Just like a home builds equity, your brand builds equity over time. The process begins with choices on color palette, logo and tagline, and is reinforced over time with careful planning, positioning and consistency.

Many years ago, I worked in marketing research. It was always interesting to see how many consumers could pick out a specific brand or product by its package design or color. Still others could make the connection simply from a font.

When you frame those results within the context of expert branding, the results are actually not all that surprising.

Building Your Signature Brand

Market research studies have consistently proven that consumers often identify a product on a subliminal level by the shape of the package, as well as its color. Consumers are making a note of these things, and they don’t even realize it.

Knowing this, it’s in a marketer’s best interest to begin building a strong brand foundation right out of the gate — one that will build equity for them over time. The shape and color of your packaging, or the font used in your logo can help illustrate the personality of your brand to a customer, and make it immediately recognizable.

My “Good Grief” Moment

Never was brand recognition more apparent to me than the first time I made out a shopping list for my husband. After several items, I was careful to include a short description of the item — including the package size and color.

Did it help him find the noted items? We’ll probably never know. Guys aren’t exactly forthcoming about these things — even if it’s in the name of (marketing) science.

Raise a Glass to Coca-Cola®

Coca-Cola® has used their distinctive contoured bottle for many years; a detail that made the transition from glass to plastic – and this design has even been incorporated into their canned soda by using the curved lines that mimic the contoured bottle. If you were to see an empty plastic soda bottle, and noted that curved contour, most of us would immediately recognize it as a Coke® brand bottle — even if their trademarked red labeling was removed.

I was such a loyal customer that back in my soda-drinking heyday, I could spot a Coca-Cola® cooler in the store from 6 aisles away. Now, that may well be as much a factor of my addiction to the bubbly beverage as it was to their brand equity — but I’ll leave that for you to judge.

Bottom line — you certainly want your image to keep pace with the times, but changing from a long-established or easily recognized package or label can be detrimental.

Gone to the Dogs

Of course we all know that it is important to have a visually attractive product package. This is certainly true in a retail setting – whether you are in a brick-and-mortar, or virtual store. Three Dog Bakery is an excellent example of conveying quality, personality and company mission in a clever and memorable way.

The site, as well as their retail outlets are themed to their market, and feature whimsical cartoon characters. Clever names, such as their Dogalog®, reinforce the brand and create their own language for their products. The website gives detailed information on the company, its founders, the pets that inspired the business, and many projects that the company is involved in – all of which reflect an ongoing commitment to the consumers and the market that they serve.

Even their company phone number reflects a brand building quality that reinforces their market position.

For canine-crazy folks like me, Three Dog Bakery scores high marks not only for their pet-friendly stores, but also for recognizing that pets are members of our family. Peruse the display cases at any of their franchise stores and you’ll quickly discover a selection of canine confections that rival what you may find for yourself at your own local bakery.

Three Dog Bakery’s retail products feature distinctive kraft, green, orange and purple packaging, signature typestyle, and whimsical dog imagery. When passing a shelf with their products on it, those familiar with the brand immediately recognize it – and those that aren’t are certainly drawn to it by the unique look. It’s easy to see why this brand has become hugely popular among pet owners.

So now it’s your turn — grab a sheet of paper and begin making a list of your brand assets. Are they coordinated? Do they reflect your company, brand and message in a positive and recognizable way?

If not, now is the time to get busy. Investing in your brand today will pay dividends for many years to come.

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Lately we’re seeing an upsurge in the amount of social media consultants and service providers. You’ve probably run into a few of them online…heck, you may have even bumped into one while waiting in line at Starbuck’s. They love working remotely, and we all know that the demands of being a social media doyenne can result in serious a caffeine deficiency (a concept I can certainly identify with).

Recently I’ve even come across a few social media certification programs offering to make you a social media expert in fairly short order. Just who is doing the certifying, you ask? That answer varies a bit; but, bear in mind that there is no formal body that can stand in front of you and anoint you a social media Jedi (although that would be awfully cool if they could. Put me down for a pink lightsaber, please).

