The elements of branding have taken on a greater significance than in times past, as a brand is much more than just a catchy name or fancy logo. Brands are heavily monitored by corporations as they protect and position these assets.
Building a brand identity for personal or business purposes requires a strategic approach and the use of various elements to make the brand recognizable.
In this post, we examine some of those elements and how they can provide a boost to your branding efforts.
The Launch Pad
We begin with the blog, your home base of operation. The place from which you dispatch your message and build a community surrounding that message.
This is where many will come in search of answers and advice related to a problem or situation they want to solve. The blog allows for engagement and interaction, making it the perfect tool for the exchange of information.
Social Media Outposts
Social media and social networking sites are plentiful, populating all corners of the internet. A well built profile or two on sites like Twitter, Facebook or Friendfeed are key elements to building your brand while providing opportunities to share your content and conversations with large numbers of people. These outposts are exit ramps on the information highway that lead back to your main base, the blog.
In the case of these sites, less may be better than more, allowing you the time to actively participate and engage with others while avoiding poorly maintained profiles.
Other sites where it is important to have a presence:
Listening Posts and Tools
It is extremely important to develop a means of listening for trends and monitoring what is said about your brand and where. Do not see this as an eavesdropping operation, but a method of keeping your finger on the pulse of the online community. Good, bad or indifferent, you want to know because your brand’s reputation and position in the marketplace is at stake.
Entering your personal or company name in quotes (“Jack Sprat”) in places like these below will yield some often surprising results.
You may also enter keywords related to your niche or topic and even the name of your competition. This provides actionable data to help you with your branding efforts.
Conclusion
Incorporate the use of these key elements into your overall brand building strategy, never underestimating their power. The information you gather will tell you a lot about what you need to do and where you need to be.
Expand your social networking reach and pay close attention to the trends and issues of the day. This can open many doors and provide opportunities that are mutually beneficial to the parties involved.
Consistently managing your brand building activities can position your business for success and continue to pay dividends for years to come.
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Jimi Jones Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
It’s entertaining to get some of those tips from the search tools, then watch to see what the flow of traffic is. Seems to provide a little up-tick nearly every time.
.-= Jimi Jones´s last blog ..Elements of Branding =-.
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