Successful Blog

Does Your Brand Get the Attention It Deserves?

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Top Performers written on a wooden cube in a office deskWhat exactly are you doing on a regular basis to give your brand the attention it needs to thrive?

Unfortunately, some business owners are doing next to nothing, leaving their brands dangling in the wind. In doing so, they are missing out on golden opportunities to get their brands noticed, notice that can mean the difference between a good financial month and a mediocre one at best.

That said it is important that you review any and all promotions you are doing, see what is working and what is gaining little or zero traction.

At the end of the day, brand promotion is essential to a healthy business.

Use Myriad of Brand Promotions Regularly

When attempting to promote your brand, you should remember the following tips:

  1. Targeted audience – Where exactly are you looking to have your brand heard? Depending on the size of your business, you may be limited in the scope of how much brand promoting you are able to do. If this describes your business, be sure to maximize your brand promotion efforts and dollars. This means doing the needed research to you see just exactly those making up your audience. Are they young or old? Do they have notable or modest incomes? Will they typically shop in-person or online? These are just some of the questions you should be able to answer (at least to some degree) about your customers. If you can’t, start taking time to delve into their interests, with surveys/online questionnaires etc. a good way to start;
  2. Targeted marketing – Knowing the audience you have makes it easier to market, though you can still market outside your targeted audience, knowing that you may land some new customers along the way. As part of your marketing efforts, make sure you focus on items like your blog, social media, videos and podcasts etc. When using one and all of those items in promoting your brand, make sure you essentially put on a happy face. This means any and all imagery you use is positive, shying away from any negative vibes. Many consumers lead busy lives, some of which can be downright tiring and even negative. As a result, putting a positive spin on your brand gives you a better chance of making a sale when all is said and done;
  3. Targeted social media – If you haven’t been taking advantage of social media up to now, why is that? Social networking can do wonders for your brand, all the while really costing you nothing other than time and effort. With that in mind, make a concentrated effort to use social media on a daily basis. Among the advantages of social media would be promoting your blog articles on a variety of social sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.), getting valuable consumer feedback when they turn to social networking to discuss any concerns etc. with products and/or services, and the opportunity to see what the competition is doing among other things;
  4. Targeted growth – Finally, you need to determine how quickly or slowly you want your brand to grow. In some cases, you can indeed grow too quickly, putting you under the gun in terms of resources and finances. On the other hand, not recognizing the opportune time to grow your business can lead to setbacks too. With that being said, it is important that you recognize not only the trends going on in your particular industry, but also look to see what the competition is doing on a regular basis. This will allow you to have a better handle on when growth is necessary and when you need to apply the brakes to such ideas.

For your brand to succeed, you need myriad of things in play, so don’t turn a blind eye to all of them.

In today’s digital age, so much more of what one does to successfully run a business is determined by what they do online.

For better or worse, things are not going to change; in fact, the online demands are only likely to accelerate in the years to come.

That said will your brand get the attention it deserves?

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Establishing Your Blog as a Leader

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Computer ViewThere are many ways for your business to stand out from all the rest.

That being the case, what have you been doing to take your brand to the next level? Specifically, how is your blog entering into this conversation?

While some businesses drop the ball when it comes to their blogs, many others take the ball and run with it.

For your brand to be exposed in front of as many eyes as possible, your blog needs to be a top priority in your daily initiatives.

So, are you ready to establish your blog as a leader? If so, how will you go about that process?

Outside Help Can Make the Difference

In order for your business blog to really gain traction on the Internet, you need to remember these tips:

  • Authority – Put the onus on establishing authority when it comes to your blog. In doing so, you lend more credibility to your site, not to mention your brand as a whole. That authority can be improved dramatically when you have an outside guest posting service helping you with not only writing your blog content, but also marketing it. When you turn to those with the experience in guest posting, you take the pressure off you and/or your staff to come up with killer content day after day. That guest service can also handle the marketing and social media needs your blog so dutifully requires, again, removing a burden from your shoulders;
  • Resonate – Today’s consumers have myriad of online sites they can turn to for information, so why should they visit your site? Give them a reason, in fact; give them multiple reasons to pay attention to your site, notably your blog. Your goal should be to serve as the go-to site when consumers need information and/or are considering shopping. For example, if you run a home improvement business, your blog should be chock-full of details regarding the latest trends in home renovations, what the typical costs are for the common home improvement projects, what time of the year might be best to do them (especially when it comes to outside projects), and how to go about hiring the best help if you are unable to do the project on your own. When that kind of information resonates with consumers, you are likely going to be the beneficiary, landing more business as a result;
  • SEO – You can’t get too far these days as a business owner without knowing something about search engine optimization. With SEO in your corner, you can better your chances of improving your search engine rankings, notably on Google. Just as with the writing of your blog, you may be a little green when it comes to knowing all the intricacies of how best to use SEO. If so, that is where a consultant can provide much needed assistance. He or she can help guide you in improving your current search engine ranking. Remember, while you’re not likely to go out of business with a low search engine ranking, the higher it is, the more eyes will find your business when searching for your respective products and/or services. In hiring the right SEO mind, look for not only someone with a mound of experience, but also someone willing to put you first. If they’re just using you to cash your checks, move on. The right SEO consultant will not only be beneficial to your blog, but he or she can assist you with your social media needs and so much more.

Sure, your sales and advertising/marketing initiatives typically get top billing, so your blog may be a bridesmaid so to speak.

What you want to do if you haven’t already, turn that bridesmaid into a bride.

Give your blog the love and care it needs in order for it to reward you.

