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Your Brand, Sing it from the Rooftops
by
Dina Giolitto
I
did some work with career
coach Hallie Crawford recently, who reminded me of something
we all need to remember:
The
best-laid practical plans begin with a dream.
The point that Hallie makes is that the dreams
and visions in your mind are expansive and without limit.
Thus, when you start with an idea that has no bounds, you
can then chisel that dream into being by way of practical
and structured plans.
Perhaps
you dream of owning your own business. Or, relating this to
marketing... maybe your dream is that one day your brand will
become a household name.
This
morning while doing my 6 a.m. inspirational reading, it suddenly
clicked with me how totally essential to marketing
the 2-step process of: 1. conceptualizing, and 2. creating
a practical plan based around that concept, is in building
awareness and recognizability for your company.
My
epiphany came after reading the article Digging
a Deeper Well: How to Tap the Power of Your Brand by Phil
Davis of Pure Tungsten Brand Marketing.
In his article, Phil cites the railroad industry
of decades past, and how some companies might have weathered
the changing times had they only expanded the concept of who
they were, from "railroad owners" to "providers
of mobility."
(You
really must read Phil's
article to get the full effect here - it's such an excellent
piece).
One
service provider who I know of who captures the essence of
the brand, is Dan Antonelli of GraphicD-Signs.com.
As Dan tells it in his mission statement, We are a 'solutions
company.'
Sounds
simple enough, yet there are endless possibilities packed
into this 5-word description. If years from now, circumstances
force Dan to reshape his offerings from web and print design
to something else, the one-line foundation he has based his
entire business around will still ring true. No matter which
vehicle he chose to carry out his promises, solutions
will always be part of the delivery. And solutions,
are exactly what clients want and need.
Think
about your own business. Maybe you're still small in size...
but what's stopping you from, as Coach Hallie describes it,
"Dreaming Big" in terms of your brand identity?
A copywriting client of mine recently expressed
wanting to move away from that small business owner voice
in her web copy, and shift to corporate-style communication
instead. She's dreaming big now and she wants her copy to
reflect that, thereby attracting clients with bigger plans
and bigger budgets. But what exactly is the corporate style?
What's the giveaway that signals to readers that you're a
world class brand that's here to stay, grow, and evolve along
with society?
The
differentiating force behind big name copy and branding lies
in a company's ability to express its own Big Dream easily,
simply and eloquently. The Big Dream, of course, being the
conceptual foundation behind your reason for existing. And
while talking to your readers about specific and practical
things has its own merit, there is nothing like pure expression
of dreams, ideas, and ideals, to align like minds
with your vision and establish a loyal brand following. All
this boils down to the Who We Are page of your website
and/or marketing materials.
As
a company, do you know Who You Are and where you're headed?
As
Phil Davis suggests in his article, Digging
a Deeper Well, it takes some deep reflection and soul
searching to figure out exactly what your company is made
of, and then express that. But it doesn't stop there. Once
you figure out the sole purpose of your brand, what do you
do with such a notion?
You
write it all down. You turn your thoughts into a few succinct
paragraphs that express the real passion behind what you do
for your customers every day. And THIS is what you share with
your readership, because it's the true power behind your company
brand.
(Side
note: when the copywriter
asks for your company philosophy that she will mold into a
riveting About Us summary, this is the real meat of what she's
looking for from you.)
So:
once you "find yourself" in a branding sense, how
will you sing it from the rooftops, for all the world to hear?
In
order to turn the ethereal dream into a plan, you must take
small but significant practical steps. So brave the first
step: brainstorm a company tagline. The conceptualization
of the company tagline perfectly exemplifies the original
point that I brought up, with Coach
Hallie's thoughts. You started with a dream, you expanded
upon it, and now you will trim and shape that dream to fit
into single sentence or phrase that sums up the heart of your
business in a nutshell.
So
many business owners put off the business tagline development
(myself included)... but how can we ever expect to carve
out a name for ourselves if we never take the time to figure
out who we are?
Once
you do figure out your core business values and the spark
that fuels your daily operation... it's time to bring that
dream of your brand as a household name, even closer to practical
reality. Just take another simple step forward:
Slip
the tagline that you develop for your business into your first
ever postcard campaign. Collect all of the addresses of every
person who has expressed interest in using your products or
services, and put them on a mailing list. (You'll need a VA
to help you with this, so may I recommend Lori Davis of Davis
Virtual Assistants.) Pair the tagline with your distinctive
company logo, and a compelling graphic. Add a call to action
- tell your readers what to do. Include your contact information.
Gift-wrap
the concept in a printed postcard, and send it off to all
of your contacts. Take little steps like this for your business,
over and over and over. Sing it from the rooftops, via various
marketing vehicles... articles, press releases, web content,
email newsletters, blogs. Shine your light so that everyone
can see it, become alerted to your presence and even begin
to follow along.
And slowly but surely, the practical plans
you devise will bring your branding dreams to life.
Copyright
2006 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com
Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
Contact
Dina@Wordfeeder.com
to get started on your website copy, business branding and
marketing communications campaign today.
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