What do you use when creating accounts at social networks, video sharing sites, forums and the like? If you’re using a nickname from your school days you may be missing out on the opportunity to further spread your brand name. Why? Because on some networks, usernames are what people use to look you up. Usernames are also sometimes used in the URL of your profile’s pages. Also, on average many of us belong to more than one social network. The more consistent we are on all these sites, the more often we get our name in front of our audience. For many of…

It’s not at all unusual for an entrepreneur to start in one direction only to change their mind and turn towards something new. If the change is dramatic you know you’ll be starting from scratch as far as developing a new business brand, but what if the change is more subtle or takes place over time? When is it time to scrap the old brand and go for something completely new? When is it ok to ‘tweak’ what you have to avoid a complete do-over? Wendy Peirsall tackled a big branding decision and knows the great challenge of facing these…

As easy as it may sound, starting an online business is not something to be taken lightly and does involve hard work. Just like any other business, there are a few important things to consider when starting your online business. Here are six areas that should be top on the to-do list of anyone starting an Internet based business. Determining a Target Market Without knowing who you will market to, how can any business owner be truly successful? Sure, big companies can get away with marketing to a large arena of individuals from all walks of life, but as a…

Well here we are, a brand new design for a brand new journey. Since taking over Small Business Branding, I truly feel like I’ve had a hand in developing the future for this site. I’d like to give Ben Bleikamp a big Thank You for bringing my ideas for the new site to light. He’s an excellent designer and is a true professional to work with. He got things done on time and all within 1 month! Also a nice thanks to my friend Nola who designed the new logo for us and for rushing my new business cards in…

So, you want to create an effective website or blog. Do you know where to put the most critical data? How to design the page to optimize usability? You should know what eye tracking tells us. Using a combination of complex hardware and data analysis, eye tracking maps a tester’s eye movements across a computer screen and assesses the amount of mental strain exerted at any given moment. It does this by recording scanning patterns of the eye, measuring pupil dilation (which correlates to cognitive effort) and taking over 250 observations of each eye per second. A minuscule percentage of…

It’s not often I get a chance to get out and get to seminars. With 3 kids, a cat, and a husband this Small Business Mom is working hard getting kids to and from school along with all of my business responsibilities. But I have got to take the opportunity when it hits my own hometown! I’ve been to many Small Business Meetings at the different malls that I had stores in and I can tell you that they were all quite boring. Give me ideas, strategies, and things I can use NOW to develop my business. Not a marketing…

After a great conversation with a coaching client this week I have been thinking about how different businesses target a niche and I’d like to tap the great pool of branding knowledge here for some input. Sometimes a business goes for the obvious approach. In the Virtual Assistant industry there are providers who have niched themselves to a particular group of potential clients by declaring the niche in their name. (Internet Marketers VA, Writer Support VA, New Media VA) It’s clear to anyone who sees their business card or visits their website that they are niche focused. Their choice of…

No matter what industry you are in, there are regulations in place to make your company comply with preset standards of practice. These standards are known as compliances. Some are set in place by government agencies and the others are professional compliances both internal and external. Government compliances in many cases deal with health, safety and security to name a few. Business owners have mixed emotions about compliances. In most cases, compliances are viewed with distain for many reasons over and above the expense of it. What should be recognized as important is the effect on your brand your compliances…

If you are looking to position yourself as a thought leader in your field, one of the opportunities that many people forget to use is that of becoming a central resource for their clients and potential clients. By keeping up to date with the leading edge thinking in your area from books to research, or even events that you attend, your clients will soon come to realize that you know your area of expertise. In addition, writing reviews of those books or reports with your perspective is also a valuable resource, and increasingly you can do this online at your…

I can list off a bunch of adages about planning. And as I do, you’re going to nod and agree. After all, it makes good sense. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” “Measure twice, cut once.” “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” While you are nodding at the wisdom, ponder this: why don’t you have a marketing plan? Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. And don’t try to count the “to do” list or the “if I had more time, I would…” ticker…