Create Your Online Branding Strategy in 5 Easy Steps
As a small business owner building your brand online is essential in this new economy. A few weeks ago I attended a webinar presented by Coach Tanya, of BePromotable.com, a branding consulting company in Dallas, Texas.
In the webinar, Coach Tanya detailed these five steps to online branding. Follow these five online branding tips and you’ll be on your way to creating a solid brand for your small business.
- Develop a Visibility Strategy. Be seen and be heard. It used to said that– “it’s who you know”, but in this new economy, it’s “who knows you” that matters. To accomplish this strategy, create a blog for your business, use social media such as Twitter and Facebook but don’t forget about affinity groups like LinkedIn and Ning. Create a profile and get active on these sites.
- Be Known for Something. Become a thought leader. Define your strengths. What comes natural to you? What are you good at? What makes you think “I can’t wait to do that again?” Determine whatever it is and become a known leader in that area.
- Decide Your Style. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s right for you. When it comes to marketing your business online, there are so many ways to do this. There’s social media, article-writing, press releases, blogs, etc. and so on. Don’t try to do it all. Test them out, then decide what’s right for you and go with that.
- Manage Your Time. Outsource what you don’t have time to do yourself. A tool like HootSuite is a real time-saver when it comes to posting to your social media accounts. Another way to save time is to hire a virtual assistant or outsource company to handle administrative or marketing tasks you don’t have time to do yourself.
- Monitor Your Brand. You can measure how well your brand ranks online by using sites like Klout.com and OnlineCalculator.com. These sites will let you know how strong your online brand is currently and give you some tips to leverage your online clout.
Dana Williams is an Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant specializing in online promotions for small businesses. Visit http://www.YourInternetMarketingAssistant.com for her special report "Internet Marketing for Small Business".
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