advertising – Motivational Speeches and books by Snowden McFall

Dramatically Improve Your Brand

How to Improve Your Brand

I recently had the honor of serving on a panel on marketing for Women Business Owners. It became clear that many people don’t understand what their brand really is. Here are the core elements, some of which you may not have considered.

(photo by Erica Benson)

• Corporate Identity

This includes:

your logo

logomark

theme line

corporate colors (PMS, CMYK, RGB)

font (no more than 2)

graphic standard

photos always associated with your company.

In the logo below, the top graphic is a logomark. The logo is the entire graphic with the words attached.

• Theme line / positioning statements In the logo above, which we designed for Selander and Assoc, the theme line “Where People are as Important as the Numbers” tells you who they work with and the next line tells you what they do. Your positioning statement should do the same thing, with some kind of adjective or positive tone.

• Consistent corporate image everywhere Same colors, same font, same artwork, same theme everywhere. In my logo below, the red (PMS 185) and purpley blue colors(PMS 2685) are always used and show up in all my marketing .
Be sure yours is consistent in:

ads

brochures

websites

ezines

business cards

social media

videos

podcasts/ radio

commercials

car wraps, truck art

signage

promo items, shirts, mugs, etc.

• Public behavior of you, your co-workers and your employees A post of your people drunk at a bar may lead prospects to think your company is unreliable. If you behave badly in a public setting, it can ruin your image. (Think Reese Witherspoon.)

• Customer service complaints Handling customer complaints is also part of your brand, which is whyyou should monitor social media or have an RSS feed with the company name and product names.

Anytime a complaint shows up, try to resolve the situation in a positive manner. And if the comment is on google maps, ask happy satisfied customers to comment there.

Recently a large company blithely opened a Facebook page inviting feedback only to have hundreds of angry and dissatisfied customers rant about their lousy service. They took the page down.

Your brand is so much more than just your logo. It is the image and visible presence of your business.

Remember, it takes years to build a reputation and minutes to destroy it.

If you have any questions, email me at orders@firedupnow.com. (For those of you who don’t know- I own a 30 yr ad agency, too.)

Happy marketing

Snowden

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Stress Tip: Use Music to Relax & DeStress

It Can Also Fire You Up!

A 2006 Journal of Advanced Nursing study showed that listening to music one hour a day for a week reduced symptoms of depression by 25%. Music, especially classical music, can also serve as a powerful stress-relief tool. Listening to Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D major while preparing to speak publicly helps avoid anxiety and lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

I use different CD’s in the car. When I need to get Fired Up!, I have energizing, upbeat music that empowers me. Right now, it’s the soundtrack from Glee 3D. When I need to relax, I listen to soft jazz and soothing instrumentals. Try this yourself, especially if you spend hours in the car each day. Make custom playlists on your MP3 player, for working out, for energizing you and for unwinding in traffic. It can even help you destress during the holidays!

Motivational Gifts for $30 or Less

Check out the holiday flyer with sales specials. Many items can be downloaded over the internet with a gift PDF. Holiday Flyer

To sign up for Snowden’s ezine newsletter on stress, happiness, marketing and motivation,

go to: https://firedupnow.com/firedupemailregister.html

 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting without permission and author reference

Fire Up Your Marketing with Genuine Testimonials

Use Longer, Meaningful Testimonials for Impact

We’ve all seen the phony sounding TV commercials with hackneyed phrases that don’t ring true. That is not good advertising. It turns us off. What is highly effective is the use of authentic customer testimonials which are highly specific about the value received.

At Brightwork, my ad agency, we regularly call our clients’ customers to ask them the right questions to ascertain this value. That often will yield powerfulmarketing information that the client was not even aware of. Then we get written permission from the customer to use the testimonial in all marketing for the client, noting that no compensation will be provided for this usage. That legal document can be important. Real testimonial quotes like these can make a substantive difference in your Internet presence, brochures, direct mailers and websites.

Consider this one, for example:

“I’ve worked with a dozen realtors and Sue Bird is by far the best. She constantly stayed on top of every detail in our deal… She saw the entire transaction through from start to finish…even staying in touch after the sale tobe sure I was satisfied. In a day when incompetence is rampant, Sue is refreshing. Her confidence and knowledge made me feel comfortable. She has great expertise and I will definitely use her again.” Dan O’Brien

Some people think short one liner testimonials are better- such as ‘Sue did a great job.” I disagree. Meaningful testimonials which speak to value received are much more powerful. Consider this with your marketing- and here’s a tip- have someone else interview your clients. It’s difficultto do this effectively for yourself.

To sign up for Snowden’s ezine newsletter on stress, happiness, marketing and motivation, go to: https://firedupnow.com/firedupemailregister.html

 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting without permission and author reference.

Fire Up Your Marketing by Sponsoring Events

Marketing Tip: Event Sponsorships

Clients often ask me about unique ways to market themselves with good return. One approach is to sponsor an event or cause that you believe in, which has an audience of people who might use your business. Companies whose primary target market is women might pick the American Heart Association Go Red for Women events, Breast Cancer events or Women in Business Awards events.

If you have an ill family member, you may want to sponsor an event that will support research. The key is to be sincere, get actively involved at the event, and make sure you receive good value for your sponsorship, such as logos, ads in programs, recognition, etc. It can be a great way to market yourself, and more importantly, to give back.

It is also a great way to engage your employees. If there is a sick employee that everyone wants to help, perhaps you do a fundraiser event around the cause that represents their illness. Or get everyone together and help build a house through Habitat for Humanity. It’s also a tremendous stress reliever to do something for someone less fortunate. Everyone can connect something with meaning and purpose and it increases morale and positive feelings all around.

To sign up for Snowden’s ezine newsletter on stress, happiness, marketing and motivation, go to: https://firedupnow.com/firedupemailregister.html

 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting with permission and author reference.

PR Can Fire Up Your Marketing!

PR is a Great Free Way To Increase Visibility

PR can be a terrific way to build visibility and credibility for your business. Many publications are looking for good articles and real news, so make it easy for them. When you send in press releases, be sure to write them strictly as facts, no advertising.

Include the 5 W’s: the who, what, why, where, when, in the first two-three sentences. Always provide contact information and put a quick summary about the business in the last paragraph. Have an interesting headline or grabber. And if you have news that is worthy of a more in-depth article, make it easy for the reporter. Have a great hook. Tie it into national news or something timely. Keep your bullet points succinct and always be gracious with reporters.

Be sure to write the reporter a thank you email or note after the article is published. If you get enough articles out there, you could become a source to reporters. Two national media outlets featured me as an expert on burnout: Investors Business Daily and Fox News.com. The best part? They found me on the Internet and contacted me about their articles! Success Magazine did a story on my new book Stress Express! 15 Instant Stress Relievers. The same thing can happen for you.

To sign up for Snowden’s ezine newsletter on stress, happiness, marketing and motivation, go to: https://firedupnow.com/firedupemailregister.html

 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication without permission