This is a great article that I found regarding branding your business through social media today. As I sit down with business owners there are really only two kinds of people I meet in regards to this marketing method...those who have it implemented (sort-of) and don't know how to use it and those who have no clue where to even start looking to obtain it. My favorite people to work with are the ones that are brand new to social media, have a desire to learn, and are in a position to give it some time and attention in 2011. It is these people that will benefit in the long run because they chose to invest in themselves to learn how to tackle this thing called "social media" in a way that is healthy, strategic and WORKING for the growth of their business for the long haul. Hats off to those who are ready to learn and take the first step with their best foot forward.
-Cammy
Mastering branding online takes a lot more than a cool logo and catchy slogan. Experts play by a fresh new set of rules. (January 12, 2011)
It's no longer enough to have a sleek website, social-media presence, and consistent brand aesthetic online. The new rules of branding your business on the Web have a lot less to do with presentation, and a lot more to do with interaction. In order to bring you up to speed,
Inc.com has compiled nine of the most innovative and ingenious tips from articles, guides, and interviews in
Inc. and Inc.com over the past year. These are the new rules of branding online.
1. Don’t just start the conversation.
Be an integral and evolving part of it. "Social media has one very important perspective to share with brand management—the conversation. Like branding, social media is all about the conversation and building effective relationships. They are perfectly suited to one another," says
Ed Roach, founder of The Brand Experts, a brand management consultancy in West
Leamington,
Ontario, the author of
The Reluctant Salesperson, a free e-book available at
www.thebrandingexperts.ca. The rules for brand messaging through new media versus traditional channels haven't changed, but "the game sure got better and more interesting," says Roach. It's not enough to have a
Facebook page or a
Twitter account, you must participate in the conversation by making regular posts and replying to direct messages from your customers.
Ron Smith, president and founder of S&A's Cherokee, a public relations and marketing firm in
Cary, North Carolina, agrees, adding that you'll want to stay on top of what people are saying about you and your brand online. "Monitoring social media is a must for all companies. Social media has shortened the time frame for company responses to complaints or accusations. These days, companies need to acknowledge any issues and control the messaging in a matter of minutes instead of hours or days," says
Smith.
Read more.
2. Either keep your personal brand out of it…
So you have 10,000 Twitter followers. Does it matter to your customers?
Tim Ferriss, the entrepreneur behind the sports nutritional supplements company
BrainQUICKEN and author of
The 4-Hour Workweek, told Inc.com contributor
John Warrillow: "Unless you’re in one of a handful of businesses like public speaking, I think managing and growing a personal brand can be a huge distraction for company founders. I see all of these entrepreneurs trying to collect Twitter followers, and it reminds me of a matador waving a red flag in front of a bull. In this case, the founders are the bull. The bullfighter moves the flag away, and the bull comes up with nothing but air.
Steve Jobs has a personal brand, but it is
Apple’s product design that makes it such a valuable company. He isn't jumping on
Foursquare to develop his 'personal brand.'"
Read more.
3. …or dive in and make all the headlines you can.
Appearing in the media as a source of expertise can go a long way toward building your brand, Inc.'s
April Joyner reports. To gain press, identify media outlets that are most applicable to your particular areas of expertise and send them targeted pitches. If you want to be a talking head on radio or television, it also helps to give producers a preview of your personality by referring them to video clips on your site. As with print, the Web has also democratized the world of radio. Through venues such as BlogTalkRadio, anyone can host her or his own broadcasts—or find a show on which to appear. After you have honed an area of expertise, you will find that there are plenty of opportunities to take your message on the road. Becoming active in professional organizations and attending conferences offer valuable opportunities for networking. As you become more familiar within a certain field, more and more people will call on you to share your expertise. Making an appearance as a vendor at an event can also offer long-term personal branding benefits.
Read more.
http://www.inc.com/guides/2011/01/new-rules-of-branding-your-business-online.html
UPDATED! DURHAM, NC – Kill those darn pigs, they’re laughing at me, I thought, loading another bird in its slingshot. I fire the bird, which, screaming a martial arts cry, careens toward a mass of stones protecting three green pigs. And bounces off. The pigs laugh, heh heh heh.