Social media is still evolving, and there are quite a few skeptics out there. Many corporations remain dubious of the benefits of social media, despite a wealth of examples that prove its relevance. Legitimate service providers, in addition to providing social media consulting services to their clients, also face an increasingly uphill battle when they find themselves lumped in with wand-waving social media sorcerers.

When Seth Godin famously proclaimed, “everyone’s an expert,” somehow I don’t think that was what he had in mind.

There are many wonderful, qualified service providers out there, and they are worth every penny that they are charging. So the question remains, how do you separate the genuine article from the so-called?

Spotting the Fakes

Just this week I was speaking with a new client that has been ruthlessly pillaged by various and sundry marketing folks. Truly, it isn’t his fault. To those who are not all that familiar with social media, being able to spot the posers can be as difficult as spotting a quality knockoff handbag. It may look the same — but looks can be deceiving. And, unfortunately, by the time you’ve realized what you thought was a Gucci® handbag is really one that reads “Cucci,” that smooth-talking salesman has already packed up his kiosk and moved on.

To review, a snazzy title does not an expert make.

Beware the Carpetbaggers

After the Civil War, Northerners that came to the South were often referred to as carpetbaggers. Some came to do good, but most of them came to take advantage of the post-war aftermath. They came up with crooked and questionable ways to profit and place themselves in positions of power. Social media carpetbaggers prey on unsuspecting folks who are looking for help in boosting their social media profile. Instead of helping them, these hucksters toss around a few industry buzzwords, promise the moon, take the check and run.

A real social media powerhouse will be able to cite specific results they’ve achieved for clients, as well as how they measure said results. Demand more than sparkling vocabulary. Ask for details — plans, metrics and references.

Is it Social Media Sizzle or Steak?

America’s most infamous salesman, Elmer Wheeler often spoke of “selling the sizzle, not the steak.” Selling the sizzle is great advice — so long as there is an actual steak to be served after the sale.

If your guru is singularly focused on posting on his own wall, or retweeting and sharing his own posts, how the heck is he going to get any work done for you?

It’s simple – he won’t.

The true social media pro participates in conversations on Twitter, has great comments and dialog on his blog, and shows a genuine interest in forging relationships with his followers.

The Bottom Line — Conduct Due Diligence

A bit of research goes a long way toward avoiding a problem. Before you hand over your hard-earned cash, take some time to check out the service provider. I have come across a number of professional social media experts over the years. These folks don’t need gimmicks, props or sleight of hand to garner clients, and they certainly don’t use them to produce results.

And by the way, for those who may be wondering what qualifies me to share these insights — the answer is simple. I’m a Diva, of course.

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Join me on Tuesday, August 10th at 4PM EST when I’ll be interviewed by Roger C. Parker of Published & Profitable. We’ll be discussing how to expand your visibility using content, and why you should be considering giving some of your best content away.

Don’t forget — if you can’t make the call, don’t worry – you’ll be able to access the replay for (36) hours afterward, via the Published & Profitable website. If you have a question on this topic, you can submit it using the form below, and I’ll answer it during the call.

Phone number to call:

Webcast Player:

Question Submission:

Replay: Available for (36) hours after event only.

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My Grandpa was an Old Spice man long before Isaiah Mustafa made it cool to be one.

First launched by The Shulton Company in 1937, the original product was called Early American Old Spice (for women, oddly enough). They eventually expanded into the men’s products market, using the now-distinctive nautical imagery. It’s only been over the last decade that Procter and Gamble (who purchased the brand in 1990) began expanding the brand with deodorant sticks, body washes, and body sprays.

I have to admit, I would never have thought to pick up a bottle of Old Spice for my husband.

In fact, my earliest memories of Old Spice are all colored with the (circa 1970s) robin’s egg blue bathroom tiles of my grandparents’ bathroom, where the buoy-shaped white bottle was always displayed prominently on the shelf.

