Brand and Capture

How to Use SEO to Protect Your Brand

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In the number of seconds it takes to watch a YouTube video, the reputation of your brand can plummet from respected to reviled. Remember last year's unsanitary food handling video posted by two (now former) Domino's Pizza employees? How long was it before you'd take a chance on ordering from Domino's?

Businesses must maintain constant vigilance to protect their brands from damage. Brand perception has always been a concern, but today's instant communication makes it that much more important -- and that much harder -- to protect your brand. Large corporations devote teams of lawyers to protecting their brands by ferreting out and addressing every misuse, negative comment or derogatory reference to their brand. Small businesses simply don't have the resources to create that level of protection. For smaller brands, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) offers reasonable brand protection at an affordable price.

In concert with your inbound marketing program, SEO can be carefully managed to protect your brand against negative and malicious online content. Using effective SEO techniques, an inbound marketing professional can increase the search engine page ranking of official brand sites, forcing negative and unauthorized material off the first page of search results.

Fewer than 5% of Internet users navigate beyond the first page of search results, making SEO manipulation a relatively cheap and effective way of protecting your brand from harm. According to Internet marketing experts, customers performing a brand search are generally satisfied and stop investigating after encountering 10 positive to neutral search results. Since the average Internet search page shows about 10 results, pushing negative material off the first page is all that is required to protect your brand from negative online content.

To protect your brand, try these SEO tips:

• Optimize images by adding your brand name to ALT and title attributes. In Flickr, update the title and description in photo descriptions.
• Optimize video by creating tutorials, pod casts, product demos, etc. and adding keywords to video titles and descriptions. Place videos on your website as well as on YouTube.
• Optimize PDF files, particularly document properties that serve as title tag and meta description.
• Create a Facebook page and Twitter account to optimize your social media profile.
• Create optimized press releases monthly to maintain search engine ranking.
• Start a blog and optimize blog posts with branded keywords.

Are you monitoring your brand in social media and search engines? What's your SEO strategy for protecting your brand reputation?

Photo credit: CarbonNYC

Using Tag Lines to Build Your Brand

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You can build your brand with an effective tag line to go with your memorable logo. Tag lines give your brand a unique identity. A tag line is a short 3 to 7 word phrase that appears with your logo. When consumers hear or see your tag line, they should instantly associate it with a positive quality connected with your business or product. 

To be effective, tag lines need to be short, to the point and easily remembered. The best tag lines exhibit superior "stickiness"; that is, they stick in the consumer's mind. The hallmarks of an effective tagline are:

1. Memorable. To stick in the customer's mind, a tag line should resonate with the big picture, elicit emotion or define the brand's key essence. Make use of puns, jingles, alliteration, humor, created words and rhymes to create memorable tag lines. Oscar Meyer's "My bologna has a first name" is a powerful example.
2. Recall. An effective tag line should contain or at least invoke the brand name. An excellent example is Nike's ploy of ending ads only with its iconic swoosh, forcing consumers to supply the brand name.
3. Benefit. Your tag line should define a key brand benefit. In marketing it's always easier to "sell the sizzle, not the steak." People buy more readily into benefits than features. Allstate's tag line, "You're in good hands," is a sterling example.
4. Differentiate. An effective tag line should differentiate the brand from its competitors. The California Dairy Council has done this admirably with its "Happy cows come from California."
5. Positive. Your tag line should give consumers a good feeling about your brand. Stick with positive mental images; negativity doesn't sell. Coke has been particularly successful in creating tag lines with positive images, "Coke is it!" being the most iconic.
6. Exclusivity. Effective tag lines should be exclusive to the brand and not be so general that they could be applied to competitors. The ability to apply general tag lines like "Simply the best" to multiple brands blunts its effectiveness.
7. Strategic. Memorable tag lines express brand strategy. General Electric's "We bring good things to light" is a classic example.

The most successful brand tag lines enter the popular lexicon and become an indelible part of popular culture. While few tag lines achieve trend status as pop culture icons, your brand's tag line could be the next phrase on everyone's lips if you follow these 7 tips.

What are some tag lines you admire?

