Social media really is most effective when you put together a strategy, have a plan for implementation and can devote at least an hour per day to engagement and content production. The reality is, most small businesses just can’t find an hour per day (sometimes even per week). While it may not be the most effective way to use social media, just 15 minutes per day can gain you some benefits. Here’s how: [Read more...]
Oct
14
2010
Choosing a Personal Brand vs. a Business Brand
How to brand yourself is a question vital to any business. Branding drives marketing, product development and everything customer-facing. As a small business, branding takes on more personal meaning — should you brand your business as your name (personal brand) or as a business name? It’s a big decision since it really can affect the future growth of your company. But it’s also not a clear cut decision since there are advantages and disadvantages either way.
[Read more...]
Apr
06
2010
Using Negative Feedback to Improve Your Business
Yelp has been in a world of trouble lately. Several small businesses have filed lawsuits against them claiming that Yelp has unfair business practices – namely, soliciting paid accounts for favorable reviews and removing favorable reviews when a business declines. True or not, these allegations have tarnished the reputation of Yelp, whose entire business is built on the trustworthiness of its review system. They could have continued to play the PR war, but instead they decided to use the negative feedback to improve their business.
[Read more...]
Oct
20
2009
Can You Prove What You Know?
In today’s service and knowledge economies, it can be difficult to tell an expert from a newbie. If someone asks you to prove that you know what you’re talking about, can you?
Oct
07
2009
What’s Your Business’ Personality?
People like to attribute human characteristics to things and companies are no different. When we think of a business or a brand, we think of all the emotions and experiences we’ve had related to it. We usually tie up all these feelings into a sort of personality for that business. Apple is thought of as hip and probably a bit snooty. Facebook is that friend that you liked to party with in college. Nike is way into sports, but likes to look good doing it. You get the picture. What personality does your business have?
Oct
06
2009
Stop and Think Before Sending that Mafia Request. What’s the Effect on Your Brand?
Social networks are growing. Even your Mom knows what Twitter is. The time people spend online is growing and increasingly they also interact there as well. You may have clients and customers which have never interacted with your company in person, only through a website or social network. All this means that your online reputation can have an effect on your brand and company.
Aug
18
2009
Look! I Increased Traffic by 90,300%!
Aug
12
2009
Why Your Crappy Free Wireless is Costing You Business
Many businesses, especially restaurants and coffee shops, have free wireless these days. However, many have really crappy free wireless (it’s slow or it cuts out, etc.) and that is costing them business.
Do it Well or Don’t Do it
If you’re going to have free wireless, you probably advertise it. It’s an enticement to come to your shop. It’s a reason why people have meetings or work there. If your free wireless isn’t that good, they’re not going to return when they want somewhere to meet or work and that’s lost business.
Jul
20
2009
When References & Testimonials Aren't Enough…
We’re in the market for a financial advisor. Stop! Before you start spamming us with phone calls or emails – we’re not interested. What we’re looking for is a financial advisor that we’d feel comfortable going out to the bar with – someone who is recommended by someone else we trust. In this case, I don’t care what your resume is, or who your other clients are (unless I know them personally) or what they say, or what references you can provide. The service you’re selling is something that affects me personally and it’ll take several years before I know whether or not you’re full of it.
Apr
16
2009
Personal vs. Business Branding
There’s been much to do lately about the effect of personal branding on businesses and the importance of personal branding for small and medium businesses. I think both personal and business branding are important – and they certainly have an effect on each other. How much will depend on the influence and reputation of the brands.
Now, I’m not against personal branding, as I said it may offer some people that ability to create the best job going, but a business is an asset, something that gets more valuable over time and, here’s the biggie, can be sold. It is very difficult to sell a personal brand. Some of biggest personal brands you could name on twitter right now would be worth very little without the person behind the avatar. – John Jantsch – Business Isn’t Personal – Duct Tape Marketing
Businesses certainly can benefit from having a bit of personality. Customers want to have experiences, not just purchase products, and they want to interact with brands and businesses. As Scotty Monty, who works for Ford, said:
It’s a lot more difficult to screw a brand when there’s a real person that you know that’s associated with the brand.
Some of the most popular business brands today have strong personal brands behind them. Apple, for instance, is undeniably tied to the personal brand of Steve Jobs. But a personal brand is not the same as a business brand. While Steve Jobs may work for Apple, there is more to his personal brand than just a CEO. Apple is more than just Steve Jobs (at least, so the investers hope).
In an era when transparency is much easier, it is important to be aware of the effects of personal brands on business brands, and vice versa. What you say and do as a person is linked to your business, even if you’re building separate brands. What a company does while you own it can also be tied to your personal brand. Instead of a black and white division – there are many shades of grey.
(photo by Mister Wilson @ Flickr CC)
Technorati tags: brand, branding, branding strategy, business, marketing strategy, marketing
Liked this post? Consider subscribing to our RSS feed or our weekly newsletter.
Digital Marketing & Strategy
Connect with Sazbean