by Miriam Hara | Nov 5, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Social Media
With so much of business communications today being in the written channel, and so much of it being immediate with Social Media, the tone in which a brand communicates with is increasingly important. We all know that so much of what we say really comes down to how we say it. The same choice of words can come across as either complimentary or insulting. Ultimately, it’s all in the delivery.
Deciphering communication tonality in the digital space isn’t easy. The handling and implementation of any social media initiative (especially when it deals with a brand) is fraught with potentially explosive minefields. Brands are complex entities, and as such a brand’s attitude, style and characteristics must be taken into account with every Facebook update, LinkedIn response or blog post.
So how can you make the most of your Brand’s social media initiatives and business communications? By ensuring that you strike the right cord and the proper stance in all your online communications. Here’s how:
- Take a page or two from your marketing plan… truthfully. We all can agree that the social media channel is relatively new, while Marketing is not. Go back to the basics. What makes your brand special to its audience? Look to how your brand communicates in the more classic channels, such as print ads, radio ads or even packaging. If it’s a product, how does the package look? If it’s a service, what does the name and logo represent? If you’ve advertised in community papers or created radio ads, you already have a good basis of understanding of what your tonality should be. Are you casual? Formal? Sophisticated? Friendly? Is your brand body language open, informative and approachable or at arm’s length? Regardless of style, your brand must always be honest, straightforward and truthful.
- Understand your audience. Knowing who your target audience is… well, not enough. Like everything else in branding or business, understanding your audience on a deeper level is essential to your brand’s success. What makes them purchase your brand? What’s their style? Do they enjoy extreme sports? Drive a sports car? Like fishing? Answering these and other questions will allow your brand to connect with its audience and meet their expectations. If your brand needs to put on a suit or dress business casual, then your writing tonality should follow the same line.
- Follow the Brand Guidelines. If your brand doesn’t have any, then you should seriously consider creating them. It use to be that brand guidelines spoke only to the visual treatment of a brand’s logo. (typesetting, font, colour, etc), However today’s guidelines also cover brand voice and brand persona which are very good indicators and references for brand tonality.
- Stay consistent with your brand’s persona. Is you brand premium priced? Made in Europe? American? Canada? Is it an innovative product, or just a better or cheaper version of an existing one? All of these factors play a significant role in determining what your brand’s social media tonality will be.
- Take the lead from your brand’s website. It is important to understand and address the digital channel in its entirety. Your brand’s social media efforts must be an extension of your brand’s website. The tonality for the brand must be holistic. Websites should always be created with a sound understanding of brand voice and brand persona. If this is the way your brand’s site was written, you already have a good foundation for developing your style with posts or blogging.
Your brand’s body language is determined by your brand’s tonality. Make sure you’ve got the right posture to make sure your brand’s success in your social media initiatives.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 29, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success
The word branding is definitely a verb. It takes thought, intention and actions to turn a brand into a Brand.
If you take a product that delivers on its promise, give it a great name, an iconic logo and a fantastic well thought out tagline, you’re set – you have the makings of a brand. All of these elements are great, but quite frankly, if you don’t intentionally do, you’ll risk your Brand’s demise or fall short of your Brand’s potential. In order for a brand to become a Brand, it must in fact start to act. It’s important to not only look like a brand – it’s important to “walk” like a brand. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a corporate executive in charge of brand marketing; an individual trying to become a personal brand or a major chain retail outlet; the act of becoming a brand is essentially the same
In order for a product to become a brand and establish itself as a winning brand it must adhere to the following brand exercises:
Brand Consistency: Your audience needs to recognize your Brand instantly. How can they do that if consumers are always being shown inconsistencies in style, colour, tonality or voice. Determine what these brand layers are for your Brand and feature your Brand within the same context, consistently, consecutively and simultaneously. Brand can only be established if the message is always presented in the same way. There are no short cuts in developing a brand. Cost cutting measures early in the game will often harm the Brand’s development and stunt its growth… indefinitely.
Repetitive Brand Visibility: It doesn’t matter if it’s by placing a business card sized ad in the community paper or developing a full-scale national advertising campaign, whatever your Brand is about, its messaging must be consistent with every communications initiative. Think of it like filling a bucket with water, one drop at a time. All these drops will eventually fill the bucket. Branding is about repeating your message, in a variety of different ways. It doesn’t matter if it’s an event, social media endeavour, advertising campaign, premium giveaway or a website – all visibility goes into the same bucket.
Brand Originality: Dare for your brand to be “un”-ordinary. Yes, be over the top if needed – “extra”-ordinary. If you are trying to achieve your Personal Brand or launching a product, dare to be bold in how and where you communicate. Just like no two people are truly alike, the same applies to brands – no two are alike. Take one element of your Brand’s Persona (big or small) and blow it out of proportion. This refers to colour, typeface, logo, or even a sound logo. Whatever element it is, it must be your Brand’s and your Brand’s alone. This will allow you to “own” the market. Others can and will try to mimic your brand, but they will end up falling short.
