Branding Articles

Marketing is more personal than ever, and authenticity is your secret weapon. Here are tips to get started!

Your logo is not your brand. Your colors are not your brand. Your fonts are not your brand. A brand is how people *feel* about your business when you're not in the room. Here's why it matters more than ever.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget some of the simple things when you've been working with something over a long period of time. When this happens, it's easy to overlook how technical, difficult, hidden, or simply not obvious things. You end up in something of an auto-pilot mode. This article helps to outline some of the quick-and-easy things that we often do after first installing DNN. 

One of the number one things I speak about with clients is brand, or branding.  In fact, when embarking on any project, internal or external, it’s probably the very first thing that we discuss.  This is especially true with small businesses and businesses who need to employ local and social media marketing strategies.  You need to first know what your brand is, how to speak about your brand (with as few words as possible), and how people should perceive your brand.  Most importantly, what will people say about your brand when you’re not looking?

Last night, I had the pleasure of presenting to the Toronto Area DNN Users Group (a.k.a., TADUG), hosted by Aderson Oliveira.  TADUG is currently enjoying a revival, so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.  He asked me to bring some e-commerce goodness to their user group, and I hope I delivered.  In this presentation and Q&A, we discuss some of the most critical trends and techniques that e-commerce website owners should remember.  Spoiler alert…  There are actually 6 tips in this presentation.  Surprise!

We deal with companies of all sizes, but we have to work with small businesses slightly differently.  Why?  You can probably guess why… Budget.  Even if a small business does have a budget for certain things, it’s often difficult for small business owners to justify certain expenses.  One of these things includes branding – especially logos and artwork for your social media channels.

When people look at you, they see you brand, whether intentional or not.  It’s a lot like looking at things through a camera lense.  It’s a similar thing when you look at any successful business.  No matter if you see it’s sign on the side of the road, in an ad on a website or billboard, or you visit their booth at a conference – you know where you are and who you’re interacting with.  When you walk into any In-N-Out location or visit their website, you can feel their brand all around you.  You’ll never look at one and confuse it with Burger King or McDonald’s.  When you think about your personal brand, you need to attempt to achieve this as best you can.  Be the CMO of your brand!

There is an overwhelming truth that you need to realize… No one is looking out for you.  No one.  From the moment that you took your first job, you and your career have been in your hands.  Even in the best companies in the world, your boss isn’t looking out for you.  They probably already know this secret.  That’s how they became your boss.  Here’s a few tips on why you need to be thinking about your future every day.