Showing posts with label Brand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brand. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Develop Brand Marketing Strategies

Relationship between trade marks and brand
Relationship between trade marks and brand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To the "outside world", when you create your brand you create unlimited opportunities to leverage what you do into high payoff programs, information products, teleseminars, joint ventures, workshops and more.

On the inside, creating your brand gives you a powerful sense of identity, mission and alignment with your Unique Brilliance. You feel as if the heart and soul of who you are is now (finally!) in tune with building a successful business.

But what if you're struggling with trying to figure out what your brand really is? If you haven't been able to create a high-impact, high visibility brand, that tells me three vital elements are missing from your business-branding strategy.

Luckily, once you focus on, discover and integrate these three missing elements, your brand will "pop!" This branding strategy works equally well for internet branding and other brand marketing strategies.

If creating a strong, memorable, authentic brand has been eluding you, then take a look at each of these strategies for your answers. If you already have your brand, then you can use this list as a "brand checkup," or for help in rebranding.

Branding strategy #1: What results do your clients experience from your service? 

In my Brand Authenticity workshops I ask participants to create a list of not just one or two results, but THIRTY! Why so many? Because it forces the (and you!) to dig deep and get really specific about the results you offer.

For example, let's say you're a life coach and you love to work with women on finding better balance in their lives. That's a tough sell (even though most women will wistfully acknowledge they need more balance!) Your list of thirty client results for may include: starting regular exercise programs, picking up long-wished for hobbies, joining book clubs, asking for a raise or setting clear boundaries with their kids about doing homework.

Now, isn't that a lot more tangible and sellable than quasi-results like "be more accepting,” “be happier,” or the ubiquitous (and sorry, nearly meaningless) "put themselves first for a change?”

My coaching challenge to you: You don't need to wait for my next Brand Authenticity workshop. You can create this list for yourself starting now. Just pull out a piece of paper and start listing each and every detailed result you help your clients achieve.

Branding strategy #2: What problems does your service solve?

Like the prior list, this one too needs to be more than just an answer or two. Again, aim for thirty problems your service helps your clients solve. It's okay if some of your answers overlap with your prior list – just be sure you are detailed and specific in what you list.

Branding strategy #3: What are you a stand for, no matter what?

Great brands have power and punch to them. For example, Maureen, one of my Brand Authenticity clients created the brand "Real Relationships." Another client, Jack, created "The Christian Business Profit." (I love the play on words!)

Both Maureen and Jack are clear on what they stand for and that shows up in their powerful, compelling brand names. So, what are YOU a stand for, no matter what? The "no matter what" part matters because it will shift you out of complacency or fear. It will move you into that courageous, vibrant, determined place where your passion breathes fire and life into your words.

So whether you are internet branding, rebranding or looking at branding strategies for the first time, your powerful, authentic brand is just waiting to be discovered! So what are you waiting for?


Article source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/marketing/article_3992.shtml

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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Using Instagram App to Increase Engagement


Instagram - Android Apps on Google Play
By now, you no doubt will have heard of the popular photo tool Instagram. This is an app available for smartphones that allows users to add visual effects to their pictures before sharing them through social media. Recently, Instagram has also emerged as a useful business engagement tool. It has excellent digital PR potential, so here are five ways brands can use the app to increase engagement.

Photo competitions

One great option for brands using Instagram is to hold photo competitions and encourage users to enter. The app is very easy to use and plenty of people have access to it, so there's every chance you'll get a good response - especially if there is an attractive prize on offer for the winner. This sort of competition can also lead to greater exposure, particularly if entrants share their photos on their own social media pages.

Brand marketing

Companies can also use Instagram pictures for their brand marketing. For example, as well as engaging a SEO agency to make sure a brand can be found in search engine results, a company could add extra appeal to their marketing with eye-catching Instagram pictures of products. These can be integrated into a social media strategy in order to encourage engagement.

Event promotion

Another way to encourage engagement using Instagram is to harness people power around upcoming events. By tying in with pre-defined and branded hashtags companies can invite users to upload their own photos of the event along with the relevant hashtag thereby igniting conversation amongst your target audiences.

User photos

At the start of 2012, Instagram had 15 million users. Now it has 50 million. This rapid growth, plus the fact that many people love to share photos through social media, means that you can easily find social media users who also use Instagram. Sharing cool user photos on Facebook and Twitter can be a good way for brands to engage with new people and let them know that they're appreciated. For instance, as well as running the more traditional photo competitions discussed above, you could get people to send in their favourite pictures on the understanding that you'll share the best - giving your users publicity as well as helping to promote your brand.

Behind-the-scenes info

Finally, some brands are also using Instagram to share behind-the-scenes pictures of their offices to give people more insight into what they do and help spread a more human image of their brand.

A growing number of social media agencies are using Instagram to promote their brand, and so it's definitely worth checking it out to see what the app could do for your company.

Article Source:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Five-Ways-Brands-Are-Using-Instagram-to-Increase-Engagement&id=7146614

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