Branding is not just a logo.

It’s not a slogan or a tagline.

It’s not the packaging or the signage or the ads or commercials.

It’s not the celebrity endorsement or the viral video.

It’s not the smell, taste, look, touch, fit or sound.

It’s not even the actual product or service.

A brand is all of these things…it’s the combination of brand experiences that produces a feeling about that brand.

Renowned management consultant and educator, Peter Drucker (pictured above), said, “People buy with their hearts, not their minds.”

People react to a brand because of how their particular brand experience made them feel: when they tried it on for size, when they saw an ad, interacted with customer service or got the package in the mail. Good, bad, happy, sad, powerful, moved, cool, uncool, smart, healthy, disappointed, safe, successful…the list of emotions goes on. Whatever feelings are evoked by the brand will determine if someone buys — the first time or the fifth time or never at all.

Think about how you feel when you hear or see these brands: Audi, Apple, FedEx, Ford or Walmart.

Your brand evokes feelings, too. Creating, positioning, building and strengthening a brand are all done with consideration of how the brand will be perceived and by whom…how it will make the brand’s ideal customer feel.

When people see your brand or hear about your company…what do you want them to feel? Build your brand around that.

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based branding and marketing specialist. Check out Martha’s new ebook: The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

by Martha Spelman

Don’t get me wrong…I’m a big advocate of business blogging. Content marketing is a great way to connect with existing and prospective clients and to get your business found via online searches. But if you’re going to do it right, there are a number of things you don’t want to do wrong.

What not to do when you blog is as important as what you should do. Your followers will remain faithful if you provide information relevant to them. If your audience finds your posts informative, helpful, educational, thought-provoking and entertaining, they’ll listen (or read). If not, they’ll hit “Delete” and maybe even (horrors) click “Unsubscribe.” There are also many factors that affect SEO, readability, blogging effectiveness and the overall success of your content marketing strategy.

From a business blogging “Best Practices” view, here’s a list of tips to make sure your blogging efforts are successful and you’re not wasting your time.

When creating, publishing and promoting your business blog:

Post consistently — if you commit to business blogging, you need to publish no less than twice per month. Weekly is best. If you can’t do that, consider doing a monthly newsletter or client bulletin. Once you start, stopping after a few weeks or a few posts, is worse than never having posted at all.

Use only visuals you have the rights to – create a chart or infographic, upload your own photographs or buy an existing image; just because you find a visual on Flickr, Google or someone else’s post or website, doesn’t make it fair game.

Don’t pitch your product or services — a blatant “hire me” or “buy my stuff” is a turn-off; a call to action (CTA) is okay.

Have a strong/captivating headline – as famed adman David Ogilvy said, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.“ If the headline doesn’t draw them in, you’re through.

Include a Call to Action – you want your readers/viewers to Take Action; for example: click to find out more, link to your website, ask for the free whitepaper.

Incorporate SEO – Use your keywords in your headline and body copy, in the meta Description, the Excerpt, Alt Text, links and tags.

Ask for comments, shares and feedback. Sometimes, to receive, you have to ask.

Provide relevant content – your content is about your clients, not you. Their Points of Pain are your meat and potatoes.

Repurpose your material – once you’ve researched, written, optimized and promoted your content, get some more “marketing mileage” out of it. Re-post it as a guest blog on other sites your customers might see, compile related posts into an ebook or add detail and lengthen to create a “giveaway” whitepaper.

Include a visual – (not boring or stock-y). To get attention, the visual may be even more important than the headline. There’s a reason that sites like Pinterest, Google+ and Facebook are so popular: they prominently feature large images. The selection of an attractive, thought-provoking, intriguing visual is crucial to viewership.

Don’t make it too long – the optimal size for most blog posts is 250-300 words. Periodically, a longer post may be warranted (like this one) but in general, write short. Attention spans…and thoughts…wander.

Tell stories and give real world examples – these will draw readers and viewers in and keep them riveted.

Use video – they get higher search engine rankings than pure copy posts.

Make it “skimmable” – using short, one- to two-sentence paragraphs, headline fonts, subheads, bullet points and bold words allows the reader to move through copy quickly.

