Get Started Building Your
Brand on
Scott Levy
Word-of-mouth is the biggest marketing tool you could
possibly ask for (and one of the cheapest). Tweets, posts,
emails, texts and other means of sharing are the primary way
numerous brands evolve today and remain leaders in their
industries. And people get excited about your brand if you’re
excited about your brand. At its core, brand building comes
down to two key factors: enthusiasm and likability.
Unlike the fast-talking, late-night TV salespeople of years
ago who could sell anything they were handed, today, if
you don’t show genuine enthusiasm and passion, and truly
believe that what you’re selling is the best product or best
service available, nobody else will either. You can’t just think
it’s okay; you can’t think it’s just better than others. You need
to believe that what you have to offer is the best thing since
sliced bread!
Steve Jobs once said of Apple’s core values, “We believe
people with passion can change the world for the better ...
and that those people who are crazy enough to think they
can change the world are the ones who actually do. ”
Along with that innate confidence in your product or service
comes the likability factor. Whether they realize it or not,
people talk about and promote brands that they like every
day. Whether it’s Heineken or Budweiser, Ford cars or Chevy
trucks, people talk about, recommend, share or suggest a
brand because they like the company, what they stand for,
how they treat their customers, and the products and services
they offer. If people don’t like you, trust you as a brand or
can’t connect with you, they won’t be spreading the word
about your brand.
Before you can build a brand today, particularly in social
media, you need to understand that you’re not there to sell
or promote. The people you’re reaching out to aren’t just
people with money or those you want to sucker into buying
your products or using your services. They’re people whom
you want to identify with your brand and like what you do
and what you stand for. So if you’ve been indoctrinated to
simply sell, sell, sell anything to anyone at any cost, you need
to change your mind-set before trying to build a brand via
social media.
At the core of brand building is having an understanding of
who you are. This will be your identity in the world. If done
correctly, your identity will positively influence people.
To figure out who you are, start by asking yourself the
following questions:
What does your business have to offer?
You may be offering products, services, or even wisdom and
knowledge abouta particular topic. Your business needs
something that people can like,which can be anything from
designer apparel to home remodeling tips.
What does your brand stand for?
This encompasses your beliefs and your passions other than
your productsor services. For example, are you passionate
about being green? About technology? About supporting a
particular cause or charity? Aboutgovernment reform?
What makes your products, services or
business as a whole different from your
competitors?
What can you offer that sets you apart from everyone else?
Perhaps you offeunsurpassed technical support; faster, more
reliable service; unique,one-of-a kind handcrafted items; or
a return policy unmatched in your industry.
Why are you doing this?
If every entrepreneur were strictly in business to make
money, everyone would look at most lucrative industries
and launch a business in thosefields. Clearly people are
in different industries for different reasons.My passion for
computers, technology, the web and helping people led me
to launch Fuel Online. Florists had a dream of working with
flowers, dancestudios are run by people who love dance,
actors have a passion forperforming, retailers believe their
products are the best, and financialadvisors love the world
of investments. Think about the big picture and why you’re
passionate about your business and what mark you can
leave bydoing what you do.
These are all-important questions to answer when you try to
brand yourself and your business, especially online and in
social media where everything is completely transparent, or
should be.