by Miriam Hara | Oct 21, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
Where is brand awareness today?
Many marketers and business executives don’t value brand awareness as much as they did a decade ago. Some say it’s a thing of the past while others insist that it’s alive and well. For those who are in the former camp, I would urge them to think again. Investors put a lot of stock (excuse the pun!) in brand awareness. In fact, it plays a significant role in determining whether or not they will support a product or company.
Brand awareness is no longer about yelling the loudest and longest. Now it’s really about breaking away from the clutter to make your brand impression count.
Rather than trying to convince non-believers that brand awareness really does increase ROI, the aim of this post is to carve out what the building blocks of brand awareness are in today’s multidimensional market environment.
Be different: In order to develop brand awareness you need to provide your consumer base with something to remember and want to talk about. Your brand needs be solid and stand out through its brand persona, premise and brand positioning. It’s not enough to just talk at people anymore, brands must engage and interact with their audience. This is becoming increasingly important for building solid brand awareness. In order to do that, your brand needs to establish a voice and tone.
Get found: It’s important that your marketing strategy includes a strong SEO component. This should include a comprehensive online advertising campaign or a google keyword campaign.
Be engaged: One of the marketing channels available to us now is social media. How effectively you use this channel can mean the difference between success and failure. So it’s important that your marketing plan include a social media strategy in order to increase engagement and build upon your other SEO initiatives.
Be holistic: Don’t just rely on new media, make sure you have a good dose of traditional media too. I often laugh when people say, “Traditional media is no longer effective”, especially when I come across 30 second TV or radio ads urging me to go to Facebook and “Like” them! And yes, you’ll also find the same message in print media. But regardless of what channel you choose to communicate in, make sure that all your communications tactics drive your point of contact to the same place.
Be consistent: Don’t rely on a one hit wonder, especially with branding! It takes a solid, consistent commitment to build brand awareness. The good news is that with social media, relative to traditional media, being “out there” doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money – but it does take a lot of time and planning.
Be website ready: There’s nothing worse than having your audience listen and engage with your brand only to direct them to a website that isn’t primed to take advantage of that opportunity! First impressions count. And in today’s environment, that means your website has to perform well by creating a positive experience to potential consumers and customers.
How do you feel about building brand awareness in the current market conditions? And what have you done to outperform your competitors?
Please share your thoughts here…
by Miriam Hara | Oct 19, 2013 | Design, Interactive, Latest
It’s no longer good enough for businesses and their brands to have brochure websites. Now websites have to work a lot harder – especially when it comes to establishing business creditability within the internet environment. An integral part of any solid website design is having navigation that’s easy to follow in order to access information and improve performance on the www.
Any solid website design should consider the following to perform well on the internet.
Allow for social media integration.
The evolution of website design has kept pace with the emergence of social media as well as the various blogging platforms that are now available. Opt for content to provide value rather than glitz and great flash animations, these tire quickly. Credible information not only promotes your expertise, it also increases your chances to get found.
Ensure you get found.
What’s the point of having a website if you can’t be found? SEO is as much a part of the development of a website design as the content. Keywords aren’t just for google ad words – they are the cornerstone of your website when it comes to getting found. Make sure you have your h1 tags enriched with keywords that will drive traffic to your site.
Be user-centric.
Make sure that viewers won’t be frustrated navigating your website. You need to keep that bounce rate % down and the enjoyment rate up!
Keep it fresh.
Google is known to change its algorithm quite often. However, good, fresh contest is the basic premise of google search engines. Make sure that your website provides fresh content, often and consistently. And it’s important that this content is relevant information. Add videos, whitepapers, develop ebooks or even publish how-to projects – anything to keep the integrity of the site strong and provide value to those who visit your site.
Build for tomorrow.
Just like urban planning, a website needs a good infrastructure to build upon. The front end of a website is what we in the marketing field describe as “fun”, but ultimately it’s the navigation and structure of the site that will enable your brand site to really perform.
Who goes there?
Having good solid traffic is great. But if you don’t know who visits your website, you’re only scratching the surface of what your website can do for your business. Make your website work for you – its part or your sales team. Have strategically placed calls to action where you can ask for a visitor’s information. Tie in your social media tactics by adding content like e-books, recipes, entertainment ideas, crafts or scientific white papers to download. But make sure you ask for the visitor’s information to create leads. There are a few good companies such as Hubspot that can assist you in data farming your traffic.
Be responsive!
In today’s competitive and fast paced world, where mobile is becoming the next best thing (if it isn’t already), your site must be responsive… in more ways than one!
Does your website measure up? Take a quick audit of your website against these basic suggestions and see how well your website really performs.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 17, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
B2B social media marketing strategies are not only viable but a must in today’s market landscape.
