To those of us that run small businesses, we are the purveyor… the king/queen… the master over our land… and we LOVE what we do. We are the brand of our company. I’ve noticed that many marketing conversations focus on the dominance of large, corporate brands. However, it is becoming increasingly important for the small business to become creative and focus intently on building a better brand through the world of business communication.
We are on the front lines. You are the BRAND. Your personality, networking ability, sales, and customer service builds (or breaks down) every aspect of your company’s brand.
The question presented to many marketers, writers, and business consultants is how do you build a better brand? How do you get your name out there? How do you become a trusted partner in a certain field? There are many different answers to these questions, all which have value. But I would like to concentrate on one that I have witnessed firsthand through writing a book. Now, writing a book is not the only way to build a brand but for the sake of your sanity (and mine) we are going to focus on one thing at a time.
(For information about Kyles’s Twitter Marketing for Dummies book go to http://bit.ly/TlDzQ)
I was presented with the opportunity in May of 2009 to write Twitter Marketing for Dummies for Wiley Publishing. A person attending one of our seminars knew a key person at Wiley, who had asked her if she knew of anyone knowledgeable regarding Twitter. She mentioned my name, the person from Wiley contacted me, I submitted a Table of Contents to them, and the ball was rolling. It was a great opportunity to test my knowledge on the wonderful world of Twitter and also to build my company/personal brand in the world of social media. I have seen that writing a book gives your brand credibility, helps build trust as an advisor, and creates momentum to help your company move to the next level.
To begin writing a book to help build your brand, you should first identify a subject matter that will resonate with your clients. It made sense for us to write a book on Twitter because my company consults on social media. What is going to set you apart from your competition? If you are in the finance industry, try to pinpoint an idea or problem that your customer is always facing.
I’m not talking about the 10 steps to a better life or 100 Ways to Manage Your Money. Don’t be a used book salesman. We are talking about new ideas here. It’s helpful to brainstorm by writing about 50 different book titles that could help guide your writing process. Think about what is going to build you into a trusted advisor. What is going to take your personal brand to the next level?
Next, choose 8-10 titles that you think have the most relevance and start writing summaries for each title. Tell stories, think of ways that you have helped solve problems and write about those. Remember, a great way to progress a book idea is to take from actual experiences. Although I’m not a professional writer and cannot give you the ten steps to writing a great book, this is probably a good start.
The amount of credibility a book can bring your personal/company brand is astronomical. This is simply because you took the time and had the fortitude to do something different. That is the true power in building a brand. It isn’t the books, blogs, speaking engagements, or podcasts… it is making the conscious decision to put your ideas on the line… to believe in yourself to the point where you own your ideas and become a better brand in the process.
kyle lacy, ceo
brandswag corp
(blog) www.kylelacy.com
(web) www.getbrandswag.com
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(tweet) kyleplacy
(office) 317.829.1616
(mobile) 765.610.5965
Tags: Branding, indianapolis small business
