Small Business Branding Online
Guest Blogger Series Part 3: Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Weblog is the premier blog of ideas and opportunities for small business entrepreneurs and is one of the most widely read business blogs.by Dane Carlson As a small businesses, your brand isn't a fancy logo or a special typeface. It's not a special smell, or a radio jingle. It's you. You, the small business owner are your own brand. How you act and what you say has a direct impact on how others view your business. You are able to humanize your business in a way that corporate brand marketers could only dream about. When your customers call or visit your business they're able to have a real interaction with the real person behind the business. They don't need someone to align their expectations or to create impressions or other big company marketing magic. As you develop an online presence, don't try to make your business appear larger or more "professional" than it really is. Don't try to create an intangible brand to replace you the owner as your business's image. In your community there are probably a hundred businesses that do basically what you do; but, they don't have you. That's what makes your business special. Highlight that. Increasingly consumers research their problems online before contacting a local business service. If your website can answer their question or describe how you'd solve their problem, they'll be sold on hiring you before they even call. So, don't build a website full of stock photos of actors dressed like business people. Include photos of you, your employees, and your products and services. Show you and your business in action. Use photos and video to document your business processes. Describe in your own words what you do and why you do it. Don't try to include the popular buzzwords just because. If you can't write, record yourself explaining the business to someone else, and then transcribe that audio. Describe your typical day and answer the common questions that your customers ask.
Thanks, Dane. MerchantCircle makes it easy to upload pictures and videos to your business listing. Also, you can use your own voice to write a blog through your MerchantCircle listing - click here.
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6/25/2009 12:27:00 PM
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6 Comments:
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I am very interested in it, could you please tell me some more imformation? Thank you!
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog.
HUH... Interesting. As a local Business on the internet you are going to really want to concentrate on the seo with phrases that include your city and perhaps the nearest major road or intersection or other landmark if there are many competitors. But probably most important is to make sure that you are included in directories such as merchant circle, Google maps, Google Base, Yahoo's equivalent and you really ought to buy search engine marketing ads and work on optimizing them. It may seem a little complicated at first but once you have it down the business will pour in.
I really enjoyed the post here and think your point about not creating false expectations is crucial especially when you are a local business. You won't fool anybody for long.
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