Archive for branding
Branding Your Business: A Most Interesting Case Study
Posted by: | CommentsIn my last post I talked about having a consistent brand – every experience your customer has with your business must send a consistent message in order for them to trust what you say about your business. Today I’d like to show you how one business is doing this while combining traditional advertising with social media. 
If you watch television you may have seen the commercials for “the most interesting man alive.” These commercials feature a dapper, older gentleman leading an adventurous life surrounded by beautiful people. My favorite line is, “he lives vicariously … through himself.” The commercials end with the man saying, “I don’t always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis”.
Clearly Dos Equis is branding itself as a fun beverage offering a unique experience above and beyond your average brew.
To reinforce this quirky advertising campaign, Dos Equis has a website: The Most Interesting Academy with “courses” on how to be interesting.
The Dos Equis Facebook Fan Page includes the advertising spots, additional videos and a journal “written” by the Most Interesting Man Alive himself plus places for fans to add their own “facts” about him. As I write this, the fan page has over 172,000 fans. All for a fictitious person flogging beer.
To further promote the brand on Facebook, Dos Equis has Read More→
What Does Your Social Media Photograph Say About You?
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You would never dream of attending a business meeting in a bathing suit or ripped jeans. And yet, many business professionals do the equivalent with their website and social media profiles.
Even people with great profiles and intelligent comments sometimes drop the ball with their photograph. People like to network with people, not anonymous computers, so resist the temptation to use your company’s logo. Your photograph humanizes you; it shows you are a living breathing person and not a faceless corporation.
When it comes to choosing a photograph, think professional. I’ve seen otherwise professional people put photos of themselves at the beach, with their dogs, with their kids or with weird close-ups of one eye or their ear. These casual photos create dissonance with the business-like tone of their sites.
Unless you have a quirky business where potential clients need to see a fun-loving side of you, make sure your photo looks like you could be heading off to a business meeting. A simple headshot with you in business attire is what you should be aiming for.
Think of trying to brand yourself with your photo. A good photo can be used on multiple sites, your website and as a publicity shot. By using the same photo everywhere, people will begin to recognize you, the same as they would if they knew you in person.
You’ll be getting a lot of mileage out of this photo so if at all possible, get a professional photograph taken. It doesn’t need to be expensive. Even going to the photo studio at Sears or Walmart will produce a quality photo you can use everywhere.
Some studios will even give you a CD with electronic versions of your photograph. If not, don’t worry. Scanning the print is easy and produces a good enough quality for use on social media. Don’t have a scanner? Use the phone and call some print shops or computer stores until you find one that will scan it for you.
Remember, many of the people you network with online will never meet you in person. Your photograph will be the only image they have of you. Why not make it a good one?
Andrea J. Stenberg
Here’s my new logo – finally!
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve all heard the expression the cobbler’s children go barefoot. Well I’ve been running around barefoot for the past several years.
When I first started my full time copywriting business three years ago, one day I looked at the calendar and realized I had a networking meeting coming up and I didn’t have any business cards.
I phoned around to 
find a print shop that could get me cards in time and then designed my card – In Word! It wasn’t flashy but it was clean, professional and had all my contact information. And since it was working just fine, I didn’t see any urgency to get new ones done.
However, now that The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur has taken off and I’m doing workshops, teleseminars, public speaking and ebooks in addition to the blog (which doesn’t appear on my old business card) I decided it’s time for a more professional look.
I called my friend and colleague Jennifer Harris at www.Keylimecreative.ca. I’ve worked with on projects for clients and know she does good work. I set her off to design a logo for The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur. I didn’t give her much direction, but boy did she come up with something great.
This logo is clean and looks good large or small. I love the egg and the branch which have an organic feel and represent new possibilities and growth. I can use the logo in many different colours. And Jen gave me a version without the text so I can use it in a variety of different applications. I think she really nailed it!
I’ve created a look with the theme of this blog, but now I can start branding myself visually on everything I produce. I can’t wait to start using this logo. Thanks Jen!
Andrea J. Stenberg
Let me know what you think of my new logo or share your experiences getting a logo designed or branding your business. What challenges did you face? What went well?
