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Branding: You are the Brand
Copyright 2005 Daniel Sitter What's in a brand name? Everything! Think of these brands: Coke, Barbie, Hershey, McDonalds, Madonna, Pepsi, Bono, Microsoft, Kleenex, Xerox, Steven Spielberg, Dell and GM. Did you notice that brands can be things,...
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Yesterday was FBLA Day at the College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Dozens of yellow school buses lined up to discharge several hundred business suited and skirted members of the Future Business Leaders of America...
Make your Mark by building your reputation
If you have to part with your hard-earned money for some goods
or services, who would you rather trust: a novice provider or an
expert one? The answer to that question is what makes branding
so much important.
Branding is the process, nay,...
Marketing the Government for Profit
Steps and tips on marketing your business to the government. Fact: Federal, state and local governments buy over $450 billion combined in goods and services each year. Part of that can be yours if you know how to get it. Fact: Federal...
Rating the eBook Compilers
Now that you've finished writing your eBook and have a
basic understanding of what an eBook compiler does,
you may be feeling overwhelmed by the number of
compilers on the market. To help you make your
decision, I have tested and reviewed the...
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Get Branded--Part II
Coaching For Your Success
Get Branded—Part II
Michelle L. Casto, M.Ed.
Life Coach, Speaker, and Author
Branding is a way of marketing yourself so that people know who you are and what you do. If you brand yourself well, it will send a message that is instantly understood by your buyers and customers. The best three ways to build your name brand are: 1) Know yourself, 2) Choose work that allows you to do your personal best, and 3) Market, market, market yourself.
KNOW YOURSELF
Know your strengths
What are you good at? Why do other people like your work? What areas can you improve upon? If you are not sure what you are good at, how can you expect other people to take you seriously?
Know your niche
What makes you unique? How can you position yourself in your niche market? What value do you provide that makes you stand out? Become focused, do what you do well.
Register your name
Register your trademark or servicemark at www.uspto.gov. Get a business license. Register your website and domain registration at www.networksolutions.com. Having all of your “names” officially registered is very important to protect yourself against copyright infringement, and plagiarism---in short; the stealing of your identity.
Gain credibility
What can you do to make yourself an authority in your chosen field? Write a book? Give a speech? Join an association? Putting yourself out there in front of the public is essential.
Develop and maintain your network
Who do you need to stay in contact with? Who can you connect with in the future? What relationships can you nurture that can be mutually beneficial? Word-of-mouth advertising is the most powerful and influential advertising there is.
CHOOSE WORK THAT REFLECTS YOU
The second way to build your brand is by the projects that you take on. When you work for yourself, you have the freedom to choose the work you do, so it is very important that you take on projects that reflect the kind of brand you are building. Make your work the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. Do the little “extras” that make you stand out.
By choosing work that is important to you and making your projects extraordinary, you make (and leave) your mark. Keep your eyes and ears open. Always be on the lookout for projects, companies, and people that you can bring your special qualities or brand to. Great work does not magically appear. In fact, some projects may, at first, seem dull and boring, but when you perform your magic, those projects become exciting. And soon, by word of mouth (and because of your reputation), people will come
looking for you.
MARKET YOURSELF
The third way to build your brand is to actively promote yourself through print and Web-based marketing materials. You can develop professional marketing materials within an economical budget. Make sure your materials are up-to-date, of high quality, contain excellent content, and are readily available to potential clients. It is also important to keep a current read on the marketplace. Is your brand making the impact you want? Do you need to make some adjustments? Do you need to reinvent yourself? Being the CEO of You, Inc. is a tough job, but the rewards certainly outweigh the drawbacks.
___Attractive business cards, letterhead, etc.
___Your own website.
___A personal biography.
___Brochures and flyers.
___Create and send out press releases.
___Video or audio clip, if relevant.
___Use testimonials or case studies of those who have benefited from you or your work.
___Develop interesting story ideas that can be picked up from the media.
___Become well known in your career field by writing or presenting your work
to professional associations.
___Have an effective communication program, so that people can find out about you
(word of mouth, voicemail/information line, email, etc.)
