How Important Branding is to Your Marketing Strategy?

The American Marketing Association (AMA) describes a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol, design or perhaps a combination of them developed to identify the products and services of a single seller or group of sellers as well as to identify them from those of other sellers.

Hence it makes sense to figure out that branding isn't about getting your target market to get you over the competition, but it's about having your prospects to see you as the only one that gives a solution to their problem.

The goals and objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

- Delivers the content clearly

- Verifies your credibility

- Links your target leads emotionally

- Motivates the buyer

- Concretes User Loyalty

To achieve success in branding you must learn the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by developing your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.

Your brand lives within the hearts and minds of buyers, clients, and prospects. It's the sum total of their experiences and beliefs, a few of which you can influence and some that you can't.

A strong brand is important as the battle for customers intensifies every day. It is important to spend some time investing in exploring, defining and developing your brand. After all, your brand could be the source of a promise to your consumer. It's a fundamental part in your marketing communication and one you don't want to be without.

A 9 step beginner's guide on how to write a blog post

These are the tips for beginner bloggers to begin with their writing journey.

Step 1: Choose your topic

After an individual reads your blog post, what would you like them to come away with? Do you have an announcement, pieces of information, or perhaps a significant story to share with? Find out what exactly you intend to obtain with your blog.

Step 2: Key points

You may simply have one key point or several points to create in your blog post. Either way, it is best to write your key points all the way down. If these points will need to go in a particular order, this is the time to order them.

Step 3: Pull together your resources

Would you like to support your key points with facts? Probably just links to external sites to confirm your point or help your audience learn more. If you need outside sources to relate back to your key points, find them now and keep them somewhere that is uncomplicated to reference.

This really is the time to search out photos or videos to go along with your post. Be sure you have permission to utilize the photos. Pro tip: you can utilize advanced search features in Flickr to search for innovative commons/commercial use photos. You can also make your own graphics using free online services like Canva or Pixlr.

Step 4: Expand your points

This is the time to begin writing your blog post in long form. Increase your key points into sentences and paragraphs. When you’re writing, think about your tone. Are you currently attempting to sound academic? Do you want to attain a business audience? Is this blog post for your friends and supporters?

(Note: We have made an assumption that you have already considered your brand voice and tone, which explains why we haven’t mentioned this until Step 4).

Step 5: Edit

Step out from your blog post for a while. Get caught up on your emails, take a stroll, grab a coffee or tea? Break. Return to your post and edit. Minimize garbage content that doesn’t provide your audience anything valuable. Put in some sentences, links, or images that may help you illustrate your points much better.

Step 6: Ask a friend

Have somebody else to give the article a once-over. They’ll make it easier to discover areas where you can cut irrelevant bits or they can inform you of where you need to do much more explaining.

Step 7: Finalize your title

Even though you might have a working title when you begin, you’ll need to craft a great, final title now that the meat and potatoes of your post are done.

Step 8: Submit your blog

Now, it’s time for you to post your blog. Be sure to put all your links and images into your post. Work with tags and categories to help your readers find your post. Preview before you'll post to be sure nothing has gone astray.

Step 9: Share

Whether it’s through email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or other avenues, be sure to share your post. You’re far more likely to get readers if you actively share your own content. It is also okay to share your content more often than once! Great news right?

3 Good Reasons Websites Are Essential for Small Businesses

Managing your own business is no easy task along with your to-do-list is guaranteed to never end. Having said this, you shouldn't use this as an excuse to consider short cuts when considering having online presence. You start with your website, it’s important to position yourself online with a powerful, professional destination that provides customers the impact you mean business and the motivation to want to engage more with your business. With this thought, think about these 3 logics behind why having a strong website is important.

First Impression Matter

Let’s be realistic - we live in a world where people Google before they go shopping, visit online review websites like Yelp before they buy and “check-in” via Facebook as they start to go about their days. Because of this, you need the first impression to be the ideal it can be. Beginning with your website, people are passing judgment and making decisions about whether or not they are going to even go to your store, restaurant or office. They’re likely to dismiss you completely, as well, whenever they believe that your website doesn’t show the kind of experience your company - or a business like yours should provide.

Window Shopping Isn't Exactly What It Used to Be

Strolling down your local Main Street isn’t the only approach individuals look into stores and other small businesses these days. With routine visits to Yahoo, Bing, Google, Yelp and other online sites, people are regularly in search of where they plan to make their next purchases. Make sure your company is well showed on these sites by first and foremost, having a website but by also being showed among each of the online search engines, review sites as well as other online spots your business may be considered for customer review. Beyond having your URL address readily available, also be absolutely sure your address, telephone number and email is well exposed. Social media links can’t hurt, either but only include these if you are actually participating in social media.

No Website Signifies Losing Business

By now it’s clear that if you don’t have an online presence, you’re passing up on chances for customers to identify you and if they want to spend money with you. This said, in case you have a bad website it is better to have no website. While no website results in missed opportunities, a bad website can actually be worse simply because it literally makes your business look poor. With numerous template based websites available today, like Shopify.com, for you to personalize for your one of a kind business, there’s truly no excuse for your website to appear unprofessional and sloppy. If you can’t proudly showcase the website you have currently live and obtainable for the world to check out online, remove it. A bad website is far worse than no website but let’s be clear, both of them are unhealthy for business.

Whether you are a one man or woman show or operate with 100 employees, your website should look as if you have a team dedicated exclusively to maintaining your presence online powerful and remarkable. The real key here is “appear” versus actually having someone updating your website each day. For most small businesses, this is simply not necessary. Nevertheless, having a professional, polished looking website that operates effortlessly and gives customers uncomplicated navigation, strong photo images, professional quality content and an overall experience that activates them enough for them to want to do business with you is key.