Tag Archives: promoting yourself

Learn How To Differentiate Brand “You”

We all have a brand.  Some of us just may not know it. And that’s not a good thing.  How are you going to shape and control your brand if you’re not even aware of it?  Or put some energy and focus into getting it right?

You know the answer to that.

You’re not.  And you should.  We all should.

And to achieve successful branding we need to be able to differentiate our brand from all the other brands out there.

Why do you think you never see Christianne Amanpour interviewing a group of, say, automakers, from Detroit? Because that’s not her brand. She’s created a name for herself in exploring and analyzing the issues behind international hot spots like the Middle East.  Or you might see her donning a burka to covertly explore tormented and male dominated society in Afghanistan.

Why do you think Martha Stewart‘s version of The Apprentice took a nose dive?  Because Martha Stewart is not usually thought of in a board room making decisions.  She’s thought of baking the best and most beautiful cherry pies.  Or picking a soft, signature color for a living room.  That’s why her association with KB Homes works.  Because people can see Martha and her expertise in that setting.  Martha Stewart may be a mogul, but people don’t perceive her that way.  Because that’s not her brand.

To examine branding a little more closely let’s take a look at food conglomerate Kraft Foods which sells hundreds of different food items in 155 countries.  Everything from A1 Steak sauce to Jello, Planters Peanuts, Velveeta and Wheat Thins.

Ok. A little further down that food chain, General Foods International is a subdivision of Kraft Foods and it produces several different flavors of instant coffee, everything from Cafe Vienna, Dark Mayan Chocolate, Hazlenut Belgian, Orange Cappuccino and Pumpkin Spice to Viennese Chocolate Cafe.  Not much chance of mistaking Dark Mayan Chocolate with Pumpkin Spice, right?

And it should be the same with each of us.  Our potential audience, customers or clientele should know instantly whether we are Dark Mayan Chocolate or Pumpkin Spice, metaphorically speaking.

For instance, I operate a number of websites, one of which is called AdvancingWomen.com.  It deals with with career and financial parity for women by electronically mentoring them so they have the tools and training to get better jobs or start their own businesses.  Occasionally we mention women running for political office, because, research shows, women legislators will pass laws more supportive of women. Fighting for equal pay would be one example.  No one on the web confuses AdvancingWomen.com with a dating site.  No one goes there for gossip or make-up tips.  We are what we are.  And people know what we are.  We may have a small slice of a large pie, but we do have a slice.  We don’t aim to gobble up the whole pie and lose even our slice in the food fight that follows.  As Esther Dyson, venture capitalist and digital guru said, “More companies die from indigestion than starvation.”  In other words, they take on too much and flame out or stumble down trying to handle it all.

So the bottom line is: Look deep inside yourself and decide who you are.  Narrow your focus.  Concentrate on that. That will be “Brand You”. Broadcast that and you will succeed.

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Go to Your Edge and Push Past It

Go to Your Edge and Push Past It | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing.

AdvancingWomen.com talks quite a bit about putting yourself out there, recognizing the edge of your comfort zone and reaching deep inside yourself to summon all your resources and move beyond it to the next level.  It is not a single act, it is an ongoing process, like exercise to become more fit. So we are in complete agreement with author  John Jantsch who posted this excellent advice on pushing past your edge:

“There is a thread that runs through most Eastern spiritual practices, such as Yoga or meditation, that urges the practitioner to go to the edge of comfort and push just past it before returning. The idea behind this is that the place you push to becomes your new edge for the next time.

Personally I think this notion applies very well to the small business and marketer.

One of the best practices you can adopt in growing your business is to continually look to marketing strategies and tactics that make you uncomfortable and then add them to the mix. Since marketing doesn’t always come naturally to most small business owners this indeed can take intentional practice. The thing though about moving beyond your edge is that you don’t really need to know exactly how you are going to do it, you simply need to commit to doing it and breath.

Here are a few suggestions that you might consider.

  • Contact a local organization and offer to provide a workshop on something you are passionate about.
  • Contact an industry publication, including blogs, and offer to write a killer guest editorial or post
  • Contact an industry rockstar or journalist and request an interview for your podcast or blog
  • Contact a high profile talk show and pitch your killer trend story
  • Pull out a blank sheet of paper and create a list of goals that take your breath away

None of this is that hard by the way. It’s simply a decision. You can’t phone marketing in and expect to grow, you’ve got to go deeper and deeper, day by day, and push beyond your comfort edge.”

For more, see John Jantsch , Entrepreneur, Marketing Coach

Network & Build Expert Credibility At The Same TIme: Content as a Referral Source

Network & Build Expert Credibility At The Same Time: Content as a Referral Source

Here’s a great new service called Help a Reporter Out (HARO) – this service, founded by PR Geek Peter Shankman, matches journalists on a story with expert sources. Anyone can sign up to get the three daily emails full of stories just waiting for you to contribute to.

HARO started out as a Facebook group as a way to keep track of journalist’s looking for a particular expert for a story. The free service, that essentially hooks journalists up with credible sources to interview, grew rapidly and needed a home off Facebook to manage the size. As of this writing HARO is approaching 20,000 members. Hey, it’s free and its works, no surprise it grew.

Journalists go online fill out a form and their request gets added to the three time daily email distribution to members. As a member, If you see a story that you could contribute to, your simply reply directly to the query. A word to the wise, replying off topic may get you kicked off the list. Quality over quantity is what works here.

So, If your looking to promote your business sign up here. Get in the habit of scanning the daily emails quickly and see if any stories jump out at you. Keep your replies brief and to the point. Journalists love trends and ideas backed up with data, so add that as well as a pre-written paragraph of what makes you an exert.

If you’re a journalist and want to start putting your story ideas out for comment, experts or even research, sign up here. Keep in mind this includes podcasters looking for guests, bloggers doing research for a post, authors needing experts and case studies for a book, as well as journalists writing a story for a major daily.