Those rewards will typically come in the form of more website traffic, oftentimes translated into more revenue when all is said and done.

If you have not established your blog as a leader up to this point, change course and do that sooner rather than later.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about business topics on the web.

Picture More Business When You Use Video

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Schoolboy standing in front of a blackboard with a bright idea lHow often does your brand turn to video in order to spread its message?

If the answer is infrequently or even never, then you definitely might want to reconsider such thoughts.

When it comes right down to it, video can do myriad of positive things for your brand.

So, are you ready to give it a try?

Put Your Brand in a Positive Light

Start by looking at what resources you will need to put together not just one, but a series of videos tied to your brand.

One of the necessary resources will of course be someone to shoot the production. The question then is, do you do it in-house or do you outsource such needs to providers like a video production Orlando and others in the business?

If you opt for the first choice, you can save your business some money. In the event you want to outsource the video needs, while you will be spending additional money, you stand a better chance of getting a higher quality video production. That is unless of course you have hired someone (or even a team) of video production experts.

From there, you need to determine what your video message will say.

You may opt to make it rather simple, touting your product or service as the best one out there for the consumer.

On the other hand, you may choose to profile your company itself, including your team of employees.

Lastly, you might go in the direction of a video that demonstrates current happenings in your respective industry.

Whatever the choice may be; put 100 percent time and effort behind it, knowing that you are giving your brand a chance to shine in front of countless eyes.

Another important piece of the puzzle is how you can set your video/videos apart from the competition.

Differentiate Your Brand from the Competition

With more businesses turning to videos these days, it is important in your particular industry that you differentiate your brand from others.

You can do that by not only featuring your product or service, but also one or more of your employees.

Face it; your business probably doesn’t have the depth or financial pockets to go the direction of some more famous brands such as Progressive, AT&T, KFC and others, all of which generally have one character playing the lead role time and time again. That respective character ultimately comes into so many homes (commercials, magazines etc.) that they become a household fixture (at least their image does).

So, how best to feature one or more of your staff and still drive your brand’s message home?

Make sure you have someone on your team that is not only personable, but comfortable in front of a camera.

You probably know as well as anyone else that not everyone in your office is cool and collected when asked to perform in front of others, be it a talk or even a commercial.

Also make sure you to give any video productions you do plenty of social media love.

Just as you would hopefully promote your blog posts and other written initiatives on social networking sites, it is important to do likewise with videos.

There are myriad of sites that can help you with promotional needs, most notably Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

As it relates to YouTube, many companies have opted for this site, a site that has only grown leaps and bounds in recent years when it comes to videos.

You should keep your brand videos short and sweet, getting your message out without putting the viewer to sleep or wanting to leave, never come back to your brand again.

So, are you ready to picture more business when it comes to using video?

Properly done videos can play a key role in helping you promote and ultimately sell your brand to consumers.

If video has not been part of your marketing strategy up to this point, give it some strong thought moving forward.

There is a good chance that you will see video not only promoting your brand, but helping it ring-in revenue.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

 

Don’t Be a Stranger in Promoting Your Brand

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Leads To Sales ConversionWhat makes your brand stand out from the competition?

For some business owners, their products and/or services, customer service, pricing structure and more make the difference between a sale and not getting one.

No matter where you stand in securing more business, promoting your brand is crucial, especially in today’s competitive marketplace. Simply put, giving your brand the TLC it needs and deserves is more important than ever.

With that in mind, what are some ways you can make your brand stand out in 2016 and far beyond that?

Marketing Your Brand As Important As Ever

For starters, your brand needs constant and relevant attention, not the occasional marketing effort that unfortunately becomes all too commonplace for many business owners.

Whether it is due to budgetary constraints, limited time and effort available to properly market their brands or a lack of marketing expertise, too many brands do not get the full attention needed to be successful. As a result, the brands suffer from a lack of exposure, something that can be damaging to many businesses.

In order to properly spread the word regarding your brand, make sure you remember that:

  • Signs do matter – While you may think everyone in town and those who are passing by know about your business, the proper signage proves a great marketing vehicle for your brand. Whether you use mega led sign or another signage option, such information is crucial to directing consumers to your products and services, especially potential customers. With the right mega light emitting diodes (LED), your business can distance itself from competitors. Make sure your sign has custom content, is big and bright enough to grab consumer eyes, and is properly positioned for maximum attention;
  • Marketing must be continuous – Doing marketing tricks here and there will do little to promote and sustain your brand. Yes, your marketing budget might be tight at times, but don’t hesitate to move some funds around, giving marketing the added resources necessary to be successful. While your traditional marketing means have hopefully made a difference, have you done much in recent years with mobile marketing? If not, consider 2016 the year that you change your approach and become more mobile. As various reports show, mobile marketing is only expected to grow in the years to come, something you should definitely consider being a part of. If you don’t have the time and/resources to mount a serious mobile marketing approach this year and beyond, consider outsourcing those needs;
  • Happy customers are priceless – Never forget just how important happy customers are to your bottom line. When a customer leaves your store, completes an online purchase with you etc. you want to make sure there is a very good chance they will be coming back to you for more business. In doing so, they are more likely to tell those they know about you, their level of satisfaction with the product or service purchased, and their overall customer service experience. When you hit home runs in all of these areas, these customers will essentially be doing your marketing and advertising needs for free.

While there are other keys to successfully promoting your brand, having proper and effective signage, continual marketing, and happy customers are three great ways to increase the odds your business and your revenue stream continue to grow.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers marketing topics on the web.