There is an I (and a Me) in Inbound Marketing

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In putting together a solid inbound marketing strategy, we usually focus on building relationships with potential customers by giving away valuable information and offers. We put ourselves in our customers' shoes and ask "what's in it for me?" Then we give them what they want, convert them to leads and nurture them into customers.  But when we put our own shoes back on, the same question applies. What's in it for me, the inbound marketer, and my company?

Direct Impact on the Bottom Line

Assuming that you follow the inbound marketing mantra of consistently publishing great content, engaging in social media, optimizing for search and nurturing leads you should see:

1. Increased volume of qualified sales leads
2. Increased conversion rates from lead to customer
3. Increased direct sales via e-commerce (if available)
4. Improved customer retention rates
5. Increased repeat sales from current customers

Performance metrics depend on the amount, frequency and quality of the content you create and the use of social media channels for communication and support. Much depends on how committed your organization is to inbound marketing as a strategy and using social media as a natural tool to communicate with customers and co-workers.

Brand Awareness

Inbound Marketing will have the most immediate effect on brand awareness. Every time someone visits your website, reads your blogs, subscribes to your feeds, signs up for your free downloads and webinars or follows you on one of your social network venues, you have helped to cement your brand in their subconscious. Each time that happens, you are one step closer to gaining a new customer. You can monitor brand awareness over time via:

1. Website traffic
2. Search engine optimization and analysis
3. Real-time search metrics
   
4. Social media monitoring
   

Brand Reputation

Brand awareness is just half the battle. As your footprint becomes larger, you will get more feedback. That's what you want, to start a conversation and build a relationship with potential and existing customers. These conversations will happen with or without your presence. Successful companies monitor social media channels and respond to all kinds of questions and comments. Many of them use tools such as Twitter for customer service, which helps to funnel customer feedback into a single channel. Benefits of participation in social media include:

1. Improved customer satisfaction and retention rate
2. Quick and pervasive response to positive and negative feedback
3. Building a community of brand supporters (and virtual sales reps)
4. Competitive edge over companies that are less involved

So, next time your boss, your investors or your co-workers express their doubts about the value of inbound marketing and social media, rattle off these bullet points. Then, show them your data.

Any questions?

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Disappointed By Your Inbound Marketing Results?

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We humans aren't known for our patience, but even so, what's a reasonable expectation for inbound marketing? When should we expect to be #1 on Google and start generating positive ROI? Why does it seem like we're spinning our wheels? Well, let's start with the expectations part first, then look for some fixes.

What are your expectations for inbound marketing? Are they realistic? Let's try working backwards from the business goal. For example, I am a widget manufacturer, and I sell 1000 widgets per month at $100 per widget.  I would like to improve sales by 25% this year, so that's an additional 250 widgets per month or $25,000 a month in added revenue. Let's assume my production costs and overhead are $15,000 per month, so we're looking at $10,000 net revenue prior to marketing. In other words, if I spend $10,000 per month in marketing, I'm at break even. My goal now is finding the right mix of marketing that brings in 250 widgets per month while preserving a reasonable profit. Let's say I'm looking for a 10% profit. That means I can spend up to $7,500 per month in marketing, as long as the 250 new widget sales come in each month.

Our next step should be defining a marketing strategy that has the highest probability of success. That means understanding our customers - who they are, what they are looking for and how to reach them. We could easily spend our $7,500 on TV/radio ads, billboards and e-mail blasts, but will they work? Do people respond to those media in our area and industry? You probably already know the answer from previous marketing campaigns. Let's jump ahead a bit and assume that you're already working harder on your Internet marketing strategy - new web site, blog, social media accounts etc. Why is it so hard to make an immediate splash - lots of new sales in a short period of time. You hear lots of stories about viral marketing and companies taking it to the next level in inbound marketing. Why not yours? Here are some things to consider:

1. You should not expect instant success. It takes time and effort to reach lots of people and convert them into customers. You will find that there's a direct correlation between time/effort and success.
2. You must build relationships, not numbers. The more time you spend creating interesting content and communicating directly with people, the better your chances of bringing in high quality leads. Concentrate on reaching people with good offers and great service. The numbers will take care of themselves in the long run.
3. You must be a chameleon. Be flexible and creative. Don't tweak your strategy every day, but keep an eye on your metrics, and be prepared to change your content, your offers and your strategy periodically to improve results. You will know when something is working.
4. Be patient. You marketing dollars will appear to be wasted at first, because it takes time to build a loyal following. If you keep up a consistent high-quality effort, learn from your mistakes and adapt to changing conditions, your time will come. Give your program at least a year before you pull the plug. Rome wasn't built in a day.
   