Don’t forget a signature line – at the end of your post include a Call to Action and a link to a page on your site (Blog page or About page), and, using keywords, provide a brief description of the author or business and contact information. You may also want to invite readers/viewers to connect on other social media platforms.

Use your “Voice” and your “Style” of writing – don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. The “Voice” and “Style” you use to create your posts should be representative of your personality, knowledge, expertise and approach to your business.

Use Tags and Categories – keywords and keyword-phrase Tags help in Search Engine Optimization (SEO); Categories allow viewers/readers to find post topics on your site that are of interest to them.

Use Excerpts – in the SEO section of your Write Post panel, copy and paste a short portion of your post. This snippet is picked up by Facebook and Google+. If you don’t include an Excerpt, search engines may just pick up the first 55 words of your post…which may not adequately describe the entire post and may not be beneficial to SEO.

Use a Description – also found in the SEO section, it’s a keyword-focused 150-word overview of your article. This description affects Search Engine Page Ranking (SERP) and is picked up by search engines and by social media platforms.

Use Alt Text to describe the visual – this box pops up when you upload an image. Fill it out, using keywords, to describe the image (as visuals are not searchable) and the scenario or concept you are illustrating with this image. For example: “Colorful infographic illustrating the top 10 top search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.”

Include a byline – Enroll in Google Authorship (must have a Google+ profile) to improve SEO and have your profile picture next to your search result!

Don’t Ramble – one idea per blog and most importantly… quickly get to the point! Make a promise (what your reader will learn or “get” from your post) and deliver.

Focus on Structure – build your post with a beginning introduction, use the middle to substantiate your premise and end with a conclusion or summary.

Edit — be sure that grammar, spelling and punctuation are flawless.

Include Links – to reference sources and to other pages within your website. Links help SEO and direct readers to other pages on your site, which keeps visitors around longer. Anchor Text is the words that are hyperlinked…also good for SEO.

Include an email opt-in sign up – make it easy for those who want to hear more from you to get on your email list (an invaluable promotional tool). Consider putting an email opt-in sign-up on both your home page and blog page.

Provide Share buttons – these allow readers to retweet your content on Twitter or share on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and other social media platforms. More shares equal more eyeballs and better SEO.

Promote your blog – be sure you’ve updated all social media platforms on which you’re active with your latest post. Then tweet about it (multiple times over a few days).

Respond to Comments – periodically check your Blog Dashboard or any Guest Post locations for comments. Answer any and all comments, positive or negative. Have comments that are too negative? Hit delete.

Send your post to your Prospect and Client email list – content marketing helps increase your credibility and build trust in you and your business and keeps you top of mind.

As you can see, an effective business blog is about  more than just words and pictures. To achieve greater content marketing success, incorporate some or all of these tips. It’ll be a good use of your time.

If you’d like to learn more about blogging, buy my new ebook, The Cure For Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish and Promote Your Business Blog. Free on Amazon April 24 – 26.

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based content marketing specialist. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

Content marketing can accelerate the client relationship-building process.

The easiest client to “get” is the one you already have. Once a relationship has been established, securing new work from that client requires less time, energy and financial outlay than it does to establish a new relationship. Existing customers already know you, trust you and are comfortable working with you. Implementing a content marketing strategy can keep you top of mind with existing clients so that when they are ready to hire, your name is front and center.

But what about finding new clients? As any business owner knows, the sales funnel requires consistent feeding.

Traditionally, finding and securing new prospects — building a productive client relationship — could be a very long process. Business development meant sourcing potential clients by means of company research, networking, speaking engagements, cold calling, appointments, presentations, etc. To consider working with you, prospects needed to build trust in you and your company, see proof that you could provide a quality product or service, check references and meet you – maybe multiple times. From contact to contract could take months…even years.

Want to “speed up” the client relationship-building process?

Facilitating prospect interactions with you or your company using content marketing: blog posts, newsletters, bulletins, LinkedIn updates and email campaigns allows the reader/viewer to better understand, respect, trust and KNOW your company expertise and approach.

We all know how gratifying it is to meet someone for the first time and that person says, “I’ve heard great things about you.”  That’s what content marketing can do for you.