Many B2B companies opt for traditional direct mail marketing – that’s a good strategy to have. And I don’t want to suggest for one minute that direct mail is no longer a good use of marketing dollars. But what I am saying is that alone, the ROI will be less effective. A solid B2B social media marketing strategy must work cohesively with all other traditional marketing tactics employed. Many businesses are closing themselves off from social media and as a result, selling themselves short.
Social media is not only for consumer packaged good companies. There is also a strong case to be made for B2B social media marketing strategies for B2B. Although, many B2Bs are grappling with the decision about whether to jump into the social media foray… or not.
Well here’s an assessment of why B2B social media initiatives make sense:
The first question to ask is: What accounts for social media in the B2B universe? The social media channel is a strong proponent of niche marketing. What is B2B, if not niche? Traditional marketing and advertising channels have often been very cost prohibitive. With an e-marketing strategy, you can cast your net as wide or narrow as you need for your communications. Also, any digital marketing strategy should include a strong social media component.
Okay, it’s time to get over it and admit the fact that social media isn’t just about Facebook or Twitter. There are many other social media channels that are just right for B2B. LinkedIn is one that naturally comes to mind. However, social media strategies, or more specifically, B2B digital marketing strategies, should always employ a well rounded inclusive plan.
A bit about blogging – I can feel the collective rolling of the eyes! Blogs, or forums if you prefer to call them, are a great way to perpetuate creditability and increase visibility among your niche market. Because a social media marketing plan must include content driven communications. This task may seem daunting. However, with proper planning it can become as easy as writing newsletters or sending direct mail pieces. Building an online community has positive sales implications.
Which brings me to my next point: If B2B is about building relationships then why is B2B social media not on the radar of most B2B marketing plans? Pointing out the obvious: Social media is the new network. It’s the new way to gain, build and leverage business relationships, digitally. The need for businesses to “own” their digital space is increasingly important because the main influencers and decision makers are within the more savvy digital era.
For B2B companies to compete in todays marketing landscape, it is increasingly important that they have a social media footprint. If you need some quick and easy tips on social media, I invite you to download our ebook, Social Media Understood. It’s an easy read that demonstrates that social media isn’t all that complicated. You just have to start – strategically of course!
by Lindsay Sleightholm | Oct 16, 2013 | Branding, Design, Latest, Marketing
Though I’m a big music fan, I’m not going to pretend I know much about the actual music industry. But I do know a lot about graphic design and have my share of marketing know-how. And I recognize that there’s a lot more to creating an iconic band than great guitar riffs and a good-looking lead singer.
Is a band a brand?
Some bands are just bands. They’re not interested in creating an identity for themselves beyond what their music conveys. Although bands who want to get to the next level know that the business of music is not unlike any other business – it requires the use of marketing, advertising and design. Like anything else, good branding can help distinguish them among the competition. Bands have their own identities. Yet as musicians they’re not just creating music, they’re also shaping a brand persona – whether this was their intention or not.
Does a band need marketing and design?
Just like any other brand, a band needs to find its audience and connect with them. This happens of course through their music. However it is also created by the interactions they have with their audience, their public performances and appearances, their official and unofficial videos on YouTube, their presence on social media and their visual identities.
This is where the marketing and design comes in. Visual identities are created in order to market the music. These identities can end up on every facet of their visual branding – from T-shirts to websites. Some of the most successful bands of all time have made great use of this visual medium.
Band brands
So putting my music tastes aside, I’ll throw on my designer hat for my picks of some of the best in band branding.
Kiss
If you google “kiss”, you’ll actually get the band Kiss – which in itself is pretty impressive. Originally known as Wicked Lester, headed by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in 1971. But it wasn’t until 1973 that the name change to Kiss came about and a new image was born. The Kiss logo was first developed by their original lead guitarist Ace Frehley, later to be polished by designer and illustrator Michael Doret.
Since then, they haven’t just put it on a few posters and T-shirts – they ran with it. Combined with their trademark make-up and costumes, the entire Kiss brand has been built into a music empire spanning over four decades.
Chicago
Starting out as cover band The Big Thing in 1967, a name change to The Chicago Transit Authority in 1968 was short-lived due to the threat of legal action from the actual Chicago Transit Authority. By the 1970’s the band became simply Chicago. Their final name logotype was designed by art director John Berg.
That logo has since fronted nearly all of the band’s album covers – taking on a different illustrative style each time – yet remaining true to its original design. It has also earned its place in design history, with a nod from designer and author Philip B. Meggs, in Type and Image: The Language of Graphic Design.
Daft Punk
The French duo that in 1992 was originally called Darlin’, after the Beach Boys song, quickly re-branded themselves as Daft Punk after receiving a negative review describing their music as “a daft punky thrash”.
By the latter half of the 90’s Daft Punk were beginning to not only carve out a place for their unique sound but their solid, albeit unconventional, visual brand. Known now for their look as much their music, the two robot-human hybrids have created an image for themselves without ever showing their faces.
