Blogging and Branding

Ruth Klein & Blogsquad

If having blog problems, etc., might be because no brand, or underbranded. May need to rebrand yourself.

1. Must have brand
2. Must communicate clearly
3. Must have targeted audience

If you don't have these, won't know how to cross sell or upsell.

Business brand - external reflection, that clients see. This should be in line with personal brand.
Also, emotional benefits should be in there too
What it's all about... about diversity, or about common sense in business...
Sam Horn: POP... how to stand out in your crowd. Cute doesn't sell by itself.
Blogging has to be transparent, personalized - more face-to-face time
Kodak - Very serious at first, then said silly "Man did we blow it!"
Clever and memorable tone wins out over business and serious tone because of transparency and personalization trend
Transparency... say you're selling something, I guess

A brand is measured by:
1. Psychological - what do people think when they see your brand?
2. Emotional - How do they feel when they think of your brand? These are the emotional benefits
3. Physical - How it looks? Colors, grammar, etc.

How to grow? Exploit your intangibles, like a hobby, or something that didn't work, but could be used in a new way. Intellectual assets... interest in France, for example. Man whose hobby was to do media, might sell media presentations from then on.

How to promote your blog
1. Name your blog well. Post 2-3 times about your expertise. Use key words that say who you are, what you do, and how you solve people's problems
2. Press releases, put in your e-mail signature

1. Establish yourself as the expert - via blog
2. Writing white papers - great for B2B, also can put in stats etc. and make it a press release
3. Personalization in everything you do - Get a review of the company by someone in your company once a month on MySpace or YouTube, gather.com
Sharper Image guy uses every product they have

Be consistent.

How to name your brand:
Think about the benefits your clients get when working with you, ie the organizer, the divorce buster. Play on your name. Look at cliche dictionary. "Go ahead, make my Ebay" "Blood, Sweat, and Gears" for a bicycle shop. Innocreator... combine words.

Create a survey: ask 7 people with 4 questions. 7 past clients or customers, prospects, vendors, joint ventures, affiliates...
Spend 4 hours a week on your brand/business - blogging, too

Business brand - is the external piece of your personal brand that emphasizes what you give to people.

Blogs should have a goal Each post should be 200-300 words.

Know your client's pain points, what keeps them up at night, then ID how you address them.

1. Have a good title
2. make it clear who you're talking to
3. Easy to read/understand/navigate
4. Original stuff
5. Good headline

What are your interests? What are your values? What do you admire about certain brands? Their USP?

One attractor to Ruth Klein is a successful company that has reached its tipping point... plateued and you need to take your brand to the next stage.