5 Ways Your Brand and Branding Define You

There is a big difference between your “brand” and your “branding.”

Your brand is you: who you are , what you do, what you stand for, your DNA personality. You are a tangible artifact, which you create into a brand–an image that lives in the minds of the people you interact with and who come to know you. Are you…

• A watercolor nature artist?
• An NBA athlete?
• A criminal trial attorney?
• An eighth-grade science teacher?
• A cupcake baker?
• A cardiologist?
• A business consultant?
• A French chef?

Your branding is what you do: every way you put your brand in action to create  associations with you, including your…

• Website
• Blog
• Email marketing
• Community involvement
• Social media platforms
• Collaborations
• Partnerships
• Sponsorships

I recently discovered a brand website called Ranking the Brands, which lists and profiles some of the most trusted, popular, core power brands out there today–Coca-Cola, Google, BMW, Microsoft, Walmart, Hershey’s, Apple, Harley-Davidson and UPS, to name just a few.

What do these standout brands have in common?

• First, they are laser focused on what they do, who they are and whom they serve.
• Second, they differentiate themselves from their competition.
• Third, they evolve how they serve through their brand story.

These brands have built legacies and leadership by paying back and paying forward. They have built schools, donated food, supported the Olympics and encouraged educational and philanthropic activities, which is why we want to support them and what we remember them for.

Here are five ways your brand and branding define you and your business:

1) It’s your calling card, piece of real estate, your stake in the space.

2) It’s the only way to make a footprint and imprint.

3) It tells a story about you and what you do.

4) It’s the way people remember, recall and recommend you.

5) It is the single most important way to establish your credibility, authority and niche.

Sam Walton wanted Walmart to be remembered for saving people money so they could live better.  Milton Hershey wanted to open new doors for children in need.  Deborah Shane wants to be known as someone who cares deeply about helping people succeed in their careers and business.

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You Only Have a Little Time: Say It and Make It Stick

We are living in a world of instantaneous communication where you have to say it and make it stick – quick - or the opportunity is gone.

Think about it: If you’re trying to communicate in this digital age, then you’ve noticed that our attention spans are short. Twitter makes us think we can get the gist of “it” in 140 characters or less.  But not just that; those of us who have worked with children were either frustrated or discovered the art of quick and powerful lessons. Have you ever tried to teach a roomful of 6-year-olds? My hat is off to the professional educator because in my opinion, a 6-year-old’s attention span seems to shift every 2 minutes.  And that’s perfect.

 

You can’t become good at communicating, marketing and getting the kind of attention that you want your company to have unless you practice.  And the way I see it, working with Twitter and with children is the perfect marketing exercise.

Can you explain what you do in a way that a roomful of children can understand it?

What would happen to your marketing if it was clear and relevant enough for children to understand? Meeting that standard of simplicity could be good for business. That means minimal jargon. That means words and stories that  really connect with your audience.

Apple did it with the first iPod.  Remember their marketing language: “1,000 songs in your pocket.”

A child can understand that. It’s clear. It’s engaging.

Can you make your business matter in 140 characters or less?

Use Twitter to master the art of the meaningful sound bite. Since you only have 140 characters, you’re forced to be interesting and quick.

Think about it: 140 characters is a good rule of thumb not only for Twitter but also for:

• blog post headlines,
• press release headlines,
• elevator pitches
• 30-second ad spots

On Twitter, you only have a few seconds to get your point across before something new pops up. In business, you only have a little time to reach a potential client before something new pops into his/her mind.   So use the resources around you—children and Twitter—to learn to maximize your sound bites.

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5 Tips to Improve Your Marketing Mix

It’s not about one marketing piece, it’s about the whole thing. To be effective, your business needs a presence both offline and online. It needs to use print and digital marketing tools. It needs both advertising (paid) and publicity (free). It’s the marketing mix that gets and keeps your company message “out there” in front of your target audience.

Here are five marketing mix tips to seriously consider and implement:

 1. Brochures & Business Cards

Print marketing items are not dead yet. Sometimes our technology doesn’t work like it should, and having that business card and brochure as a backup could save your marketing opportunity. Besides, there are a lot of people who just need to have something in their hands in order to remember you, so give it to them.  Have your calling card ready.

2. LinkedIn

Use this business social network as an extended business card. As people hear your name around the Web and at conferences, there is a good chance that they will check you out on LinkedIn (this has happened to me). So fill out that profile and link it back to your website.

3. Website & Blog

Your website is your digital home, so make it count. Let them know who you are, what you do, and how it could benefit them. And then solve a problem for free by answering a question that your target audience would care about. You could turn that answer into a little ebook or white paper for download, or make it a blog post. Just make sure it’s something that truly helps, because you’re building a relationship, and “fluff and foolishness” is not good for business.

