3 modern branding exercises

1. Be Google friendly. Probably the most popular search engine in the world is Google. Who hasn’t sat down at their computer and Googled themselves and everyone else they know? The same premise holds true for your business too. You want to make sure that when someone is looking for your business that what pops up is the information you actually want them to see. You can help this process along by buying the domain name for your business and the top five variances. This helps to ensure that if, and when, someone types in something close to your business name, your listing is the top five on the list (hopefully). This means you’re controlling the message people see about your business.

2. Post online with care. Listen. We all get mad, upset, or irrational at some point in our lives. With as easy as it is to rattle off a quick post on our blog, our Facebook Page, or our website, be very careful. While it may be easy to come to life, it’s not as easy to kill. The delete button does not solve the problem because what you put online is online forever. These postings can show in old cached versions. And these things can come back to haunt you. So even if you’re just an officer of a company posting something on your personal page, don’t post racy pictures or say something you’ll regret later. Not only can it blow your chance to make a good personal impression, but it can come back to bite the butt of your business as well.

3. Your tangibles should match your intangibles. Having a consistent message run through all of your marketing collateral is still an important concept. Your website, email signature, online banner ads, etc., should match and be consistent with everything your customers and potential ones can touch and feel–your brochures, business cards, letterhead, and more.

Branding is still a very important concept for any business today. The difference is that it now extends beyond what your brochure and business card looks like. It’s important that you pay attention to your electronic brand as much as you do your tangibles. It’ll pay off in the long run.

Kristie Lorette is a contributing writer to Beneath the Brand and a freelance copywriter that specializes in the financial services, mortgage, real estate, event planning and non-profit industries. Kristie holds a BS in marketing, BS in multinational business and an MBA. You can learn more about Kristie and her expertise by visiting her website www.studiokwriting.com.