Consistency, repetitive brand visibility and originality – these actions will turn your brand into a Brand.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 23, 2012 | Business Success, Social Media
The social media channel:
It’s the new channel, the new trend and everyone and every brand that doesn’t want to be left behind is jumping right on. Needless to say the hype is gaining momentum and believe it or not, has still not peaked. Like everything that is new, exciting and quickly evolving, there are many misconceptions and myths about the Social Media channel. Here are just 5 myths that I would like to dispel. Forgive my tone (I tend to get passionate!).
Social Media Experts: What does it take to be Social Media savvy? Is it a matter of having a Twitter account and tweeting or just pushing out content? I interviewed many candidates that say that they are experts only to find out they know how to post on Facebook and Twitter but have no knowledge of insights and measurement tools. Knowing Facebook and Twitter, oh and let’s not forget LinkedIn, doesn’t make you an expert. Social media is so much more than those three platforms (!). It’s relating to trends, it’s content creation (blogging) and it’s understanding SEO! It’s integrating landing pages, it’s about engagement and mobile and hey… it’s also understanding website analytics (can you say Google Analytics?)! but mostly it’s about how to maximize return on you’re content.
Social Media is Inexpensive: You can achieve success in less than 15 minutes a day? Really? I’m a firm believer on you “get back” what you put in. So if you only spend 15 minutes a day on your Social Media initiatives, you’ll only get that back in return… or less. Social Media takes time and effort. It’s about social engagement. That means you have to be in tuned to your market’s interests and take advantage of opportunities that daily trends provide. You need to make sure that you contribute value to your audience and your community. To be part of your audience’s inner circle, you must invest the time. So ask yourself: “How much is your time really worth?”
Anyone Can Do It: This is really part B to the first myth listed above about Social Media Experts. It irks me that people really believe anyone can do it. If you are going to embrace the Social Media Channel, one thing you should assess is how to maximize return on you’re initiative (content). Just like speaking English doesn’t make you a writer and knowing design and Photoshop software doesn’t make you a graphic designer; knowing how to tweet or post to Facebook, doesn’t make you a marketing professional.
Social Media is a Fad: News flash: Social Media is here to stay. It’s a good vehicle to engage your audience and be present during the customer decision making journey. As a business and as a brand, you really need to get your head around that or get left behind. It’s a strong awareness building tool, and if you want to be considered when customers are ready to buy… then you need to be present. Social Media is part of the marketing channels and is here to stay! As such, there needs to be an intended result, a building of strategy and a consistent, constant approach.
Social Media is All You Need: Right now, Social Media is top of mind, constantly on topic, on trend. Does anyone remember when web sites first made their debut into the business world, and hence, the marketing world. How about online digital advertising? None of these were fads and none of these have disappeared. They have their place in any solid marketing and advertising campaign. I believe that Social Media too, will take it’s rightful place in the Marketing Channel Mix – keyword being mix, melody, part of a recipe, etc…
Social Media does not take the place of Marketing. The way I see it, Marketing has always been evolving. It has always had to develop and grow. I know this is a leap, but Marketing had to evolve when television first arrived. Social Media is the new Marketing Evolution.
What are some myths that you have encountered in your initiation to Social Media? I’d love to hear about them.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 22, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Social Media
In the fast paced world of Social Media, every bit of knowledge to maximize the exposure of your blog posts is gold!
I found this infographic very interesting and useful. Thank you LaunchGrowJoy.comfor sharing this.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 18, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative
Listen up Marketing Vice-Presidents, Professionals, Brand Managers, Ambassadors and Gurus… I know only too well that it’s hard to separate yourself from the Brand you’re responsible for. After all, you work it, live it, breath it – 24/7. You understand it intimately, better than anyone else. You define its market and potential, watch its competitors (with disdain!), develop the strategy that will give it wings, provide its raison d’être (USP). Then – fight for the budget by promising the powers that be that just around the corner, there’s profit to be had (ROI)… if only they would believe, like you believe.
When you’ve done all all that and successfully received the sought after funds, you need to entrust it to an “outsider” (yes, an advertising agency!) to communicate to the world what you know is this Brand’s promise and truth… The “how” and the “why” of it.
So off goes the agency’s team, armed with your Communications Brief, Brand Guidelines, Brand’s positioning statement, market assessment and competitor’s information. They come back with creative that responds to brief, the market conditions and provides a good solid plan on how to obtain the objective that is required for that ever elusive ROI.