4. Press Releases

Use press releases to let the local media know about your business and upcoming campaigns. Your company probably has some awesome events, but nobody cares if they don’t have a chance to know about it.

5. Email

It’s about the relationship, and email is one of the most enduring ways to build that relationship, so take the time to grow your list. For a beginner most of the initial work is in getting the code and placing it on your Web pages. But the email service that you use should have a guide or “how to” page showing you what to do. Once the code for your email subscription form is in place on your site, then you can begin to focus on what to send your subscribers each week or month. Remember, it’s consistent marketing that makes the difference.

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12 tips for business success

What's important to the success of small-business owners and entrepreneurs? Knowledge, skill and talent.

However, many competitors have the same traits you do. The key to beating the competition and achieving success is mental, reflected in one's attitude, totally controlled by the individual and requires no cash. This holds true in most human endeavors besides business — in sports, the arts and politics.

How many times have we seen the underdog team or player win over the more talented opponent? The difference is often attitude.

These 12 attitude attributes can put you in the right mindset for achieving entrepreneurial success.

1. Have passion for your business Work should be fun. Your passion will help you overcome difficult moments and persuade people to work for you and want to do business with you. Passion can't be taught. When it wanes, as it surely will in difficult times, take some quiet time. Whether it be an hour or a week, take inventory of all the reasons you started the business and why you like being your own boss. That should renew your passion.

2. Set an example of trustworthiness People have confidence in trustworthy individuals and want to work for them in a culture of integrity. The same is true for customers.

3. Be flexible, except with core values It's a given that your plans and strategies will change as time goes on. This flexibility for rapid change is an inherent advantage of small over large business. However, no matter the pressure for immediate profits, do not compromise on core values.

4. Don't let fear of failure hold you back Failure is an opportunity to learn. All things being equal, venture capitalists would rather invest money in an individual who tried and failed founding a company than in someone who never tried.

5. Make timely decisions
It's okay to use your intuition. Planning and thought are good. But procrastination leads to missed opportunity.

6. The major company asset is you Take care of yourself. Your health is more valuable than the most expensive machinery or computer software for the company. You don't have to choose between your family or your company, play or work. Maintain your health for balance and energy, which will, in turn, enhance your mental outlook.

7. Keep your ego under control Don't take profits and spend them on expensive toys to impress others. Build a war chest for unexpected needs or opportunities. This also means hearing out new ideas and suggestions no matter how crazy they sound.

8. Believe
You need to believe in yourself, in your company, and that you will be successful. This confidence is contagious with your employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and everyone you deal with.

9. Encourage and accept criticism graciously. Admit your mistakes. You need to constantly work on convincing your employees that it's OK — even necessary —to state their honest opinions even it if conflicts with the boss's opinion. Just stating it once or putting it in a mission statement won't cut it for most people.

10. Maintain a strong work ethic Your employees will follow your lead. It will also help you beat your competition by outworking them, particularly when your product or service is very similar.

11. Rebound quickly from setbacks There surely will be plenty of ups and downs as you build the business. Learn from the setbacks and move on. You can't change the past.

12. Periodically get out of your comfort zone to pursue something important Many times you will feel uncomfortable in implementing a needed change in technology, people, mission, competing, etc. For the company and you to grow personally, you sometimes have to step out of your comfort zone.

Many organizational and leadership shortcomings can be overcome or mitigated with the good attitudes described above. All can be learned except passion, which comes from within. Take time out of your hectic schedule to periodically reflect on these attributes. You may be inspired to act.

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Infolinks Self Serve In-Text Ads Marketplace

Self Service Infolinks Marketplace

Infolinks has introduced the world’s first In-Text ads Marketplace. The Marketplace allows you to create and optimize In-Text ads campaigns in a matter of minutes. Now advertisers can effortlessly create and manage their ad campaigns just like with Google AdWords.

You can use the new Marketplace to promote your blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube Channel, etc., for a bigger brand boost at a reduced cost. While most bloggers work on free ways of generating traffic, the use of paid traffic sources like Infolinks can get the job done a lot easier. As an AdWords advertiser, I’m looking forward to testing out the Infolinks In-Text ads Marketplace.

Quick and Easy Interface

The self service In-Text Advertising Marketplace allows you to create campaigns in only a few minutes. You can select your own keywords, target geographically and monitor the campaigns with a real-time reporting system. If you know how to set up an AdWords account, you’ll have no problem with the Infolinks In-Text ads Marketplace.

Opening an advertiser account in the Marketplace is simple and will only take you a few minutes to complete. Simply visit the Marketplace, complete a short registration form, fill out your billing details and then activate your Infolinks campaign. It’s really that easy.

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