. Also, if you read any of Jalen's bio pages or tune into his lifestream, you know the man's serious about basketball, philanthropy and entertainment. There's no ambiguity in his brand.
Consistency: His tagline may be "The Rose that grew from concrete," but Jalen sports a hardwood backdrop across all of his social channels. His roll-up-the-sleeves, thinking man's profile image conveys the message that Jalen's hard working and analytical, not to mention one of the best dressed figures on or off television. Jalen's online touch points are all tightly integrated and his messaging (look, tone, and terminology) - and design (name, logo, tagline, color palette, type styles, sizes, textures, etc.) are remarkably consistent. Consistency begets familiarity and recognition; which, in turn, generates trust, confidence, and loyalty. Repetition wins, on and off the court.
Constancy: Jalen is ever-present on both traditional and social media channels. He blogs, micro-blogs, video blogs, attends and presents at conferences, interacts and engages with old and new media publishers, hosts a fan club, and of course, analyzes basketball games in front of a national television audience. What can you say? The man is ubiquitous on multimedia.
Jalen clearly uses the 3 Cs to crush it online.How does your brand stack up? Does it pass the test? What can we learn from Jalen? Please leave your thoughts below.
Need help?
Read Gary Vaynerchuck's new book, Crush It, for more information on personal branding and converting your passion to profits.
Read Gary Vaynerchuck's new book, Crush It, for more information on personal branding and converting your passion to profits.