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based content marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book: The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

If you don’t know Seth Godin, he is the author of 15 books, each a bestseller; he is a prolific blogger and has been called “America’s Greatest Marketer.”

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Seth Godin present, live and in-person, at the InsightOne20 Conference put on by City National Bank. The conference targeted small businesses and offered sessions from finance to sales to content marketing. The topics were relevant and the conference fairly well-attended, but Seth was the real draw. Admission to the conference included a free copy of his latest book, The Icarus Deception. I’m reading it now.

Seth’s presentation was fantastic — quick-paced, image-driven, funny, thought-provoking and full of ideas (just like Seth).

Here are some takeaways:

Betty Crocker is the patron saint of marketers. In 1932, General Mills ran a 1/2 hour radio commercial. It featured a woman, the fictional Betty Crocker, reading letters she had received from “household engineers.” The promotion was so successful, General Mills kept it up.They were doing what we do as marketers: promote like crazy and make enough money so we can promote some more. As in any marketing: more eyeballs (or ears) = more sales, more customers, MORE.

Henry Ford was the Man of the Century. The Ford Motor Company was all about productivity, interchangeable parts and the assembly line. The industrial age made middle class possible. Working faster and faster (visualize the clip of Lucy and Ethel working the chocolate conveyor belt) was the goal. Workers were interchangeable. Everybody fit into a slot. The industrialists “pushed stuff” and fueled the economy for a long time.

That model doesn’t work anymore.

Even the “perfect” industry can fail. The record business did just that, in only five years. Music is doing fine, but not the record industry. Same thing with travel agents. It will happen to any perfect industry. No business is going to come along and hire 10,000 people. Ever.

Now the industrial revolution is being replaced– by an economy “for us.” Small businesses, which make up 99.7% of all U.S. businesses, are the wave of the future.

We’re leaving the commercial era. No more mass marketing – average stuff for average people. No more stuff that was designed for everyone. We’ve become a commodity economy — everything gets cheaper and cheaper. Now, it’s just a race to the bottom; lower your price and you might win. But things can’t get much cheaper.

This race to the bottom is the inspiration for the title of Seth’s new book, The Icarus Deception. In the myth, Icarus’ father, Daedalus, gave him the advice we’ve all heard: “Don’t fly too close to the sun.”  But, afraid that his son could get caught by the sea, he also said, “and don’t fly too low either.”

What we’re really good at? Connection. And Seth says that connection will dictate the businesses of tomorrow.

For example, not one person can create a computer mouse. The design, production and delivery require multiple talents and materials; they require connections.

The foundations of connections are:

• Coordination
• Trust
• Permission (to talk to people who want to hear from you)

Connections, and these foundations, permit the exchange of ideas.

Connection is about feeling and emotion — not perfection.  Anyone that says they can connect someone with someone else, has value (hence the proliferation of social media followers, likers, circles and contacts).

We also have to listen…and watch…and be on the lookout for what’s new. It’s important to learn how to see what the possibilities are.

We have to be willing to fall down. We’ve got to go all in.

People are so afraid of screwing up i.e., failing, they don’t try.

Innovation — is the challenge of failing over and over again until you figure it out.

Don’t get caught up in desire to get it right first time – we hesitate for fear that we  might not get it right.

We need to create “art” – something new that is truly different and hasn’t been created before. It might not be for everyone. It’s for a small group of people who want to hear from us.

What we create is:

• Anticipated
• Personal
• Relevant

The opportunity: smaller markets, where agile, small businesses become indispensable.

Art: human, risky, might not work.

If the critic doesn’t like it, they’re not for you. When we find the people that like it, we connect with them.

Make it better, not bigger.     

People don’t buy the product, they buy the story. Match your story to another story they are telling themselves.

Are you the original? Are you creating art? ASK: Who benefits from your work? They are your audience.

Seth really inspires his viewers and listeners to look and listen to what’s going on — to see what connections each of us can make to improve ourselves and our work.  No more business as usual. I see that these days, more than ever, successes are being born of those that venture out, try new things and feel that risk is preferable to safe.

