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Using A Blog To Build Your Brand – 5 Tips For Blogging Success

January 6, 2013 by 1 Comment
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Using A Blog To Build Your Brand – 5 Tips For Blogging Success

by Frederika Angus

Blog for profit Blog with social media tips for beginners

Blogging these days is about as popular as smartphones; nearly everyone has one. And if you aren’t currently writing a blog, it’s likely that you’ve started one and quit writing in the past, you read someone else’s blog regularly, or you have an idea to start one.

Using a blog is one of the most effective ways to share your creativity, inspiration, and message quickly with those it will resonate with. It is also a great tool to use to brand yourself, share your expertise and build a business around. If you’re just staring out with blogging or looking for help to blog successfully, here are a few tips that will help.

1- Be You!

Authenticity is a critical point to branding, building a business and life in general. The popular phrase “Fake it til you make it” does not work well in the blogging world. People are naturally more suspicious of things that sound to good to be be true. No wants you to be perfect. Being perfect is a myth. Being the real, genuine, best you on your blog will results in building a brand that doesn’t feel like a production. Your blog will become the natural extension of who you are.

2- Be Positive!

When building a brand, save the drama. People may enjoy and laugh and agree with you for a while, but do you want your internet lasting legacy to be one of negativity? Think about the books, tv shows, and friends you enjoy and like to regularly read, watch and be around. If you’re like me, it’s very likely that negativity is draining and you much prefer the positive inspiration to constant negative news. Create that same culture for your brand through your blog.

3- Be Consistent!

Show up and write regularly. Attention spans tend to be short so if you don’t show up, you will quickly be forgotten. Bring your brand to the top of mind for your followers consistently. Once you determine your routine, this will be easy!

4- Be Focused!

Before you start, decide what exactly you will be blogging about. Try not to shift and jump around. For instance, if I talking about branding then jump into discussing makeup and fashion, that will create a disconnect between the topics and with my followers. Decide your focus and the topics you will discuss on your blog. When people arrive at your blog it should be clear what you are about and the type of information they will receive.

5- Be Diverse!

Everyone doesn’t like to read blogs in the same fashion. Some may like to go directly to your website, while others prefer to read them directly from their email. Other’s may happen upon your blog from the many social media outlets you post on. Be sure to provide your blog content in diverse ways. Being able to stay connected with your followers in the method they prefer most, will be beneficial in growing your following and spreading your message through blogging!

I hope you enjoy these tips!

Post below if you have any questions or to just let me know how these tips help you out!

Talk to you soon!

Frederika Angus

 

Filed Under: Branding, Wordpress Website Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Power of Belief For Your Brand Growth and Profitable Business Success

February 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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The Power of Belief For Your Brand Growth and Profitable Business Success

by Frederika Angus

What do you believe?

“If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.” Denis Waitley

Businesses are built and grow based on your belief. Oftentimes people tell me that they would love to be a business owner. Being able to do work that you love and have a passion for, determining your schedule for greater freedom and flexibility, and having the ability to create a legacy and wealth for your future is appealing. Unfortunately, the next thing they say starts with a big BUT.

“But I just don’t think I am cut out to be an entrepreneur.” “But I don’t have the time.” “But I don’t think that this idea will work.”

Today I want to encourage you to Change Your BUT! I am not just talking about reciting some affirmations over and over again. I am talking about changing your mindset about what you believe is possible for you and your business.

Credible personal and expert branding is supported with your belief. If you know that you are an expert in your industry as a fashion stylist, chef, makeup artist, software developer, business strategist, whatever you have skill in, you will be treated and compensated as such.

As William James said “Belief creates the actual fact.” What facts are you creating in the marketplace for your brand based on your belief?

You see branding is more than design element or a necessary part of your overall marketing strategy. The power of branding lies in the mind. It is rooted in the perception that people have about you and your business. As the face of your company, you have the opportunity to shape that belief for your clients and customers by what it is you believe for yourself and the value your business has.

Start this process by asking and answering these 3 questions.