But how long is long enough? If you're committed to your inbound marketing strategy, you should see a steady gain in following, leads and sales over time. You can provide a surge of energy periodically by doing a social media campaign or a special event. Mixing in traditional marketing campaigns can also be very effective when blended with social media. These things cost more money than blogging and other routine online tactics, but they may provide a significant boost in brand awareness and sales. Focus on the growth in leads and sales from period to period and don't worry so much about your Google search results or web traffic. Adapt and adjust your marketing campaign as you go. Remember what the goal is - improving sales over time until positive ROI is achieved. Convert every lead and win every sale - that's your formula for new media marketing.

Still disappointed? There are lots of qualified marketing folks out there who can help. Let's talk... 

Inbound Marketing and The Green Police

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In addition to its own social media campaign, the Audi Green Police ad has garnered a good deal of what I'll call unintended inbound marketing attention. 

From USA Today, to liberal blogs, to conservative blogs, even to the plastics industry, everyone seems to have an opinion about The Green Police.

Here are 5 things I think Audi accomplished with its ad: 

1. Promoted discussion - by intersecting politics, activism, and automobile technology, Audi was able to engage a wide audience.
2. Defined its own sustainable business model - there has been a concerted effort by many companies to be both 'green' and profitable. With its clean diesel, Audi put its own environmental stake in the ground - one much different from the hybrid focus of Honda and Toyota. 
3. Expanded the transformational experience of a car purchase - buying a new car is always exciting, but as the owner of a TDI Diesel, Audi seems to be saying you will not only be making the right choice for yourself but also the best choice for an environmentally conscious society. Everyone wins with the TDI Diesel. 
4. Alienated certain consumers - there is a subset of consumers who were likely put off by Audi's portrayal of an increased statist presence at the expense of individual freedom. If these consumers were considering purchasing an Audi, will they still want to buy one?
5. Overshadowed the actual product - What is the TDI Diesel's MPG? How many people can it seat? How much does it cost? None of these questions, which contribute to a purchase decision, are answered in the ad. 

A Health Insurance Company Driving Social Media Innovation?

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It's true. The nations's 4th largest health insurer, Humana, is leading the way in reaching out to consumers with novel ideas in social media. One look at the website for the Humana Innovation Center and you'll be hooked. These folks are putting together games, tools and blogs aimed at making us healthier and having fun doing it.

These guys don't dabble in social media - it's part of their culture. No idea is too crazy. Early projects have included Humana Games for Health, a video games initiative designed to make healthiness more interesting and fun. A second project, freewheel!n encourages you to leave the car keys at home, get on your bike and pedal to healthiness and a better environment. How do they get the word out about these creative projects? The Social Team at Humana Innovation Center writes several clever blogs each week, for example "A Winter Workout Playlist: 14 Songs To Warm You Up". They don't stop there, creating project Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, uploading photos and videos to Flickr and YouTube, and much more. The whole idea is to build online communities around each project to encourage participation and solicit ideas from members

What's truly remarkable about this group within a corporate giant is that the fun, creative spirit is transforming the company as a whole. Amber Naslund wrote a great post about this transformation last year. The Humana Innovation Team created a new form of self-governance they call "Town Square" which embraces sharing, openness, listening and transparency. This isn't just their mantra, it's how they roll on a daily basis. Every 3-4 weeks this "social media democracy" gets together in a Chamber of Commerce meeting to review progress and kick new ideas around. Other Humana Departments and even outsiders are encouraged to participate. More than a year into this experiment, and these folks are thriving and growing like an "un-cancer".

