Posts Tagged ‘creating your own brand’

Since branding is a form of marketing, some refer to creating a brand for business as “brand marketing.” Brand marketing involves creating an essence for your business.

What is an “essence” for your business you may wonder?

How should you create it and use it?

Think of it as a thread or piece to tape….woven throughout, and holding it all together.

This means that branding involves creating a look and feel for the business that is then carried into every aspect of the business. It’s the common thread for all your marketing. 

That doesn’t mean that all of your profiles/ social accounts have to look exactly the same, although some marketers do that…but there should be a similar feel…. something that is consistent, and that will be recognized over and over as You, or your company.

Company slogans and logos are two examples of branding.

When a person sees a company representation, it should trigger name recognition  of that particular company, and the products or services that company offers. 

This should happen every time someone sees (or hears) that particular slogan or logo.

Think of Martha Stewart.  Does her picture immediately come to mind?  Think of her magazine.  (yes, guys see it too…)  She consistently uses “Martha Stewart Living” and notice that on the cover, it is always the same font style, in the same place, (top) but the color is changed with each issue, matching the cover shot.

So there’s a consistent thread, but it’s a variation each time. And it works.

So every time a person sees your logo, your picture, your brand, it should be consistent, and they should recognize it…even if they don’t know you or your company yet, and they’re not sure where they saw it before.

Why should you use brand marketing?

Because it’s an effective tool for attraction marketing, used by a variety of companies, involved in a variety of industries around the world.  

It is also a form of attraction marketing, because brand creation is handled in a way that it appeals to the target audience of the company.

That’s why you should have your own. 

When your brand is created in such a way that it’s attractive to the audience you’re trying to reach, it can create a huge influx of Web site traffic or really get your business phone ringing, which is your goal, is it not?

You can do the same thing with your brand that Martha does.

The thing about Martha, is that she’s consistent.  She puts out her magazine every month, and the branding is the same.  (You recognize it with just a glance.) Her photography is great, and her content is something that her readers are interested in, and that one of the ways she appeals to her target audience.

She has branding down.  So can you.

Think about who your target market is, or who it is you are trying to attract to your business.  Create your brand as an extension of yourself, but with your target market in mind, above all else.  Then use it as the “thread” that runs throughout your:

-  website

 -  blog,

 - Twitter account, you-tube, facebook and myspace and more…

Your audience will begin to recognize you, and if you give good content, they will keep coming back. 

Until next time, 

 

 

PS.  What are some issues that are coming up as you create your brand?

Believe me, I had several….please share with me, and we’ll talk about it….

 

 

   

 

 When you’re in a business such as consulting, where the business revolves around you, rather than company branding, you have to work on your personal branding. An easy way to think about creating a personal brand is to use the Queen of branding herself, Oprah. Oprah has created an entire empire – all based on her personal brand.

 

So what exactly is Personal Branding?

 

 

Essentially, personal branding is the way in which you market yourself to your target audience. A brand of a company is how the company, its products and services make its customers feel, the same holds true for your brand.

 

Your brand is how current and prospective customers feel about you.

 While you can control your personal brand to some extent, you cannot fully control what others think about you.  Don’t let this discourage you, however, because you can influence other’s thoughts of you based on your appearance and actions.

 Think of it this way:  When others interact with you, how do they feel?

 

  - what emotions do they associate with being in the same room with you ,  on your site or your profile?

 - what about when they are conducting business with you?

 

    Confident?   Not so sure?

    Excited?   Or not?

    Relaxed?  Tense?

    Cheerful?  Overly serious?

    Helpful?  Waste of time?

    Plenty of Info?  Not knowing what to do next?

    

These are all questions to ask yourself.

 

Now there are many, many other terms you can use as one-word positive/negative descriptions, but the point is….

 

The associations people make with you, or, the labels they assign to you become your personal brand.

 

So the question is, how do others feel when they’re around you?  Who (and what) are you attracting?   Attraction marketing is closely connected with this (more about that in a future post) so you have to realize that what ever “vibes” you portray when you interact with your customer is what you will attract back.  This can become your unspoken brand simply by default.  

 

Your customer will feel it, and respond, one way or another.  You want this to be a positive “vibe” or experience for them, not something that pushes them away.

 

Think about everything you do, every interaction point you have with prospective and current clients.

  

From sending out emails, tweets, and wall posts to designing your web site and shooting videos, everything has potential for an unspoken positive message, an attraction,  which can become your brand.  It’s the same for phone conversations  (not something to do when you’re tired)  and of course, in person.  (Look them in the eye with a smile!)

 

Decide how you want to come across to your audience. Write it down. 

 

Put it in action :  When you send an e-mail or have a conversation with these individuals, remind yourself of these things and make sure that you’re portraying the brand you want customers and prospects to associate with you.

 

 Until next time,

 

 

 

 PS.  Did you find this post helpful?  I would love it if you would leave me a comment, and let me know….Please feel free to tweet and share!