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist (and a big fan of Seth Godin!). Check out my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

(actual recent email)

Dear Marketing Consultant,

I have a question: What is the convention these days around “endorsements” on LinkedIn? Certainly every endorsement is an opportunity to re-connect. But, should I say, “thank you?” Am I expected to “endorse them back?” I received an endorsement from the former CEO of a past employer and I don’t think he is expecting me, who was five layers lower, to endorse him. This is a creation of Linked in, but I’m not sure how much I want to “play” a back and forth mutual admiration society game.

I’d appreciate your feedback.

Signed,

Baffled

Dear Baffled,

Good question on the endorsements – here’s how I handle them: I periodically do endorse people for 1-2 things that THEY REALLY DO; I don’t simply check all the boxes as across-the-board back slaps. I don’t automatically check all of the “Skills” LinkedIn suggests, and especially don’t endorse someone just because they endorsed me.

Here are the positive results: one is notified by LinkedIn when he or she gets an endorsement, the endorsements show up in status updates of both endorser and endorsed (valuable exposure), they are indicators of who’s active on LinkedIn and, of course, it is nice to be recognized.

When someone endorses me, I do thank them with a short email – another good way to keep in touch. Endorsements are factored into LinkedIn searches, which is also a plus.

More impressive are recommendations (I’ve heard some people say they’ve been expected to reciprocate here but I don’t agree).  You may need to request a recommendation…it’s just not something people think of doing. And you may want to make subtle suggestions of content the recommendation could include (highlighting a particular skill or talent that was a valuable contribution; an outcome in which you were integral).

Always be marketing,

Martha Spelman

I’m happy to answer your branding or marketing question, please email me: martha@marthaspelman.com. 

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

A strong brand is built before, during and after the actual transaction.

I’ve never been to Coachella, the two-weekend music festival coming soon to Indio, California. But I still feel like I’m in on the experience.

Three years ago, my son’s Coachella ticket (actually a scannable RFID wristband) arrived in the mail. He’d paid $300. online for the ticket; he was already sold! But the ticket didn’t come in some flimsy envelope. Oh, no. Buying the ticket was just the beginning.

Like the event itself, the ticket packaging was an extravaganza. This year’s is no exception.

Mike Rocchio, owner of 1424 Studios, who designs and produces the Coachella ticket packaging, liked my first post about it so much, he now sends me the package each year. One of the tough things about setting the bar high with exceptional packaging and customer experience is that you have to top yourself the following year. Even though the Coachella ticket packaging budget is north of $400,000., the concert’s producer has decided his customers, and his brand, are worth it. 

This year’s package, replete with numerous photographs and illustrations, includes a box printed in four-colors inside and out, a die-cut diorama DIY kit featuring art and artifacts one would find at Coachella, a 12- month calendar (which becomes part of the diorama), a complete A-Z guide for attending the concert, a car sticker and metal buttons depicting various Coachella icons (these look to have been recycled from previous packaging). Opportunities for fun interaction abound: make the diorama, trade the buttons, use the calendar, decorate your vehicle, let your imagination run wild! By the time the audience arrives at Coachella, they’re bound to have a good time…because they’ve already been having one before they even get there. 

The Coachella ticket packaging is  an example of branding done beautifully…and effectively. The ultimate branding component, beyond what the product or service looks like or sounds like, is how it makes the customer feel.

This one feels pretty good. 

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

The importance of visuals in a blog post cannot be overstated. There’s a reason that sites like Pinterest, Tumblr and Behance are so popular; why Facebook, Google+ and even LinkedIn have changed their formats to feature large images. Interesting photographs, colorful illustrations, infographics and video draw the viewer in and make he or she curious about the content. As early readers, we liked books with big pictures and few words. Why? Because images engage the imagination differently than written words.

I’m sure that most of us, having read a book and seen the movie based on that book, have a stronger memory of the movie’s aural and visual presentation than we do of just the written words. Movies provide a winning memory combination of written and visual content.

ARGO, the movie, was based on an article that appeared in WIRED Magazine. Which do you think most people would remember most vividly:  The Godfather book or The Godfather movies (#1, #2, #3); Forrest Gump the book or Forrest Gump the movie?

