Branding as a Promise

A Brand is a Promise discusses the importance of making sure brands follow through on their promises. Greg Satell says: "Great companies build great brands by valuing their customers and wanting to make their lives better in some way". Read this post to see examples of big brands that hold true to their advertising promise. 

Social Media Marketing: Narrow the Gap Between Perception and Reality

Take the Brand Perception Snap Shot quiz now:

• What five words do you use to describe your brand today?
• What five words do your customers use to describe your business today?
• What five words do you WANT your customers to use to describe your brand?

From Build Your Brand, Build Your Business

Business Logo Design and New Marketing Trends

In the time of yesteryears, marketing and advertising was done in limited ways. Posters and billboards were the first instruments of advertising that were used with great efficacy followed by print media advertising in which newspapers and other periodicals were used. Subsequently, the introduction of radio and ultimately the television gave a phenomenal boost to advertising as a particular line of work.

In the modern world, the internet has proven to be the final frontier for marketing and advertising with a significant potential of growth. The term new media is quite fittingly attributed to this medium of advertising for its dynamic and diverse characteristics.

With the advent of trademarks which are nowadays referred to as logos or logo designs, advertising and marketing campaigns took a new turn. While the advertising field was witnessing rapid evolution, awareness about the significance of business logo design was also developing on a fast pace. From shops to farms and small business setups to large organizations, business minded people became intrinsically aware of what a business logo design was capable of being.

This was the time when a business logo design was beginning to be used effectively as a promotional tool. In place of lengthy messages on large placards or giant size hoardings, smaller posters showing a business logo design alongside a short slogan did the job well. With the passage of time, more and more organizations began emphasizing on their logo designs. Entrepreneurs started taking particular interest in the development of their business logo design.

At the present time, business logo design has become a prominent feature of branding and is being efficiently utilized as a very important tool for marketing and promotion. Article source

What is Your USP?

Mitchel Harper in What's Your USP and Why Should I Care? talks about the same concept that Seth Godin does in Why you, why now? but it is important enough to repeat.

The bottom line for any businesses' potential consumers always boils down to why should they purchase YOUR brand and why should they do it NOW? 

The Power of Branding

Water bottles, coffee mugs and the power of brands

Which bottle would you buy?

Attention Small Business Owners!

What exactly is your brand?  For many, this is a difficult question to answer because a typical response is "we do so many different things".  Todd Schnick in "Three Keys You Need to Know About Personal Branding, But Probably Aren’t Doing" explains why you really need to hone in on your brand in order to clearly, concisely and consistently promote your business.  Check it out.

Social Media and Brand Reputation Strategy

Interesting article about how to handle negative brand comments on social media sites. What would you do to counter negative comments about your brand?

Read full article here.

Introduction to Online Branding

"It’s now recognized that online branding is more than banners ads to raise awareness. As marketers looks for ways to stretch advertising dollars, the web has become mainstream for branding online, but with little information on just how create an Internet branding strategy, this post hopefully provides its readers a place to start for the vast opportunities of online branding. Read full article here.

The Importance of Branding in the Digital Age

Many believe that brands will become less important as digital technology marches onward. They will surely be disappointed.
In fact, it is likely that branding will become more important in the digital age. With more media and more brands, consumers have to more to filter out. In order to cut through the clutter, marketers will have to work harder to build brands that inspire loyalty. Read full post here.

Tell Me Again Why I Should Use Social Media Marketing?

Everyone is familiar with the term “branding” but it has different meanings to different people. From a consumer prospective, the term branding brings to mind companies like Nike, Apple, Google and Xerox. Google and Xerox have even become verbs – now this is taking the concept of branding to the nth degree! Naturally, we can’t all be giants like Google and Xerox, but we can apply the same branding concepts in a much smaller niche.

Branding is defined as “a distinguishing name and/or symbol intended to identify a product or producer”. What this means from a marketing perspective is, what is it about your product or service that makes you stand out from the crowd? The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines branding as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers”. “Differentiate” and “distinguish” are the keys here.

