Branding Yourself as an Expert

2008-02-23T02:24:00.001-08:00

Establishing yourself as the expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. Luckily, that recognition and respect transfers directly to your company. If people trust that you truly know what you are talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product.
How to Gain Recognition
There are countless vehicles through which you can brand yourself as an expert. Budgets tend to limit what most companies can do, however. While television and radio appearances will reach the greatest number of people and are also the most personal, most cannot afford such an endeavour. Newspapers, magazines, and other publications are a more cost effective way of gaining exposure.
The Internet has become an increasingly popular place for business owners to showcase their expertise. The opportunities for brand establishment on the Internet are countless.
A website is the best place to start. Build a professional looking site with sound and informative content and you'll have a source of expert information to direct customers to. It is wise to upload a variety of self-written material to that website. Whether it be e-books or articles, good writing commands respect.
Remember that it is okay to give away some of your precious knowledge free of charge. Offer the customer something useful up front and they will label you as a legitimate source to go to for whatever your company may offer.
Branding on the Internet
Once your website is in good shape, it is time to attract some site-goers. Article marketing is one way to do this. Appearing as an expert in these self-written articles published on various sites will give readers the option of linking back to your site.
Article marketing is an especially effective way to gain that expert status because it gives you the ability to dispense a small number of articles to a huge number of content-rich sites. The more places your name pops up, the more people will be exposed to your site and product. You can be assured you have risen to an expert level in the eyes of consumers once these associations are made.
Another way to display your expertise is through online forums and blogs. This is a bit more casual than article writing. It allows you to remain in the first person and talk candidly with interested web surfers. The conversational tone used in such settings will put many potential customers at ease.
Not only will they view you as an expert, they'll also feel connected to you as a real human being. Similarly, such an environment gives customers the chance to ask questions as well as giving you the opportunity to back up your product in the face of criticism.
What to Highlight
While the language you use and the information you present is most important when it comes to branding, there are other things to consider. Perhaps most vital are your credentials. Related degrees, certifications, licenses and accreditations that you may have are always good to highlight.
For instance, at the bottom of an article you have written about your clown entertainment business for a circus magazine, you might include a small blurb that says something like the following: "Tom Jones received an M.A. in the Creative Arts from Bozonion University. He is a licensed Balloon Animal Artist as well as being certified in professional stilt-walking. Mr. Jones has been successfully entertaining for over twenty-five years."
Find the right places to gain recognition. Put yourself out there and command respect through that exposure. Highlight your achievements and successes. Branding yourself as an expert is all about getting other people to recognize something about you that you already know. It is your business and you know your industry. Get out there and showcase your expert talents!

Putting a Face to a Name: Developing a Company Brand

2008-02-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

The business world is all about first impressions. If a customer likes what they see right away, they are likely to invest. This is what makes branding so important. Your brand is what consumers will initially encounter when introduced to your company. You want your brand to entice potential customers to dig deeper and further explore what your company has to offer. With any luck, they will like what they see!
How to Develop a Brand
Begin by identifying your target market. You branding strategy will depend heavily on this factor. For instance, you will choose different approaches depending on whether you are marketing to wealthy, retired men or adolescent girls.
The spending habits, interests, age, gender, education level, and many other factors will play into your branding plans. Similarly, your target market will also dictate where you make your brand visible. If a wide margin of you potential customers read the New York Times, you'll want to advertise there. If they are a more tech-savvy bunch, making your brand well known on the Internet will become a priority.
Once you know who you are trying to speak to, you have to figure out how. Decide what makes your company unique. What distinguishes you from the other guys? Why should a customer come to you instead of the competition? It is in developing those unique selling points that gives a face to your company.
Perhaps it is dependability, innovativeness, or creativity that sets you apart. Regardless of what it is, choose a couple of stand-out qualities and focus on them in the branding process.
Getting Your Brand Noticed
There are several ways to make your brand known to customers. The two main methods are the visual approach and the verbal approach. Any company would be wise to utilize both.
The visual approach involves a specific look to your brand that will be recognized no matter what the context. The best way to do this is through a logo. While it is helpful to have several versions of your logo to fit into different promotional settings, it is essential that a common "look" is maintained throughout.
Remember: what the eyes see, the brain remembers. Whether it be an identifiable font or a memorable graphic, the visual side of branding has become increasingly important in our media-saturated culture.
The verbal aspect of branding is directly connected to the visual. Sometimes they are one in the same, other times the words appear alone, away from the established "look." The wording involved in the brand becomes evermore vital when separated from the visual.
Choosing a good name for your company is part of the branding process. Be sure to choose a name that is descriptive. Don't get too creative with made-up titles that "sound cool." They might be pleasing to the ear, but they won't be remembered by the brain. Whether a customer sees the brand name with your logo or in a newspaper article in plain text, they should instantly recognize it.
A tagline can also be helpful in bolstering the brand. Taglines should always be short and sweet. Something clever or catchy will stick in the memories of customers the same way an attractive logo will.
Marketing With Confidence
You thought coming up with a brand was challenging, now try maintaining it. A devotion to your brand displays a devotion to your customers. It also shows that you have confidence in your product. Consumers will perceive that confidence and subconsciously internalise a feeling of trust for your brand.
It is that positive gut-reaction that you want. A creative, confident brand is generally the face on a creative and confident company, and that is something any customer will notice and remember.

Johnny Albertson is a musician, blogger and writer.

Learn how to build Brands

Branding Yourself as an Expert

Putting a Face to a Name: Developing a Company Brand