If we haven’t seen the movie, we only know and remember the book. But often once we see the movie, our movie memory supersedes that of the book.

But don’t use just any image in your content marketing. “Stock-y” -looking images get overlooked. Worse, the viewer may think the content is stock, too…and not of relevant interest to them. Use visuals that are thought-provoking, “eye-catching,” and entertaining. Get creative when you select the visual – choose an image that is out-of-the-ordinary…maybe even something you’ve photographed, drawn or videotaped yourself. Think about manipulating the image, with an app like PicMonkey (there’s a free version) to add new colors or textures; a border or drop shadow.

Often, it may take almost as long to choose the right image as it does to create a post. But the effect can be well worth it.

What type of visual would you have selected for this post?

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

by Martha Spelman

Branding, done correctly, should separate you from your competition in the hearts and minds of your audience. This is achieved  through your written and oral messaging, your visuals, and in the emotions evoked by your brand. Your ideal client should perceive you as being the best option — the only choice — for their business. Hopefully, you are not selected because of your low price point.

I recently met with a business owner who said he actually had to raise his prices to get business. In order to be considered equal to his competition, he had to price accordingly. A Ferrari, a Lamborghini or a Maserati, priced $100,000 less, would, in the eyes of the qualified buyer, be comparable to a Honda or Kia.

The perceived value of a product or service is, for good or bad, often relative to what the actual price is. People expect to pay more for better quality. You wouldn’t shop at Tiffany’s and expect Walmart prices…and vice versa.

If you brand your business consistently and in a narrow enough niche so that you can demonstrate that you do something better than anyone else, you become the obvious choice.

But your prices should reflect what your level of client expects…and is willing… to pay.

Don’t leave money on the table. Your prices are an indicator of not only what you think you’re worth, but what your buyer thinks you are worth.

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

by Martha Spelman

We’ve all heard the line: “I really don’t market – my work comes from referrals.”

Three times in the last week, I’ve had meetings in which the business owner said, “My company used to survive on ‘word-of-mouth’ and now, that’s not happening.” Friends of friends, client referrals or industry colleagues — used to fuel their work pipeline. The business owners I spoke with weren’t executing an active marketing strategy but still the phone rang; somebody always knocked on their door.

Apparently that is no longer the case. The referrals have stopped. And with no other marketing plan in place, the well is running dry.

There are several reasons that your referrals might have slowed down or stopped (aside from your work or product quality heading severely downhill…which is doubtful):

• The economy is down and your previous referral sources aren’t getting work or coming in contact with potential clients to send your way
• Your referral sources stopped networking, marketing their business or cultivating new clients (some of whom used to get passed to you)
• On the two-way street of business referrals, you haven’t been doing your part; no referrals going out — sooner or later — no referrals in

For any business, it is imperative to ALWAYS BE MARKETING. Market when you’re not busy but especially when you are…because inevitably, the calm comes after the storm.

Craft a marketing strategy — and stick to it. The marketing plan you develop will depend on your type of product or service, your ideal client, and your resources — including human, financial and time. Your strategy could include an updated website, a press release announcing a newsworthy company event, a weekly business blog and emails, a monthly newsletter, becoming active in an industry networking group, attendance at events frequented by your target audience, speaking engagements, etc.

Keep the pipeline open…once that well of potential clients and referrals runs dry, it’s tough to get the work flowing again. 

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.

Whenever you market your business product or services, you make promises to your customer. Here’s what we’ll deliver, how we’ll deliver it, and when you’ll get it.

But what if your customer got more than you promised? Of course, you can under-promise and then over-deliver. Or you could just always over-deliver.

Promise the best job you can, and then deliver something extra.

Guaranteed: you’ll be at the top of the list next time.

If you like what you read here, please comment and share with others.  

About the author: Martha Spelman is a Los Angeles-based business branding and marketing specialist. Want to find out more about content marketing? Buy my new book:  The Cure for Blogophobia: How to Easily Create, Publish & Promote Your Business Blog. Click to find out more about Martha Spelman and connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. Martha can be reached directly at: 310.266.6992 or martha@marthaspelman.com.