Steve Erlank, CEO of Faculty Training Institute (FTI), and Ryan Folster, business analyst at 3fifteen, will be presenting a practical round table discussion at this year's Building Business Capability (BBC) conference, being hosted in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 2-6 November 2014. Their presentation: 'How to grow and build a professional brand in a modern business landscape' will be of significant value to participants who wish to understand how to work with the social media trend and brand themselves for success.
Every year, FTI - South Africa's foremost business analysis (BA) training company - fosters the growth and development of hundreds of business analysts through its professional programmes. It also provides access to an online community of other business analyst professionals through LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
"Understanding how to utilise the power of digital media to extend your brand visibility can grow your professional status, reputation, and network while advancing your career as a business analyst," says Erlank.
The BBC 2014 conference will draw over 800 delegates from more than 30 countries, combining their insight in business analysis, business architecture, business process, business strategy and transformation and business rules and decisions to facilitate creating the agile enterprise. "As business analysis continues to be the fastest growing profession in the world, and with more and more business analysts entering the profession than ever before, business analysts should be asking the burning question about their professional brand: "How do I stand up to the rest of the business analysis pack?" says Erlank. The talk will highlight what a brand is and why creating a unique brand is an important step in carving a path for yourself professionally in this new social landscape and network.
The onslaught of social media, blogs, videos and other general digital media has created a landscape that is hard to keep up with. It poses added challenges in the creation of a professional brand. Similarly, as more organisations are embarking on social media projects, business analysts, who are also liaisons between business and technology in organisations, play an integral role in social networking for business today. It is imperative that business analysts embrace the social media trend in both their personal and professional capacity.
The talk will explore various ways of harnessing the vast knowledge in the digital world as well as pass on knowledge and share opinions. "Social media is a powerful tool that provides professional visibility," says Erlank. "Imagine posting about a new mobile application that you've been working on and an executive picks up on the thread, or positioning yourself as an expert on a particular subject with a YouTube video. These activities have an impact for branding and marketing yourself in today's digital age."
How to grow and build a professional brand in a modern business landscape will be presented to South African audiences in the first quarter of 2015.
Steve Erlank has 30 years of experience ranging across the spectrum of IT jobs, including technical, operations, development, project management, business analysis, systems analysis and management. As an academic and practitioner, he has produced a range of articles and text books and is a regular conference presenter.
Ryan Folster is an up-and-coming business analyst from Johannesburg and an alumnus of FTI. He has a strong focus on innovation. He was a presenter at South Africa's official business analysis conference, where he discussed the impact of innovation on the role of a business analyst. He is the youngest member of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) South African Chapter Board. Folster was also a part of a team at 3fifteen that developed an innovative mobile application for the (IIBA) South African Chapter. The Chapter was awarded most innovative IIBA Chapter out of over 100 Chapters worldwide.
South Africa recently hosted its third business analysis conference - Business Analysis Summit Southern Africa (BASSA), in September 2014. Erlank, the BASSA Conference Chair, says the fourth business analysis conference is planned for the third quarter of 2015 in Cape Town.
To follow the conversation, follow @facultytraining #FTISA #BBCCON.
Share