Like it or not, the time for ignoring video in your marketing has come and gone. It is easy to discount video by saying most people you know don’t like watching videos but do they really? Next time when you are researching a product, pay attention to your behavior. In addition to reading about the product and clicking pictures, there’s a good chance you will watch a short video to witness for yourself how the product looks and works. Besides instructions, video can be a great branding tool too. These are exactly the things we talk to Lou Bortone about…

[slideshare id=27090841&doc=newsjacking-131011035445-phpapp02] Here’s an interesting presentation I came across. I’d never heard of the term newsjacking before but it’s pretty interesting. The slide shows you two examples although one is in French so if you don’t read French, you’re left with one example. It’s still pretty clear how it works. In short, you do a soft pitch relating your solution to an event that is happening or developing. Then write your press release.

Aren’t there a lot more important things for busy entrepreneurs to do than write blog posts? I suppose you could say yes, but on the other hand, if you want to utilize the Internet to help market your business and your brand, you need to create content. It’s the currency of the Internet. It buys you some attention in a very noisy world. In this episode I share 10 ideas to crank these posts out. Listen closely because there are a few suggestions how you can systemize the process so you can semi-automate the publishing process without tech involved. Key…

Make no mistake about it – the design and branding elements of your website matter. Without a quality design you’ll lose potential customers, as new visitors quickly click away from your site. And without strong branding elements it will be difficult for visitors to remember your site once they leave it. Design and Branding Support Your Bottom Line All this doesn’t mean that you should put all of your time and energy into your website design and your online branding efforts. Design and branding shouldn’t be business goals in and of themselves. Rather, design and branding are techniques matter only…

Return on investment or ROI can be realized in any number of ways. As a starter, one good way is to have a look at the brand as it sits today – before the branding process. What ever that perception is, it’s the reality of the brand. Then when the process is complete – maybe six months to a year out, evaluate the perception again and see what the difference is. Any positive bump contributes the brand’s ROI. A lot of companies headed by boomers are looking at the future and their place in it. They are using branding to…

Never before has community been so useful to help small businesses build their brands. This is always a fascinating topic because if you can pull it off, a loyal community will spread the word and defend you when you hit a rough patch. This week, we talk to Lain Ehmann of Layout a Day. Listen to her talk about how she built a loyal following and a fantastic brand from something she enjoys doing – scrapbooking. Key Takeaways Find your unfair advantage and leverage it. Be intentional. Find ways to bring your identity to life in every piece of communication.…

In today’s world, branding your website and branding your business are not much different, so the branding steps you take on your website are going to be strong branding aspects of your overall business. With that in mind, here are five important website branding elements to consider. 1. Your Name Your business name is likely to be where all your branding efforts start, as it is likely to be the foundation for all “higher level” branding efforts that you undertake throughout your website. The name you choose should be memorable. In many instances a potential customer will come across your…

There are many good reasons why a company might want to re-brand. Entrepreneurs by their nature see the benefits in upping their game. Constantly raising the bar within their category keeps the competition on edge. They spend more time keeping up or as I like to say, “Following, not leading.” A common mistake you’ll see all around you is companies who think re-branding is changing their logos and marketing materials. Without a doubt this may indeed happen with are-branding, BUT it is by no means the definition of re-branding. You would want to re-brand if you are looking for positive…

If you’ve been in business for a while, you’d probably think. Nope, not me. I don’t give up easily. My question to you is, are you sure? As someone who is very driven, the last thing I’d say about myself. It’s not possible. In fact, someone once sent me a card commending my determination. However, thinking back, there are lots of things inside our business itself that I’ve given up on and many of them – now I realize, far too quickly, much too easily. Listen in as I unpack this. Key Takeaways Don’t stop promoting. If you don’t talk…

With the Kindle revolution these days, it seems like everyone has a book. Does it even mean anything anymore to be called an author? The truth is, it still is very much a big deal to be an author of a book. It’s great for business and it can do wonders for your brand if done right. Our guest Kristen Eckstein talks to us this week why you don’t want to publish on the Kindle only, when is the right time to choose Kindle, and a lot more. Key Takeaways Books help you reach new people Books strengthens your authority…