In order to be successful in branding, you first need to understand the needs and wants of your target market. Like anything else in life, there can be a huge difference between what message is intended to be communicated and the perception of that message. The reality is the perception – the intention is not. How can a company know what the consumers’ perception is? That is where social media marketing comes into play. The world has changed. Let’s face it folks. The Internet is a force to be reckoned with and if you, as a business owner, are not taking full advantage of what the Internet has to offer, you are doing you and your company a huge disservice. Blogs, forums, social networking sites, to name a few, are platforms for sharing and communicating. If consumers have had a bad experience with a company, there is a good chance they will share their experience with the world on some social media platform. Unfortunately, it is easier to find negative comments than positive comments – but that is human nature. How often do our friends, family, children call us just to say “Hey, things are going great”? More often than not, they will call to talk when there is something that is not right – when they are having a problem. And how often, once that problem is resolved, do they call to let us know that everything is now ok? We have all been guilty of these same behaviors – thanks to my mom for pointing out when I do it. As a business owner, it would behoove you to know what your customers and potential customers are saying about you and defend yourself when/if necessary.

Social media marketing is about being social, communicating, establishing relationships, educating, learning, listening, and being both proactive and reactive. In today’s hyper-competitive economy, in order to stay alive and on top of your competition, you have to embrace the Internet and social media marketing.

Often people resist change because they fear the unknown or are afraid of trying something they may not be familiar with. But, the economy, the consumer and the way to market has changed. The economy is super-competitive. The consumer is more educated, more informed, has a whole lot of information at their fingertips, and is no longer satisfied with one way communication channels. They want to know what you can do for them. They want to be involved, don’t want to hear about how wonderful you and your company are from you; they want to hear about you and your company from others, they want you to prove to them that you are an industry-expert and that they need or want what you are selling. Social marketing tools empower customers and those business owners who don’t jump in are going to get stepped on or over, directly or indirectly.

When you are ready to take the plunge, remember some very important points. Be sure to contribute quality content that adds value to people’s lives. When participating in online conversations, remember to converse and not preach. Remember that the customer wants what is good for them, they want it their way. Think of Burger King’s early recognition of this concept: “Have it your way”. Think about Apple’s suite of “I” products. Business owners need to earn their reputation and customer loyalty. Toyota Scion’s VP of Marketing, Jim Farley, illustrates this concept with his quote: “I think the most important thing for us is to be credible, he says. “Just talking to consumers, they don’t believe a damn thing we say anymore. And I mean that in a positive way. They’re really, really smart.” (http://www.slideshare.net/NorthVenturePartners/how-to-crash-the-consumer-controlled-party-and-not-get-thrown-out%20presentation). Connect with your target audience in the online communities and social networks they belong to. Communicate with them in an authentic and straightforward manner to build your credibility, reputation and to increase your brand awareness. Successful companies will be those who surround themselves with communities of potential customers, think outside of the box by finding innovative messages, and those who nurture social relationships.

Everyone needs a starting point. Your company’s website can be your starting point. But remember, building a website is not the end of your Internet marketing, it is the beginning. In an earlier post, I referred to Nigel Peck’s example of a phone ringing just because you bought it (http://newhorizons123.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-do-i-need-to-do-internet-marketing.html). Consider the concept of window shopping. If you pass by a store but don’t go in, has the store owner earned any money from you? Of course not! Same thing with a website; just because you have one doesn’t mean anyone is going to visit it. So what can you do to get visitors to your website? The answer is Social Media Marketing.

Does anyone need any more convincing?

Small Business Branding in time for the Holiday Season

With all the talk in the media in regard to retailers deep discounting their wares, where does this leave small independent retailers?

For one thing it provides an opportunity to step up the customer relationship. Large corporations cannot turn on a dime due to their size and complexity.

SME’s (small to medium enterprises) on the other hand are much flatter and can provide superior experiences. If you’ve been diligent at building your email database, you can start providing exceptional information for your customers

Read full article here.