Ini Ikpe, one of the people in attendance wrote a compelling piece on what he learned from the conversation.
What Marcus Troy Taught Me:
As a part of Philly Tech Week, Culture Snob hosted an interactive conversation with Marcus Troy (moderated by Jesse Jones) about how to build your brand through social media. Mr. Troy is a native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is a leading lifestyle blogger and cultural curator. His focus is fashion, footwear, travel, and gadgets. Mr. Jones is also a Canadian native, Toronto and is the current President and Chief Innovation Officer of TEN81 Life Inc. which is a Lifestyle marketing company, and he is also the Creator of U-ology. I had the pleasure of sitting and listening to these gentlemen have an in depth conversation about what it takes to brand yourself and get people to notice your work in today’s digital realm. There were so many gems dropped that I had to share some of the lessons that resonated with me.
1. Build organically.
Mr. Troy stressed the importance of building rapport with someone before anything else. As long as it’s organic, the rest will come. After you nurture the relationship, your acquaintance may start to make connections for you before you can even ask for them.
2. Good people will introduce you to other good people.
By rubbing elbows with people of integrity and good work ethic inside and outside your circle, you are likely to meet like-minded individuals. Good people keep good company.
3. Opportunity is seen with the mind, not the eye.
Opportunities are not always obvious — Sometimes you have to think it through and create a way, instead of waiting for one to manifest itself.
4. Take a risk. Take a chance. Have faith.
Taking steps in the direction of your goals in life can seem frightening, but having faith in God is the strongest relationship you can cultivate. Build on that relationship and then you can have faith in the risks you take.
5. Travel cures ignorance.
Give yourself the opportunity to be exposed to something outside of your comfort zone. Expand your mind to take in new places and experiences.
6. Grow your garden and then show it to the world.
Before you round up an audience, make sure to have something of substance to show them.
7. Social Currency.
Your digital footprint is an indication of who you are across all social media platforms so what you put out contributes to (and directly impacts) your online identity and, ultimately, your brand.
8. Build Relationships.
Have Integrity.
Know Your Why .
Mr. Troy left the audience with his top 3 best practices to live by: Build Relationships – You never know who you might need. Have Integrity – Question who you are when people aren’t looking, because authenticity speaks for itself. Know Your Why – You have to know your purpose. When you figure out your “why” everything else makes sense. Without a purpose, it’s difficult to move in the right direction.
Marcus Troy’s first “why” was that he wanted to share with people; 5 years later he is doing just that. He never deviated from his plan then and he doesn’t plan to in the future.
words by Ini S. Ikpe
The full audio and video will be released in a few weeks.
Pictures by Daniel Wooden
If you’re interested in having Marcus Troy speak in your city please contact:
Jesse Jones @ Ten81.com