In my mind, Old Spice was always an “old man” scent. I mean, it’s called “Old Spice,” for cryin’ out loud.

Fast forward thirty-plus years.

Enter Isaiah Mustafa with his sweater tied jauntily around his shoulders, riding a white horse – evoking imagery that was typically reserved for those romance novels that line the shelves of the grocery checkout line.

The next thing you know, I’m yelling for my husband to stop fast-forwarding through the commercials so I can catch another glimpse of bare-chested Isaiah assuring me that Old Spice can do more for me than improve the scent of my guy.

I admit, I loved the commercials, but I didn’t run out and buy my husband some Old Spice.

Can the Spice Boy Buoy the Sales?

That is the question of the hour. Clearly, P&G was attempting to change perceptions with this ad campaign. When the campaign first launched in February, it quickly racked up over 12 million views. Despite this, in the fiscal year that ended in June, sales of Old Spice were actually down 7 percent.

So here’s the dilemma – P&G has created a media hit with Isaiah… but has the phenomenon overshadowed the brand?

Recently the towel-swathed Isaiah began delivering personalized video messages to fans and followers from where else – the bathroom. He’s burning up Twitter, Facebook and the Old Spice blog with celebrity replies to Ellen Degeneres and Alyssa Milano, among others.

Using celebrities to promote products isn’t a new concept; particularly when the product itself lacks any real distinction — or in the case of Old Spice — has a consumer perception that the brand is outdated. The downside is this — with the “always on” nature of social media, the lifespan of overnight celebrities such as Isaiah (forgive me football fans!) has been shortened dramatically.

P&G runs the risk of quickly overexposing Isaiah (again, forgive me), at which point consumers will lose interest in both the endorser and the brand.

What to do?

Procter and Gamble could extend the shelf-life of this campaign with a few minor changes. Suppose they began doing a nationwide search for real “Old Spice Men?” Brand users could submit short video testimonials of their own, and the best of the bunch could be turned into a commercial for the brand.

What does this accomplish?

First, it will provide social proof. If consumers begin to see lots of hard-bodied young studs are using Old Spice, the brand will again gain buzz and potential popularity. Old Spice would gain brand equity and good will. Lastly, a campaign such as this would also have viral popularity as those who submit entries forward their videos to family and friends. Viral popularity = free advertising…two words that every major brand loves to hear.

It’s too soon to tell how this one will turn out – or whether or not Old Spice will come out smelling like a rose.

We just lost my Grandpa a couple of months’ ago – I only wish he’d lived long enough to see how hip he’d become as an Old Spice guy.

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If you’ve heard me preach this once, you’ve heard it a hundred times — “work smarter, not harder.”

Today I’d like to share a practice that I recently started using; it’s one that I think will not only fit well into my favorite marketing mantra, but it will also help you create content in multiple modalities.

A few months’ back, I started using Skype — and I am now a huge fan. Skype enables you to make calls and video calls to other Skype users for free. And, if you choose to call regular land lines, there is a nominal rate per minute charged. Skype also has a very handy instant messaging function.

What I’ve recently started doing is using my Skype account to phone in to Cinchcast.com to record short audio messages based on my past articles. I’ve done this in order to breathe new life into some of my archived blog posts.

Most of these audios are under three minutes – in fact, most are just over a minute each. The calls average me $.08 each — so we’re not talking about a huge expense. The audios are immediately available on the Cinchcast website — and I can easily download the MP3 files if I wanted to add an intro after the fact. If I choose to leave them as-is, I can quickly post a brief excerpt, and add an image to the audio.

Afterwards, I can push it to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, and notify my followers of my most recent content additions. The process takes just moments to do. Finally, CinchCast also offers a quick and handy embed code that allows me to drop these new audios into my blog, and includes the excerpt and the uploaded image. Now, how cool is that?

Now, you could stop right there — but there is more you can do!

