[philos]

Hi

I was wondering were the best resources (articles, logo builders etc) were for building a brand. A source of info on how one goes about it in the new economy on a shoe-string budget.

[southerncross01]

You might want to run over to entrepreneur.com and do a search for the subject, there were a number of articles in the result.

A little creativity never hurts when coming up with a branding strategy, well hey... creativity just never hurts no matter what!

It usually helps to look at what the big businesses are doing as well... use their millions of dollars worth of research in branding strategies to your advantage!

[jimmiejo]

This is a great book on designing identities and everything that involves your brand.

[bernardwright]

http://www.buildingbrands.com/

They have a free newsletter w/ some decent branding tips in it...

[philos]

Thanks tons!

both sources gave me some great info.

since were at it...how about viral marketing...any experts out there?

[leaj23]

Hi Philos,

Re viral marketing, with a limited budget, you should try the SMS avenue in mobile phones. Doing promotions and referrals via SMS is a great personal way to connect with your market, plus it's cheaper than doing the traditional media. Users can forward SMS to other people, or show the SMS they received to stores and retailers and receive discounts.

However, using SMS, you're in danger of spamming people, which could be damaging to your company.

In our country, SMS Marketing is very much prevalent. Downloading of movie wallpapers, wallpapers of Hollywood A-listers, MP3 ringtones, subscribing to updates, celebrity news, daily Biblical verses and "Chicken Soup for the Soul" passages, anecdotes, etc.

[cr_lester]

Philos;
Believe it or not, you're making one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs on a small budget make. Don't brand. For one thing, that is sooooo 80's. For another, you can't afford to develop a brand.
Technically, there are two types of advertising. Branding, & direct marketing. Branding is general, and tells everyone that the company exists, and how good the company is... But has nothing to do with the product. Direct marketing is about the product, its benefits, and a call to action. I wouldn't recommend branding until you've sold enough product to afford to advertise without it actually bringing immediate results like direct marketing does.

Because I Care;
Cheryl Lester
www.NovusLife.com

[leaj23]

Remember also that the trend today is to go with PR, CRM and DM. Try to read the book entitled "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR". Try to get more bang for your dollars, and direct marketing could be more cost effective, and definitely a lot cheaper than going traditional marketing.

[cr_lester]

Bingo - exactly.

[jimmiejo]

Originally posted by cr_lester
Philos;
Believe it or not, you're making one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs on a small budget make. Don't brand. For one thing, that is sooooo 80's. For another, you can't afford to develop a brand.

Technically, there are two types of advertising. Branding, & direct marketing. Branding is general, and tells everyone that the company exists, and how good the company is... But has nothing to do with the product. Direct marketing is about the product, its benefits, and a call to action. I wouldn't recommend branding until you've sold enough product to afford to advertise without it actually bringing immediate results like direct marketing does.

You are totally wrong on this one. First off, branding isn't a physical asset, it's the company itself. Everything it does is it's brand. The message on it's answering machine, it's doormat, hours of operation, letterhead, the clothing the president wears. Everything!

Now, I'm an art director in the advertising world so I know what I'm talking about here. Advertising is where the product talks about itself. PR is where other people talk about the product. Advertising is only a small part of marketing. Marketing begins before the product is created and takes place through every single stage of a business.

Direct Marketing is what's "sooooo 80's". It is one of the most abused means of advertising where the company itself satisfies it's ego. It should be the last route you look at to reach your market.

Small companies don't need a marketing/advertising budget. Running the same 'ol back of the magazine ads results in nothing. Same with putting press releases out that you've just opened a company. Big deal. Every other type of medium is ineffective in terms of generating demand until you "develop your brand."

Meaning, you need to determine your strategy and story that you wan't everyone to see when they think of you. Then it's a matter of letting them hear that story (Note: I'm not talking about an actual written story; your product's story is it's name, packaging, office, everything that your customer's tell others about you).

You need to worry about providing a unique product that is the best in it's category and find interesting ways of letting people know this. That's where advertising comes in. And advertising isn't just tv, radio, print, etc... It's also the back of your business card, the wrap on your vehicle and so many other mediums.

Now, the books you need to read:

All Marketers Are Liars
Hey Whipple Squeeze This
How To Get Ideas
Cutting Edge Advertising

These books talk about everything you need to know about branding, marketing, and advertising, and touch on other ways to make your company great.

[Caroline]

Marketing with articles is a strategic concept for building credibility and establishing yourself as an expert in your industry or area of expertise. It's also the best way to maximize a shoestring budget.

Since both in-print and online publications are in constant demand of valuable content for their readers, they are always on the lookout for quality content. You'll do far better by writing and submitting free reprint articles to publications that reach your target audience than by investing in advertising.

The key to success in using this concept lies in making certain that your articles reach your specific target audience. I've had success in using http://www.articlesubmissionsites.com. It's a very affordable membership web site that features a submission sites listing of over 400. Plus, the listing is updated regularly, which gives me the heads-up on new publications accepting articles on my topic.

If you're new to this marketing idea, you'll find this site offers everything you need to be successful in writing and submitting articles. In addition to the submission sites, it features valuable tools such as submission forms, sample query letters, and even a writer's dictionary. You also have access to articles written by accomplished writers detailing the specifics of how to effectively engage your target audience through your writing.

You don't have to be a professional writer to be successful in marketing your business this way. ArticleSubmissionSites even offers advice and step-by-step guidance in working with a ghostwriter and/or editor.

I've genuinely benefited from this resourceful site and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to increase their exposure within their marketplace and generate targeted traffic. Using this technique, I've tripled my sales within the last year and have increased my client base significantly.