What can we learn from Humana's foray into social media and creative culture? Well, first of all, it can be done, even at a corporate monster with traditional structure and values. Why? Because it works. The Social Team isn't just doing this for fun - it's for teaching and motivating all of us to take better care of ourselves. We respond to this kind of innovation. Could it work elsewhere? Why not? All we have to do is have the courage to try something different, then use our imaginations and marketing skills to make it happen. Kudos to Humana for having the guts to hire good people and let them run with the ball. 

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Cleveland Ad Agencies Rock!

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Local Flavor Rules!

When in Rome... If you're a Cleveland business, why not hire your local ad agency? A sharp Cleveland ad agency will understand not only the local market but what types of pieces resonate best with the public. Demographics such as age, ethnicity, income and family structure all play an important role in how your message will be received. Understanding these variables from the beginning can help you avoid embarrassing missteps or the wasting of time and other valuable resources.

Understanding the Market

Whether your company is based in Cleveland or appealing to potential Cleveland clientele, there are ways to make your brochure or ad design reflect your understanding of Northeast Ohio.

First, consider where you are targeting your message. Cleveland has a few distinct downtown districts, but it also very populous and thriving suburban areas to the east and west of the city where many families reside. Southern suburbs also share many of Cleveland’s demographics but also merge with the Akron-Canton market as you move farther south. Your design as well as content should reflect these variations, however subtle.

Local Designs for Ads, Brochure Designs and Websites

In designs targeted at metropolitan-area Clevelanders, imagery often includes sites familiar to urban and suburban Clevelanders such as Lake Erie, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland sports arenas, the skyline and the waterfront. Appealing to local issues, flavors, teams and pastimes can go a long way towards attracting customers. Knowing the local events and history can make your marketing campaigns more timely and cost-effective.

These are common, recurring and often effective themes, but utilizing a local Cleveland ad agency can help your brand become more targeted and specific, as needed.

Speak to a Local Cleveland Ad Agency

The advantage of working with a Cleveland ad agency is that it is best suited to know the most recent and most specific hot topics and interests of the Northeastern Ohio market. A sharp ad agency is also familiar with the advertising landscape and knows what types of ads have traditionally or more recently populated the public space, and which of these are most effective. Most importantly, your Cleveland ad agency can distinguish you from these ads, carving out a unique space for your brand. They can serve as a valuable resource as you create identity pieces that your audience will keep and remember.

One Big Advantage - They're Local

You can meet with them for lunch or stop by for an in-house meeting. You can get to know them personally and get personal attention.

We're a Cleveland Ad Agency - Why Not Get to Know Us?

5 Steps to Identify Your Branding Strengths and Weaknesses

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When was the last time you drafted your branding strategies' strengths and weaknesses chart?

1.  Start by simply identifying the services that you provide and which services you don’t provide.  Then, pinpoint the areas in which you excel and where you need improvement.

2.  Ask yourself what your brand represents today.  Come up with a list of adjectives.  Do these adjectives fit into your original mission statement and brand strategy?  Are they in accord with your day-to-day activities?

3.  Then consider, in the past year, what projects you have executed most effectively as well as what types of clients or customers are most drawn to you.  Notice any commonalities or patterns.

Remember, this is an internal audit.  Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is a way to see where and how your company and brand strategy can improve.  This is a tool that leads to the final product of a more specific, powerful and polished brand image.  

4. Determine where your brand is heading.  After looking at your present branding strategies and how they square up to your goals or the original vision of your brand, you might notice some disconnects or inconsistencies.  These should now command the primary attention of your brand strategy.  If they are positive changes that you want to pursue as the future of your brand - great!  If they are weaknesses or unfulfilled promises, consider how your brand can change course.

5.  Bring the internal audit into focus.  Ask yourself:  

•    Is my client base expanding or contracting?  
•    Do my clients adequately represent the types of clients I want to pursue?
•    Have I gained on or lost to my closest competitors recently? (key accounts, revenue, market share, etc.)
•    Do people understand my brand?   

Now, take some time to reevaluate.  Regroup with your team and your ad agency and begin redrafting your brand strategy.   You’ll soon find the effort worth the time.