Are you seriously spending time on branding…

Karin, For me branding appears to be quite similar to my USP. By standing for the same thing over and over, I am branding myself and also presenting my USP. I think both are important and not so separable.

Great post, never really look at Branding / Unique Selling Proposition in 2 different techniques. You pose some great questions here.Bill

Hi Karen – You’ve certainly brought up a great topic for discussion and something we all need to seriously consider in our marketing. You are absolutely right that there is a definitive difference between you brand and your USP, and that as individual entrepreneurs and/or small business owners, our primary focus should be on our USP (something that many of us may not really think about). I will disagree, however, on your point that branding has to be expensive. Our brand may be nothing more than our photo or a simple logo (neither of which need to be, in any way, expensive items). Your branding could be something as simple as making sure you use the same photo, along with a consistent color or combination of colors on your blog, your comments on other blogs, your web site, all of your social networking sites, post cards, business cards and so on. It could be that all of your videos that you post are done with you standing in front of a big ugly cactus or something silly like that, or that whenever you take a photo or do a video, you’re holding a fuzzy pink rabbit. Crazy stuff like that. It’s something that, when people see it, they think of you or your product or service right away.

Remember, the origins of branding go back to ranching, where each animal is “branded’ with a specific mark that clearly identified its owner. Nothing fancy, but consistent and readily recognizable. That’s all branding is. Any of us can do it with just a little effort. That, in addition to a good USP and top-notch customer service, will have you headed in the right direction.

Hi Karen, I actually do personal branding consults and had one today with someone. I think identifying your personal brand is first and foremost the most important part of your on-line business. As Steven says, it can be as simple as using the same pictures consistently throughout your social platforms so you can easily be recognized. I try to get people to pull out the little things about themselves that make them unique, this is your connection point with other people and way to earn trust, as you speak of. You have got to connect with people and come across as personal or people will not trust you. Also, a lot of network marketers have trouble stepping into leadership roles and don’t even have a clear vision of what that would look like. By helping people define their personal brand it really helps them to be able to step into that role. They can see it and visualize it and it makes it more possible. If you are a social media expert and you do not promote what is unique about yourself how will you stand out above all the others? Whether your friend likes it or not, personal branding is your resume’ of the future. When an employer wants to know what you have done in your industry or how many connections you have, soon, and maybe now, they will just go to the internet and google you name. The ones who have taken the time to brand themselves will be the ones to stand out and really crush their industry. I don’t agree with your friend. Branding use to be about corporations and products, now it is about individuals and it is vitally important to any size business, but especially to the solo entrepreneur. At the heart of Personal Branding is authenticity and it does not work unless your brand is geared around your passions. This is what I try to help people with, identifying that passion and designing their brand around it. No matter what your business is YOU are always in front of it. Personal Branding is about running the business of YOU.

I think I will come back and read the conversation here another time Karin…but here is a little bit I have picked up to add to your mix. The branding you refer to for big brands is very costly yes and is actually very old school. Online branding today is not something you create but is rather created by the impressions or perceptions people have of you.,..how you are seen in their eyes. It really has nothing to do with what you may think it is…By spending time online and developing your presence is what will create the brand….how people interact and react with you (the brand) You can influence and persuade perhaps but it is now really in the hands of the people. That is why it is so essential for you to make yourself accessible to them.

Hey Karin…I really enjoy coming here and reading your posts from time to time. I always learn and love to see the conversations take place. I would have to say that branding (as much as it is for an individual) is very important. I believe many small businesses are primarily based upon trust and a personal interaction. I would call that a type of personal branding. It may be possible that I have the terminology wrong…but I believe the concept to be very strong. I also believe that personal branding is not enough either. People may trust me…but I will get a better response out of more people if I also focus on my USP as well. Why would someone want to do business with me? Because they can trust me and I offer something that they really can’t get anywhere else. That…is a powerful combination.

Thanks again for another great post!