___Use similar colors, logos, and messages in your marketing materials, so people can
easily make a connection between you and your work.
___Develop a logo and tag line (For example: Get Smart!’s logo is the knowledge tree
with a man and woman reading under it, and has the tag line: “Educate and Empower Yourself”)
Building a brand is about building recognition, and above all, trust. Make sure your clients and customers can trust you to do the job and do it well.
About the author:
Michelle L. Casto is a whole life coach, speaker, and author of Get Smart! About Modern Romantic Relationships, Get Smart! About Modern Career Development, and Get Smart! About Modern Stress Management. Her coaching practice is Brightlight Coaching, she helps people come up with bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their bright light to the world.
Coaching is an empowering and enlightening experience. Michelle can work with you to build and brand your business. Contact her for a free 30 minute coaching session: (361) 949-0337
or visit
www.getsmartseries.comand www.brightlightcoach.com
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| Brand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The brand, and "branding" and brand equity have become increasingly important ... From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services also ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Branding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Livestock branding, the marking of animals to indicate ownership; Human branding, ... Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branding" ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| AllAboutBranding.com : Home |
| Provides resources and opinions on branding. Includes brand development, management and communications. |
| www.allaboutbranding.com |
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| brandchannel.com | branding resource produced by Interbrand | brands |
| An international online exchange and resource about brand marketing and branding. |
| www.brandchannel.com |
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| Branding Company Corporate Branding Internet Brand Identity ... |
| Brand Identity Guru Inc. creates, develops and promotes powerful brands. Our clients enjoy an array of innovative, creative and powerful branding solutions ... |
| www.brandidentityguru.com |
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| Branding Blog |
| Branding and positioning news and opinion. |
| www.brandingblog.com |
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| Branding Asia |
| Free articles, news and columns on branding in Asia. Market research and Asian marketing. |
| www.brandingasia.com |
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| Pages tagged with "branding" on del.icio.us |
| All items tagged branding ??? view popular ... industrie./design and branding consultant specialists./ · save this. by kittim to design branding graphic ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| The Brand Called You |
| Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here's what it takes to be the CEO of ... |
| www.fastcompany.com |
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| Branding: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with branding on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| Mozilla Branding |
| The purpose of this document is to describe mozilla.org's branding strategy during and after the release of what has generally been called Mozilla 1.4. ... |
| www.mozilla.org |
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| What Brand Are You? A branding viral by The Design Conspiracy |
| What Brand Are You? has since been picked out as Site Of The Day by the likes of the Financial Times, Yahoo, USA Today and BBC News, and has received more ... |
| www.whatbrandareyou.com |
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| Julie & Company: Affordable branding, web design, graphic design ... |
| Julie & Company creates stellar branding, integrated marketing, advertising, web design, web development, Flash, trade show booths - all at affordable ... |
| www.julieandcompany.com |
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| Forty Media - Web Design, Web Development, Branding, Great Websites |
| a professional web design agency based in Phoenix, Arizona. |
| www.fortymedia.com |
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| Branding - Yahoo! Small Business |
| Find information to help grow your online business with business plans, Thomas Register, news articles and more. |
| smallbusiness.yahoo.com |
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| Lexicon |
| Lexicon Branding appears on KTVU News; Lexicon Branding creates Ridgeline for Honda, Viiv for Intel, and GameTap for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. ... |
| www.lexicon-branding.com |
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| Branding and Usability |
| We're finding that a site's usability can dramatically affect branding. ... There are two basic techniques for branding: direct experience and indirect ... |
| www.uie.com |
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| iMedia Connection: Research & Metrics - Branding |
| Majority of marketers feel branding opportunities -- online and offline -- aren't ... IAB case studies prove real-world power of online in branding mix. ... |
| www.imediaconnection.com |
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| Small Business Marketing And Branding |
| Small business marketing and branding advice and how-to guides for small business owners. Learn how to start and grow your own successful business. |
| smallbusinessbranding.com |
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| Beyond Branding |
| Beyond Branding, published in hardcover in 2003 and paperback in 2005, presents innovative business models for the survival of 21st century organizations. |
| www.beyond-branding.com |
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