    1. What does your ideal client currently believe about you and your business? All brand strategies should begin with a clear idea of how you are being seen in the marketplace. Your client’s perception of you produces their reality and it is important in the development of a brand message.
    2. What do you believe about you/your business? If what you believe and what your customers believe to be true about you are not in agreement, your branding efforts have a huge disconnect. This is usually the point a brand strategy experts should be brought in to create or transform the brand message.
    3. What do you want people to believe about you and your company? Brainstorm the ideas that you want to leave people with. Every word that people read about you, every visual element they see, the voice and tone of every message, should reflect who you are and what you stand for.

How you and your clients perceive your business will make an impact in the expansion, growth and overall success of your branding efforts. “Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy.” Tony Robbins. Be mindful of your thoughts and the power they have on your brand.

Talk to you soon!

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Tebowing Your Brand – What Your Small Business Can Learn About Branding From Tim Tebow

January 9, 2012 by 2 Comments
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Tebowing Your Brand – What Your Small Business Can Learn About Branding From Tim Tebow

by Frederika Angus

Hate him or love him, Tim Tebow, NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos, has become the sports media’s favorite topic. The more I observe his style of play and how he handles himself on and off the field, there are a few lessons for entrepreneurs that will help you with your own small business branding.

Faith in the face of adversity. Being a business owner can be tough. While I believe that anyone can be an entrepreneur, it takes a very dedicated, strong person that is willing to face challenges head on to actually be and entrepreneur. There will always be naysayers, competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Because Tebow hasn’t played like most quarterbacks in the league, he has been discounted by the analysts, football fans, and even the management of his team. Nevertheless, Tebow has stood steadfast in his belief in himself. He is unwavering in his stance that he has the skills and ability to be a quarterback, not a running back or tight end, in the NFL.

In order for your business and brand to last, you must have faith that you are not only designed to be a business owner, but also that your skills and abilities are ready for the challenges. As I expressed in Start Your Small Business Brand Strategy By Bringing You to the Table, you have to be the brand as an entrepreneur. Your business success in branding will go as far as your faith will allow you to believe.

Clear conviction of who you are and what you are here to do. One quality that sets entrepreneurs apart from the rest, is their ability to get clear and obtain laser like focus and run with their business vision. In the beginning stages of business planning and mapping out products and services you can offer, the clarity you have in knowing exactly what your value and uniqueness is in the marketplace is critical. Your brand has to stand out from the crowd. Clearly communicating those factors that are different, valuable and relevant to your customers with consistency is important to branding.

Tim Tebow is a good example of knowing who he is purposed to be and what he must do. He very clearly and consistently communicates who he is in every interview so that there is no mistake about his value and why he does what he does. He stands out so strongly that those who wouldn’t normally follow sports have heard of him.

Be consistent on and off the field. Your clients as well as your competition are always watching you. This is especially true if you are on social media. Do not project yourself to be one way in front of your clients and then present yourself differently on Twitter or Facebook. Doing so is a sure fire way to ruin your brand credibility.

Tebow is known for consistently expressing his faith whether he is on the field after making a game winning play or at a hospital visiting with children.

The Tim Tebow brand is one of the most talked about in all of sports. Even those who don’t like his style of play can’t help but to continue to talk about him. This is a powerful place to be as a brand. Utilize these tips and build a brand for your business that is the topic of discussion of your customers.

Talk to you soon!

 

Filed Under: Branding, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

Start Your Small Business Brand Strategy By Bringing You to the Table

December 8, 2011 by 2 Comments
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Start Your Small Business Brand Strategy By Bringing You to the Table

by Frederika Angus

I bet you can recognize all of the above businesses without seeing the company name. Talk about brand recognition!

But what is branding anyway?

Depending on who you talk to, branding is often thought of as a name or logo. The visual identifier that everyone will see, remember and relate to. Maybe you’ve already been through the logo design process. You researched different colors and the emotion that they invoke. You spent hours determining what the perfect tag line or even company name should be.

While that is all good, people do not do business with logos and tag lines. Yes, those items can help attract clients to look at your company. Having eyes on your business is great! The goal is to also make a profit while you have people looking.

Have you ever been at the grocery store and selected a shiny red, apple that looked flawless? No blemishes. No bruises. Leonardo da Vinci could not have painted a better work of art. But when you get home and take bite, it is not at all what you thought it would be. The skin is tough and the flesh lacks flavor. The outer appearance was deceiving and as you got below the surface you were disappointed.

Does your business brand leave your customers and clients that way? The image and logo look great, but just under the surface, what they identified with on the outside isn’t there?