These bands, although completely different in musical genre, have at least one thing in common, they have really taken advantage of branding to boost their identities – as have hundreds of other music greats. The music is their product, but they’ve also crafted a marketable image. And each is an example of how consistent branding can help propel any brand, or band, to the next level.
As most know, a good one-off will only give you your 15 minutes. But great branding, effective marketing and strong design can take what is already unique and give it the stage to really stand apart.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 15, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
A recently shared post written by a colleague about branding promise hit a nerve among marketing professionals. Brand identity value has been a growing cause of concern and debate among those who are in charge of managing and growing brands. Let me say this:
Branding is not dead. And brand identity value is very much alive and changing.
What is required for developing and building a brand identity has evolved. This should not come as a surprise… the market landscape that brands have to communicate effectively in has changed. In the post outlining the importance of brand promise cited above, some felt that the evolving customer journey had left brand, brand identity value and brand premise in the dust. But how accurate is that?
The popularity of social media combined with brand advocates are at the crux of the changing market environment. The customer journey has become a key factor in the implementation of any successful strategies involving brand development and increasing brand identity value. Suffice to say that the social media channel has allowed for the rise of so many niche communities within the social media arena enabling relevant brand advocates. In order to resonate with the evolving and very “vocal” consumer, brand makers and the art of branding itself have been forced to forge new ground.
The fact that consumers now have a voice and can easily “hurt” a brand is true. But the flip side to that argument is that consumers can also use their voice to propel a brand forward. Marketers and the brands who embrace that knowledge while treading cautiously within this channel can reap substantial brand identity wins.
The premise of brand identity value has become increasingly dimensional as it now encompasses brand voice and brand tone to round out its brand persona. No longer are those characteristics reserved to a few brands with hefty budgets. Today any brand, big or small, can dive in and become a dimensional brand. That doesn’t mean that adherence to the basics of building a brand and its identity should go by the wayside – quite the opposite. Due to the immediacy of social media and the often reactionary, volatile nature of the channel, the establishment of brand identity, its guidelines and adherence to character and tone play a significant role in achieving and building a relevant brand identity.
So what do you feel is necessary for a brand to do to keep up its value and relevancy in this market environment?
by Suzy Godefroy | Oct 4, 2013 | Latest, Social Media
In our last blog we talked about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and today we are going to cover SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and Google. SEM is essentially the process of gaining traffic and visibility from search engines through paid advertising and unpaid advertising in Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media applications and on-line websites and blogs.
First and foremost, you need to make sure that your business and/or company is part of the Google family! So be sure to set up your Google accounts as there are several different platforms from Google, so the more user-friendly you are with these tools the more savvy you will be with SEM.
At the #GA Summit a new set of API’s (Application Programmable Interface) were announced to help large companies and their web developers and IT Departments better manage their metrics. These upgrades allow users to seamlessly integrate their software with Google Services such as Google Analytics, Google Adwords and YouTube. As many large corporations have unique demands, manage several websites and have many users. The new API’s will streamline configuring the reports from Google Analytics and cut the amount of time spent reviewing and compiling all of this information so that IT Departments and Marketing can spend more time analyzing the factual insights.
Google Platforms:
Google +: If you are not using Google Plus properly this will affect your ranking with Google and ultimately your SEO or Search Engine Optimization. So make sure you have an account and are updating your account with newsworthy content! Google Plus content helps you with your page rank, and your information stays around for a long time!
Google Analytics: If you are looking to boost sales, improve your mobile app and increase the number of visitors to your website, Facebook followers, Twitter followers, you need to be using Google Analytics and you need to be reviewing this on a regular basis.
Google Tag Management: Just recently, Google has added a new feature called Google Tag Management , which was launched at the #GASummit last week Link to summit . The theme this year was ACCESS, EMPOWER, ACT with numbers and metrics. VP Engineering Paul Mure and Product Management Director Babak Pahlavan talked to the masses about what is coming down the pipeline for Google Analytics. So it was not surprising that Google launched Google Tag Manager. As Tagging is vital to your Search Engine Marketing and performance. Google Tag Manager will help you manage your metrics through Google Analytics and your conversion rates. You can click here to hear the live stream from the #GASummit.
Google AdWords & ADVERTISING: How Google AdWords work is that you set up an account and pay based on a cost-per click. You can also set the payment parameters base on a daily budget that you and your client are both comfortable with. The best part about Google Adwords is that there is no minimum and you are not locked into a contract. You are only charged when someone clicks on your ad to go directly to your website. Again essential for Search Engine Marketing.
YouTube: Again if you are looking for more opportunities for your SEO and SEM make sure you are up-loading content on YouTube. Control your story, start a conversation and keep your audience growing with YouTube and be sure to use YouTube analytics!
