LITR TALK BACK BLOG April 5, 2008

What is branding and how can I uBarbara L. Sydney, Australia Branding is the key to your marketing efforts. Your brand is how people will indentify and remember you. It all starts with your logo. My advice is to have this professionally prepared because "you never get a second chance to make a great first impression". Now this logo should appear on ALL your on-line and off-line collaterals. Simply put, your headers/footers and every page on your website, URL, emails, blogs, videos, radio show banners, newsletters, faxes, invoices, business cards, posters, trade show banners, and even in your phone conversations/messages. Any and all communication should have your logo inserted to make it effective. Make it easy for people to remember it by creating an image in their mind or phrase that rolls off their tongue. Now repeat it. (Have you noticed how many times we used LITR?) Repetition keeps the name in front of your client or potential client every step of the way. Now the question, Who is your target market that you are branding to? It is so important to understand what kind of people make up your market; otherwise known as your demographics. With out this knowledge its like trying to drive your car without a steering wheel. Demographics consist of age, sex, income, area where they reside, income bracket, purchasing power, frequency of purchasing, motivations to making a purchase, educational level, type of employment, and areas of interest in business/leisure/home. You certainly can expand this to include more catagories but this will get you started. Where can you get these demographics? Well there are two ways you can get this information. One is online or the library with assistance from your local librarian. The other, if you have an email data base and business in place, is to query your list. Provide them a freebie, like a downloadable digital product of yours like an MP3 or e-book in exchange for this information. Now demographics also should be considered especially when designing or reworking your website. Usability and functionality are your watch words here. For example, less tech savvy users, like some older age groups will prefer a more traditional design. While media sophisticated younger visitors will appreciate more technical wizardry. Perception of your website is another important consideration. If you are working in the B2B arena then a formal business approach is what is expected. Corporate America likes to know that when it spends money, they are purchasing a professional service, rather than just blindly aligning with a brand. On ther other hand, if you are interested in the consumer market, they will respond better to a social, friendly, generous, and service oriented style of communication. Understanding this often overlooked distinction in Perception is the basis of the development of your brand recognition; which could lead to brand loyalty..ala "I've got people." like H&R Block is now saying in their ads. Promotions are how people are going to find out about your brand. For example, if you can count how many times we use LITR throughout our website we will send you a link to a MP3 Reducer audio web tool. To be eligible for this promotion just send an email to us with your guess by April 8th, 12:00 midnight PST. Utilizing a promotion or giveaway can jump start the visibility of your web site. You can even have it set-up automatically whereby by you can collect email addresses to build your data base and have an auto responder send out a thank you letter and the giveaway. This simple technique will raise your visitor count, start your brand recognition on its path, and show your visitors that you are of service to them. Plus it will encourage them to save your link and to share it with others. Now don't be shy about your promotional efforts either. Use it in every form of communication as described above with your logo. The keys to getting noticed are to create a small window of opportunity and an urgency for the person to respond. This is known as the law of "Recipricocity". Every long term successful business utilizes this basic law to maintain and develop new relationships, which at the end of the day, is what its all about. Talk Back at you later! Stephan www.linkedin.com/in/liveinternettalkradio