Small business branding IS the owner. It is about what the owner says, does and how you as the owner and your personality meets your client in every aspect of the business. Branding is how you build and maintain relationships, the manner by which you do business and serve other people. It is how at an individual level, rapport is established because your clients trust your character, not from theme music, logos or slogans.

People are attracted to you! The best way to begin your business brand strategy is with you. Every business has a personality and as a solopreneur, you must make sure that it is your personality (not the person you pretend to be in the shower when no one is looking) that is showing up everywhere.

Faking it until you make it no longer works in the marketplace.

Consumers are craving authenticity and real connection with the people they do business with. Your ideal client has to believe that you are credible and will deliver exactly what you say that you are able to do.

Bringing all of who you are to the table means that your brand is instantly as unique as you are. The one thing your competition cannot copy is YOU. They can make a similiar logo, or advertising campaign. They will never be able to replicate you. Save the money you would have spent on all the shiny objects and flash and utilize it for more effective and strategic advertising.

Perhaps you’ve heard the quote, “Be the change you want to see.”

When it comes to branding, be the brand your customer wants to see.

Talk to you soon!

Filed Under: Branding Tagged With: , , , ,

Choosing a Domain Name For Your Website

October 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Choosing a Domain Name For Your Website

by Frederika Angus

I have been on the internet for the past 16 years. My parents were forward thinking enough to send me to computer camps at College campuses since I was 14 years old. They allowed me to grow and discover the most cutting edge technologies at their expense throughout high school. Their support led me into obtaining a degree in Computer Science in college.

Once there, I had opportunities to create and design school organization websites and eventually company sites as a Freshman in college. The internet has truly changed since then. Do you rememeber when the web search engine of choice was Yahoo!? Now we don’t even tell each other to look on a search engine for information. It is more common to say “Go google it.”

The constant, however, is the importance of your website domain name or URL. Just like the mail carrier needs a house number and street name to bring you the mail intended for you, your ideal customers need the address to find your place online. Your online branding begins with your web address.

This is one of the more common questions that come up with my clients that are just getting started. Especially those that are bringing an offline business online.

I recommend you KISS.

No. I am not being fresh! It is important that you Keep It SHORT and SIMPLE.

Easy to say. Easy to type. Easy to spell.

If the person looking for you can’t spell your URL, they may try a couple variations and then give up. I’ve done that more times than I can count! While you know what you have to offer is valuable, your ideal client has found someone else.

Sometimes your web address will be different from your company name. When it came time to fill in the name on my incorporation paper for this company, it took me weeks to land on something I liked. Since I don’t have a brick and mortar setup, not using Angus Choice Corporation as a primary URL wasn’t a huge deal for me. My company name means a great deal to myself and my family. It’s appropriate for our offline divisions. I realize that anyone else hearing Angus Choice will probably think I coach on strategies for beef processing and cattle herding. I named this site with the goal I have for each of my clients. I desire that every entrepreneur would not just dream but move to the next level in the big vision that they have.

Do not get stuck on a name before you search to see if it is available! Go to a domain registrar like a GoDaddy or Domain.com and search for your intended domain name. Often times if your exact name is taken they will offer you alternatives. Use the suggestions to keep your creativity flowing until you find the right one for you.

Be cautious of words that are commonly misspelled. Or words that sound the same but have a few different spellings. For instance, rain and reign. Intentionally misspelling words or making up words *could* work and pay off big (think flickr vs flicker), or it could backfire.

Be brief. Domain names can be as long as 67 characters. Don’t make it a personal challenge to have to be thatguy with a URL that looks like some hashtags on Twitter. Using www.thiswasagoodideabeforeirealizeditwontfitonabusinesscard.com will just leave more room for spelling errors.

Speaking of .com, it is the standard and is a best practice. Having a .net isn’t bad nor is using a suffix specific to your country. If you have a non-profit organization, having a .org site is appropriate. Otherwise, I’d encourage you to leave the other options for someone else regardless of the rock bottom price of $1.99/ year.

This should get those juices flowing to finding the perfect domain name!

Share a comment below with your thoughts. If you are looking for more support in building the business of your dreams and living the life you envisioned, be sure to join me on Facebook now and follow me on Twitter.

Talk to you soon!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship Tagged With: , , , , , , ,