Branding is the cornerstone to any good marketing campaign. Without your brand, your business will never amount to its full potential. Branding gets you:
- word of mouth
- recognition
- repeat business
- reputation
I came across this article from Small Business Mavericks talking about publicizing your business to its fullest, and it got me thinking (as I often do) about different branding strategies. "Even if you are on a tight budget, there is more to PR than simply putting up ads. In fact, the most responsive methods of marketing tend to be those that don’t come directly from your company. That’s why it can be very handy to spread yourself out a bit," says the article from Caroline Melberg.
Very true.
I've posted tips for both online and offline branding in the past, which provide a variety of ways to "spread yourself around." This includes for offline things like:
- Stickers
- Flyers
- Bulletin Boards
- A Live Person
- Automobiles
and online:
- Bios in articles
- Forum Signatures
- Email Signatures
- Social Media Pages
- Blog Comments
There are certainly plenty more options but some of these are often overlooked. Giving away products can be good for branding. I talk about this here. Free samples are one thing. You can also give out your product for writers to review. This has plenty of brand potential as well.
Giving employees items with your company logo can spread your brand too. I go into more detail about using employees for branding here.
My point is essentially that of Melberg's. Consider how many ways you are branding your business and then consider how many ways you are not but could be. If you can swing a greater amount of branding efforts, the beneficiary will shockingly be...your brand.
5 Key Ingredients to Surviving in Online BusinessWays Online Forum Participation Can Benefit Your BusinessSmall Business Marketing Unleashed - The Tip of the IcebergOften Overlooked Places To Leave Your Stamp OnlineHow Are Small Businesses Marketing For the Holidays?7 Steps to Earning Customer Trust OnlineUpcoming Small Business Event RoundupThe Good and Bad of Marketing with TwitterMarketing Through ContestsKeep Your Online Business Alive in 2008
 | |||
| Do you have a business site? Submit your business related site FREE! | |||
| |||
Submit Your Article
Advertise
Newsletter
Comments
You're right on many things....
Such as Forum Signatures. I've spent many years building up that "bubble" with that tactic. It builds up your "linking" portfolio. Many people don't realize that the more people click your links, the more google, and other search engines index your site. Then, in turn, indexs any page you've created and presented on-site.
But the most effective advertising method that I've learned to be the best is "prior advertising" so if you're going to launch a site or promote your already existing site, do yourself a favor use this tactic to your advantage.
That includes not just forum signatures, but all other things this article mentions, like social media. Some people downplay the importance that social media has; it just increases your brand awareness.
Blog community is a tough maze to go through. Personally I hate blogs for that reason, and I don't like spending my time in commenting on others' ego. But if I have to make my own blog, and boost the advertising muscle this way, then so be it.
True, but blogging is effective too
I have found myself that blogging is an excellent way of increasing referral traffic, as blogs generally don't serve well at increasing your "link portfolio", but as for increasing traffic, they are great.
Many great pointers in the article too by the way, keep up the great work!
Counting The Ways
This logo is not on my jacket, baseball cap or printed on my forehead so I wonder where did this come from? When I first started the association with the Amsoil brand, opportunities to show it off came in the form of items I developed an interest in. Things like business card, jacket, cap, lapel pin, pens, calendars and shirts are obvious.
The list got longer and items changed as time went on but so did the opportunities to share and give them away. It's one thing to use corporate gifts but quite another to create an original one. I did that last Christmas in the form of a small stainless steel thermos with my URL engraved on its side. This Christmas my family corporate gifting will include a coffee mug. Two years ago we changed one of our vehicles by trading in the leased one. It was an opportunity to change the color as well. The main vehicle in our home is blue. Since red is also a main color in the Amsoil brand it was a prime opportunity to compliment it with a red snappy little car. I did just that with a new Pontiac Wave. The license plate frame, rear window clear plastic decal and magnetic sign all coordinate to turn heads. I threaten that when it grows up it will be a Hummer. I do use most, if not all those ideas mentioned. I have tried one that is not mentioned here and that is blog radio. It is more specialized and not for everyone including me. One has to have a good radio voice and presence.
I like the concept but..
I'm a small web site owner and my safety and security web site is new. With not much in the way of funds for branding, I'm wondering where to start. Even a professionally done logo can cost hundreds of dollars.
I like the concept and can totally see how it works but as "debt relief" said, it's expensive. I'm also wondering how you calculate the return on investment?
Thanks, Chris, for this interesting information and thought provoking topic.
Branding
Good article Chris. I enjoyed reading it. I was aware of many branding tricks...but I learned some things. This gave me incentive to drive forward in these tough times.
I agree, fantastic branding ideas
This was definately an insightful article Chris, excellent points and ideas. I've been in the online promotion industry for some time now, but even I picked up a few interesting tips. Keep up the good work, Frank
w of m
I prefer with of mouth for friendster like website ?
Maximizing your Brand
Any point of contact is an opportunity for branding. What really needs to happen is consistency and geniuneness in branding. I have been working with small business clients for the last 13 years on branding their companies and cannot stress enough the need for consistency in messaging. Branding is not another outlet for marketing or advertising but rather a way of thinking about your company that will provide direction and insight to your marketing and advertising.
Be genuine, people will know instantly if you are full of it and your company will pay the price. You need to determine what is valuable about your company and why you stand out from the rest of the competitoin. If you don't know ask your 5 best clients, or better yet have a friend pose as a marketing service and have them tall your clients that in an effort to improve service you have hired them to conduct a survey. have them asy 5-10 questions to determine why they come back to you. THis is the basis of your brand. Remember your brand resides in the mind of your client and not in your logo.
Seo for my page
Hello
can yo help me how to get my self on top on google with keywords man and van
my website.
http://www.professional-mover.co.uk
Any tips how to get my self on top of search engines.
keywork i am interested.
man and van
http://www.professional-mover.co.uk
Nice Article
Nice to the point and short article, thanks Chris.
It took me a while to get around to reading it, but I'm glad I did. The only thing I'm so in agreement with the whole idea of branding. From my experience and observation plan old promotion whether it's in the form of branding or not is the real key to success.
Post new comment