Karin, I so agree with this post.If you don’t get yourself Branded you will fade away.I believe video is the best tool to brand yourself too.People get to know you even more when they see and hear from you often,Testimonials are awesome too.

I think what you are saying makes sense. There is no real need for an average online marketer to brand himself. I thought through it after reading your articles. A lot of online marketers are actually selling affiliates products (say amazon associate program). In a case like that, there is no real need to re-brand the product. (amazon already been a trusted website)

The focus should rather be on convincing the prospect that the product is really good and appreciated by a lot of other customers.

Hi Karin,

I agree that the type of branding you speak of, the big business type, is unnecessary for most of us. I think what is important is building an online ‘presence’, we use the word branding a lot for this, building your unique persona and niche. Having people know, like and trust you is important. Being uniquely you and not just another random online marketer is a big plus and creating a professional image by using the same colours/image wherever you go just makes sense so that people become familiar with your ‘branding’.

Honestly, I’m a bit lax on this front, I use the same photo for a lot of things and I present the real me at all times but everything else seems a little contrived for me personally but I have to admit it makes sense.

Thank you for making us all think on a topic not much blogged about from a should we, shouldn’t we point of view!

Wishing you an awesome week,

Emma

Hi Karin,I agree that the type of branding you speak of, the big business type, is unnecessary for most of us. I think what is important is building an online 'presence', we use the word branding a lot for this, building your unique persona and niche. Having people know, like and trust you is important. Being uniquely you and not just another random online marketer is a big plus and creating a professional image by using the same colours/image wherever you go just makes sense so that people become familiar with your 'branding'.Honestly, I'm a bit lax on this front, I use the same photo for a lot of things and I present the real me at all times but everything else seems a little contrived for me personally but I have to admit it makes sense.Thank you for making us all think on a topic not much blogged about from a should we, shouldn't we point of view!Wishing you an awesome week,Emma

Karin, This is a very interesting topic. I agree with you to an extent, but in my mind Branding and our unique selling proposition are two different things. Now, I am not saying you are totally off base, and some of the points you bring up are valid, and I think we should focus strongly on our USP! But I still support the idea that a well established brand is extremely important for a business, big, medium, or small! Thanks for posting this interesting topic!

Hello Karen, Nice new perspective on Branding. Keep up the good work. Like the blog!
All The Best Dale Werner

Hi Karin – Nice post! I agree you have to have a great product that stands out above the rest, but “people still buy from people” they have a connection with and that might be where branding is important.

Hi Karin thanks for the post, personally I have the exact opposite thoughts. Although, they can be viewed in a different context, to me I consider it personal branding. It may be more credibility and testimony. With Nike, because Michael Jordan promoted them and said they were good people wanted them. The name Nike is in the public eye because of this. Personal branding in a small business sense is more like providing people the ability to see that you know what you are doing and you are successful. Having people openly admit that you know what you are doing and more important that you are someone they can trust. Are all methods of personal branding to me. My business has increased 10 fold as a result of personal branding. Rob

Hi Karen,This is new to me as I am totally sold out the idea of branding. I think your brand comprises of many things, your message, logos, mission statement ect. I think these are always of building KLT. Just this afternoon I had a convo with hubby about a TV add for a car dealership. I was telling him that they had changed management so their ads were different but for some reason every time I see the new ads I long for the old ones. I also pointed out a few other businesses to him simply by repeating their tagline, a phone number he knew which ones I was talking about. I think this was due in part to the work these companies did for me to take notice and pay attention to their message. Know, Like, Trust

Hi Karen,
I believe that USP and branding are completely separate issues also. It’s not branding our products that we are trying to accomplish with our small businesses, it’s branding ourselves so that our customers and prospects trust, like and know us. The USP gives our customers a reason to buy our specific product, but they buy it from us because they know, like and trust us.
This is a great post Karin, because it has triggered a debate!
Wendy