Creating an Amazing Brand on a Budget
When you first start out in business, you know that you have to brand that business. However, what you may not realize is that it won’t necessarily cost you a fortune to do that. With social media and inbound marketing being at its most popular, there are so many ways that you can brand your business effectively and inexpensively.
Getting your business’s name recognized
The first thing that you need to determine is your branding strategy. Part of that strategy is causing strong brand recognition to be generated. If you own a small business, the chances are pretty good that you don’t have a large amount of money to spend on branding your offerings. Of course, it still goes without saying that you still have the same need and urgency to brand your business as larger businesses. Fortunately, there are several different approaches that you can take to successfully brand your business so that the results that are achieved are what you need them to be.
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Make sure that you have a clear understanding of your target audience: It is absolutely imperative that you understand your target audience as thoroughly as possible before you start to brand anything. That means that you need to understand who they are and what they need and want. Only after you have established that will you be ready to come up with a clear strategy for your brand. Of course, all of this must be done before you spend a single dime on branding and marketing.
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Share your knowledge and expertise: You need to come up with ways to share your knowledge with other people, namely, the members of your target audience. You can do this in several ways, including sharing a white paper, eBook, newsletter, blogs, etc. What you will achieve from this is that you will be positioning yourself as a subject matter expert in your niche and Industry. The more people come to understand that you know what you are talking about, the more they will consider you an expert and when they need that particular sort of information, you will be the first person they turn to. In other words, you will be building trust and credibility in your relationships with your target audience members.
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Leverage social media to the best of your ability: As you are well aware, social media holds a great deal of power and you need to take advantage of that power as effectively as you possibly can for your business. Not only is social media marketing powerful but it is also free (in many cases). However, one of your biggest challenges may be which social media channels to choose to market your brand and your offerings. It is very important that you choose those social media channels wisely and that means that you must do your homework before you make any decision about which ones to choose. Some of the contributing factors that will weigh in your decision will be the needs of your target audience as well as the needs of your business. They are all extremely important and should be considered carefully before you make any decisions.
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Work the public relations from a different angle: It is important to recognize that your approach to public relations is not what it would have been previously. In some cases, it is more challenging to work the PR angle for your business. It is important to keep in mind that you need to reach your target audience on an emotional level if you expect to elicit any kind of valuable response at all.
Conclusion
When it comes to branding your business, you can get away with successfully doing that on much less money than you might imagine. Remember to do your homework and make sure that you choose where and with whom to brand in the most appropriate manner possible. It is definitely worth spending more time trying to figure out which approach will work best for you up front so that the process will go smoothly after that. It is important to keep in mind that if your branding concepts and approach are enticing, you will succeed at what you are trying to do and you won’t have to spend a lot of money to do it. It is also important to remember that your content must touch your target audience emotionally and the needs of that audience must be at the top of the priority list.
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Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Dr Brian’s Marketing Network – Magical Marketing Ideas for Top Marketers
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
If the product or service is not exceptional no matter how much you spend it wont be fabulous. Lets take the case of google search in 1999. It was far superior to Yahoo search, then the leader, that it became the fabulous brand with virtually no spending. Google still spend very little on advertising. If you have an average product or service the answer is simply NO CAN DO. If anyone trys to tell you its possible with social media there believing their own hype. WOM will not happen because you are average.
By Fred Held
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Dr Brian’s Marketing Network – Magical Marketing Ideas for Top Marketers
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
Walmart seem pretty average to me with all the ambiance of a warehouse garage sale and similar service standards.
By Charles Masterson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Music Industry Network
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
Awareness ,Connection , target audience and sales planning with proper public relations I found in your article is valuable advice.Well done.
By Christopher Flaherty
First decide who you are. What does your compasny provide and how are yoou different… Have a USP
Next create the basic identify packagwe of at least a business card, a website, a unique logo, letterhead and envelopes or alternately a mastyhead to be used with e-mail.
Join a group whose members are prospcts or referrers. Do not becoime a member of any business group unless you plan to be active. e.g. joining a Chamber of Commerce and not attending networking events is a complete waste of your money. Exception is if you interact with members via social media on a consistent basis.
And finallly evaluate and adjust your approach according to results you get.
S. Marc Tapper, Consultant; S.Marc Tapper and Associates , Encino, CA
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Web
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
What is meant by “Brand”. Is the image of your business i.e. the logo, strap line etc. Or is it something that the owners build through good service and value that that gets to be known about and that makes the logo etc recognisable.
By Maureen Windridge
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Web
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
Think in terms of the ‘Angry Bird’ Brand….it was created by mistake and the developers never looked back…sometimes it isn’t about trying to create a brand but rather let a feeling come to life.
By Daniel Robinson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Web
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
I think more importantly just create something you’re passionate about that peole can believe in. A brand is just the personality of the business.
By Cemanthe McKenzie [LION]
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Web
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
So many small businesses get lost in just the thought of branding. They are so hung up on the immediate sale, coupons and discounting. What they don’t realize is they are creating a brand for themselves by constantly giving away their service or product. They are branding themselves as cheap and less valuable then their competitors. I try hard to get my advertisers to understand perceived value. You are correct, it does not have to cost a fortune. Just be consistent.
By Cheryll Hill
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Web
Discussion: How Do You Create a Fabulous Brand on a Budget?
Maureen, it is both. The best logo in the world won’t carry you if your service/product is bad. And a crappy logo, is well…crappy. It needs to reflect your image as Cemanthe says. Angry Bird has both as well- a fun name and a fun game and the name fits because the characters are a little cranky. My brand is “All American”. Buy Local. You will never see a WalMart or Lowes in my publication, not because they don’t want to be, because it does no fit my model/brand. I have been approached by chains and I respectfully turn them down. I started a little different- I created a mission statement and then my logo morphed to fit it. My original logo was OK but this one says red-white-and blue out loud. I don’t mean literally, as I change the colors to match my cover but it always looks like Your Hometowne. A place you want to be, in my market- not necessarily all markets.
By Cheryll Hill