Suppose you have downloaded the audio. Now, you can add that audio to a simple Powerpoint-slide presentation, and you’ve got the makings for a great video. Tools like OneTrueMedia and Animoto make this process a breeze to do, and both offer the ability to immediately upload your creation to YouTube.

Think about the possibilities here, folks. You can combine themed audios and compile them into products you can sell (perhaps on venues such as Fiverr). You can create audio autoresponder series, ecourses…the mind simple spins at the possibilities, no?

So, to recap — 1 article = 1 audio + 1 video + Unlimited Options = 1 savvy and successful marketer

I don’t know about you, but I simply can’t argue with that math.

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This morning I was reading a great article at PCWorld that detailed the growing use of social media management tools in large corporations in order to monitor their brands and their customers. While many of you reading this are probably saying to yourself, “it’s about time!” still others may be questioning it’s relevance in an overall marketing strategy.

Ignoring social media can present far greater costs than learning to use it wisely.

Many small businesses simply shrug this off as being too much of a hassle, or too expensive to implement. The truth is, they’re wrong on both counts. While there are a number of third-party solutions that cost some serious coin, there are a handful of free and low-cost alternatives that are available. You just need to know where to look.

Spredfast – (From their website) Spredfast offers secure and scalable social media solution that streamlines the social media listening, communicating, and measuring processes. Their free plan offers analytics, up to 5 social streams, as well as charts and reporting.

HowSociable – is a search tool that enables users to track brand mentions across the social web.

BackType – enables you to track your monthly engagement for free. Offers graphs of the summary, audience, and a list of the conversations/retweets. You can also get a Twitter Reach Report for a one-time fee of $20.

BlogPulse – searches the blogosphere for mentions of your URL , keyword or topic. An excellent tool for use in tracking competition, niche news, etc.

TweetBeep – Works like Google Alerts and enables you to keep track of conversations that mention you, your products, your company, anything, with hourly updates. Offers a premium version for $20/month.

Sendible – enables you to engage with your audience across multiple formats with ease. Analytic tools track the success of email and marketing campaigns, and they also offer a tool to track brand mentions. They offer an ad-supported version, as well as several affordable monthly and pay-as-you-go plans.

Twitalyzer 2.0 – one of the web’s most popular tools for tracking Twitter influence and reach. There is a free version, as well as several paid options.

TweetStats – tracks your tweets per hour, tweets per month, and replies. Free to use.

This is just a small sampling of what is available — there are many excellent SaaS options for those who are interested in more extensive reporting tools.

Why Should You Be Interested in Reputation Management?

The short answer is you can’t afford not to be. Social media allows consumers to provide immediate feedback on brands and products, as well as customer service issues and complaints. You have precious little time to get out in front of any negative mentions, and respond. I’ve previously mentioned that Comcast® is a model that others could do well to follow — their Senior Director of National Customer Service Frank Eliason (@comcastcares on Twitter) is perhaps the most well-known customer service representative in the country.

A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Social media can also be used as a valuable market research tool — and can prevent unnecessary missteps.

In November of 2008, the makers of Motrin pain reliever were given a bitter pill to swallow after launching what they thought would be a very successful online ad campaign.

The ad, which initially began its run over a weekend in September, stated that while toting a baby around in a sling can cause back and neck pain, it “seems to be in fashion” and “totally makes [me] look like an official mom.” Outraged mothers took to the Twitterverse to share their comments, popularly noted with the use of the #MotrinMoms hashtag. By the following Monday morning, the ad was gone, and an official apology was issued by  McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

Had McNeil conducted an online market research study to test that campaign among their target audience (in this case, mothers), they could have leveraged the immediate feedback afforded by social media, and avoided a very pricey and embarrassing mistake. It’s one you can bet they won’t make again.

Social media should be a vital part of any marketing strategy — be it on or offline. When employed properly, the results can be significant — and that’s a fact you can take to the bank.

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