That’s when it begins, the shift from professional objectivity to personal judgement. That’s when business and marketing professionals change hats and become emotional human beings. The tweaks, the design directives, the micro management of font selection, type treatment, the scrutiny, the judgement calls, all about the creative. I am not suggesting for one minute that all agency work is on target, on point or on brief. Although, I am not quite sure how it can’t be if the brief provided was correct. The development and creation of Marketing Creative and ideation is very rational. Rationality doesn’t take away from creativity. Quite the contrary, it adds to it. Marketing creative is about thinking inside the box… the box that was created by the Brand Keeper.
Assessing Brand Creative properly is as important as writing a solid Marketing Plan. It’s important to learn how to assess creative effectively and efficiently. Here are 9 questions to ask yourself when assessing Brand Creative.
- Are you walking in your targets’ shoes? Remember, you aren’t the target market, even if you fit the demographic profile. You are a Marketer, and more specifically the Marketer of this product!
- Is the product benefit easily communicated? Is the communication efficient. Does the creative speak succinctly and effortlessly about the end benefit.
- Does the creative deliver? Does it offer consumers the reasons to believe so that they can take the next step in the customer journey.
- Does the creative adhere to Brand Guidelines? A good brand agency lives by guidelines. Any agency that doesn’t isn’t a brand agency.
- Is the creative in line with the Brand Persona and the Brand Voice? This is the most subtle and intuitive part of any creative. Refer back to your communications brief for guidance.
- Is the creative original and Brand Unique? Does it provide a strong identification with the Brand… and only this Brand.
- Is it provocative? No, I don’t mean showing bare skin, I mean does it resonate and engage the audience? It must provide traction to gain brand awareness.
- Is it respectful to the Brand and its audience? Does it speak to consumers and not at them, does it value the consumer’s time and mind?
- Does it work as a unit? It’s very easy to zero in on a word, colour, or small detail. The more you focus on it, the bigger it becomes and the more you feel compelled to fix it. But don’t try to fix it yourself. Articulate what is bothering you and let the agency resolve the issue. Creative is a process, so there is always room for improvement. Make that improvement effortless by communicating the issue, rather than trying to provide the solution.
I recognize that it’s not easy to let go. Often the creative of marketing is the “fun part”. Good agencies make it appear easy, but it’s not. In closing I will only say and I know it’s hard to hear but it doesn’t matter that you, the Brand Keeper, like purple or green, or that you prefer a serif type face or the use of a particular word. In short, it’s not about you. It’s about the Brand that you have been entrusted with. and have in turn, entrusted to brand agency to ensure its healthy growth by developing a strong brand awareness and position within the market.
by Saara Jafari | Oct 17, 2012 | Business Success
The catchiest of phrases… and we all know it… “Which would you rather be… do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?”
I can’t help it. Whenever I hear this phrase, the image that pops up in my head is of a big fish getting really bored and stifled in a small pond or a little cute goldfish in a big pond being eaten by the bigger fish.
But why do I need to be either? Why can’t I just be an illustrious ant or a honey bee collecting my food and preparing for the future? The point is why must I be restrained by these preconceived notions when making my career choices? Does size really matter?
Having the unique perspective gained from working international in both small and large organizations, I have first hand experience of working in a one-man, family run business and a full blown Corporate Head Office. We’ve all heard it. The myths and the conventional wisdom of working for small or large businesses from “you will learn a lot in a small company” to “big corporations provide better career growth opportunities”… and everything and anything in between.
Personally, there’s no right or wrong. It ultimately is a matter of what suits you and what is conducive to your personality and experience level. Having worked with differently sized and structured companies, one thing is clear… work satisfaction depends on the leader’s management style. Big or small, that’s all that really matters. Some managers like to groom you or give you the freedom to bring in your unique style of work while others like to micro-manage or to delegate their decision making, and yet again, some like to spend time on training new people while others don’t.
In big companies, the hierarchical structure provides an immediate supervisor who is there to provide training and supervision using existing company training resources. Job roles are also more specialized enabling the person to get a good grasp over his/her specific domain. On the other hand, in a small but fast paced company, it is difficult for a new person with no experience to survive if no training is being provided. Depending on your character and personality traits, at the beginning of your career, this could be devastating for your self esteem.
Since big corporations have larger teams and more resources, they have the money to spend on training and development of their employees. Annual appraisals and promotions also provide a sense of accomplishment to employees motivating them to perform better and grow further. It is also easier to have a work life balance since there are systems in place to provide employees with a balanced workload and working hours. Sounds great? Again, depending on your chosen career path and your ultimate objective, as well as your personality, being in a silo environment may stifle your long term career plan.
In small companies, due to a constraint of resources and funds learning is gained on-the-job – one person usually ends up wearing many hats having a wider scope of learning… however, dedication towards the job is often mandatory which means hours… compromising on valuable family time or outside work interest or self development projects.
Where you should work depends largely, on what you want to learn, how passionate a drive you have and where you want to go. So there is no simple answer to whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond. Either way, big fish… small fish, you will belong in a school that collectively moves in the same direction, working together to reach a common objective.
So what’s it going to be… Big or Small?
