Get Slightly Famous - Part III: Your Brand - The Soul of Your Company

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**The Spotlight**
Weekly Lessons in Attracting More
Attention To Your Business
August 2, 2006 Edition
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Dr. Barry W. Morris, Editor
Visit My Site:
http://BarryMorris.com

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1) This Week's Article:

Getting Slightly Famous: Part III
Your Brand: The Soul of Your Company


2) NEW Resources for Your Business
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And now for this week's article...

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Getting Slightly Famous! Part III
Your Brand: The Soul of Your Company
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Question: What do The Rolling Stones, Oprah,
Dr. Phil, and Paris Hilton all have in common?

Answer: They all need serious therapy. Kidding.
In fact, all are great example of the power of a
personal brand.

Each is synonymous with an intangible quality
that drives their brand. You might call them
perpetual branding machines!

Ever see an episode of Dr. Phil or Oprah and not see
raving fans in the audience? Doesn't happen.

Have you seen the Stones live in concert? There isn't a passive
fan in the stadium. Fifty-thousand screaming heads...minimum.

And what about Paris Hilton. It's a good thing most
cameras are digital these days, because the paparazzi would
have tapped the global silver reserves if traditional
film were being used.

Like 'em or not, each member of the Branding Hall of Fame
above have a fanatical following.

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Create a Brand, Create a Following
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Branding your business can produce tangible effects
like greater loyalty, raving fans, increased site
traffic, more money flowing into your pockets, etc.

That's one of the powerful effects of personal brand.
It creates a stir. It makes you memorable.

It's safe to say that it's the soul of your business.
"Your brand holds your entire slightly famous
marketing strategy together," writes Steven Van
Yoder is his book, Get Slightly Famous.

It sends a deliberate message that encompasses all
aspects of your business: your products, your mission,
your customer service, everything.

Sounds pretty darned important, this branding thing, huh?
You betcha.

And whether or not you choose to "brand" (rare verb form),
you've got one. Whatever perception exists around your
business....that's your brand. Like it or not.

It's the soul of your business. It's there.
Even if you've not lifted a finger in order to
establish it, your brand is working.

But, is it working for or against you?
If you've positioned your business as suggested
in the two previous articles in this series, chances are
pretty good that your brand is working for you.


If you're in the camp of readers who are saying,
"Brand? What brand,", then it's safe to say yours
isn't working out so great.

Bottom line: If you've got a brand, why not make it
work a little harder?

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It's Your Brand, Make it Work
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Not long ago I saw a commercial on television for
a financial institution. A guy walks into this
living room to sees a bunch and dollar bills working out
to an exercise video on the TV.

The tag line goes something like: "It's your money;
Why not make it work a little?"

OK, so you've got a brand.
What can you do to make it work for you?

A few things come to mind....

1. Make it Relevant
A brand has got to stand for something. It's got to convey
a certain amount of meaning to your target market to be relevant.
Make it reflect the total experience of doing business with you.

2. Make it Consistent
A brand works for you when your clients know what you're
going to deliver in terms of product, services, or identity.
Whenever I walk into Starbucks (you know I do this a lot),
I can be assured of the taste of the product, its packaging,
and the customer service with which it's delivered.
That's consistency in branding.

3. Become the Brand
You have a tremendous responsibility to your customers
to become as knowledgeable as possible about your area
of expertise. You owe it to them. Become the knowledge
source for your target market and your brand will work
overtime in attracting the right clients to your business.

But you can also make it personal.

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The Brand Is You
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Personality branding is perhaps the most powerful
kind of branding for a small business.

Steven Van Yoder says:
"It's a strategy that showcases your personality and
equates it with your business to produce an emotional
bond with your prospects."

And he's right.
When you put a human face on your business, it creates
an emotional link with your prospects and your existing
clients. It softens your appeal.

Instead of being "Copywriting Strategy Associates," which
sounds pretty scary to me, I chose my own name for my
business and for my web site. After all, last time I checked,
mine was still the only name on the mailbox.

Personality branding allows your prospects and clients to
glimpse the you behind the company. On my web site, I post
a personal glimpse into my life on the About Me page. It's
posted for a reason.

I want my personality, the Barry-behind-the-BarryMorris.com
to be real and personable. I do this in support of my own
personal brand.

Some web sites that do a good job of personality branding are
run by colleagues of mine:
1. www.adamkayce.com
Adam's personality shines through on every page.
2. www.letsdothework.com
Mona's personality also is evident on each page.
3. www.heartofbusiness.com
Mark's highly personal communication style mirrors
his personality.
4. www.psychotactics.com
Sean D'Souza...zany, witty, did I mention zany?

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Final Thoughts
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In it's simplest terms, your brand is the perception
that your target market holds of you and your business.

Your brand is something that exists whether you want
it to or not. That it exists, is a given.
What you make of it, remains your choice.

In this article we've seen examples of how a brand
makes a promise. It promises that you will deliver
in terms of quality and service.

Branding your business with your own personality
forges an emotional link between you and your target
market. This link creates trust.

Trust is the very foundation of every successful business.

=-=-=-=-

Next week we'll talk about strategies for
attracting media attention!

Until then, thanks for reading!

Barry


P.S. As always, you can shoot me a response, a criticism,
even a compliment ;-) here: Barry@BarryMorris.com

============================
RESOURCES FOR YOUR BUSINESS:
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The Web Leads Generation Teleclass
BarryMorris.com
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Is your web site generating enough leads?
This 90-minute mp3 file teaches you everything
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site that helps generate leads and qualify prospects.
For more information, check this out:
http://barrymorris.com/web_strategies.html


Info Guru Marketing Manual
Action Plan Marketing
-----------------------------------------------
Barry's Note: Marketing your small business can be
like walking through a maze. What I like about this
resource is that Robert takes you by the hand and
leads you, step-by-step, from knowing zilch about
marketing to knowing how best to market your solo
venture. It comes with down-loadable audio files that
you can refer to again and again. I purchased this
complete How-To manual over two years ago and I still
use it...every day. Details here:
http://tinyurl.com/av5ur

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Dr. Barry W. Morris, author of A Copywriter's Dream Business:
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