Lovely to have you participate in our talk at Miller|Hull.
And thanks for following the link to this list of further reading suggestions. Here are a few to start:
Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler
http://www.design-kompany.com/news-at-dk/interesting-finds/559/
Quantum Physics, fuzzy logic, The Brand Gap and your message
http://www.design-kompany.com/desk-notes/637/
10 Top Naming Mistakes by Interbrand
http://www.design-kompany.com/news-at-dk/interesting-finds/1351/
Sales and marketing experts: ‘Do what you say you will’
http://www.design-kompany.com/inspiration/1585/
Jim Collins’ Good to Great
http://www.design-kompany.com/desk-notes/1634/
Rule #1: Know thyself
http://www.design-kompany.com/desk-notes/355/
Q&A:
There were some questions asked at the roundtable that we didn’t get to discuss in detail. Here’re some of my thoughts; they are rather off-the-cuff, but please think of them as a starting point for further learning and discussion. Feel free to send in further questions, different points of views, examples/anecdotes in the comments section here. —Akira
Q1: (In relation to a discussion on Guy Kawasaki’s “mantra” concept, and Gladwell’s Tipping Point) A mantra has to find the ear of people that “matter” — how to we find the connectors, mavens, salesmen that propagate the message?
A: Go where they are. Who is passionate about your product/service, and fit the description of “connectors” et. al? Where do they hang out?
One exercise that’s useful: picture the “perfect” person to be your advocate. What age is this person? What does she like? Where does he go to eat? Picture her in the most minute details, and then go find her.
But, more importantly, you have to know who YOU are. Because it’s as much about having a compelling story as having the people who “matter” on your side.
Q2: They say you should be doing marketing when you’re busy. What’s your thought on that?
A: Marketing isn’t something you do once and you’re finished with, or even something you do every once in a while. It’s everyday; writing that blog post, meeting with that potential “connector”, or calling that person you met last night at a happy hour social. And that’s whether you are busy, or not.
Q3: I can be authentic all I want, but how do I know when there’ll be returns?
A: Again, authenticity isn’t a once-off activity. It’s the way to be. And it’s not something that comes with a clear-cut cost and a ROI.
That doesn’t mean you don’t measure your marketing efforts. You do, as much as you can, and by measuring and tweaking you will hopefully arrive at the mix that works for you. But authenticity runs through all your marketing activities. As we argued in our discussion, if authenticity is not present in your marketing and branding, I don’t think you will be successful for a very long time.
Q4: How can each member of the firm contribute to its brand identity?
A: A great question. I think every member of any team can play a great role in your branding effort. The ultimate idea for branding as a marketing exercise is to communicate consistently with your market. Every interaction, from answering a phone call, to making a presentation, counts. The key is to be authentic, not only for you but for every one to communicate as a member of a team that has a consistent story to tell. This takes time and effort; it’s like “corporate culture” - a buzz word from the 90s - in the truest sense of the word.
Talking about just how to achieve that culture would take all day and lots more space than allowed here. But I would say transparency and greater level of communication, both in terms of quantity and quality, would play a key role in creating a more cohesive, pervasive brand that everyone in your firm can own.
Q5: What are the best/most effective ways to get our message out? How effective are: linkedin/twitter/blogs? Relative effectiveness of blog? facebook? twitter? magazine ads?
A: What tools you use, and would be effective for you, would be wholly dependent on what you want to communicate. It’s different for everyone. There’s a lot of ways to use one or many of these tools (and people are coming up with new, creative ways to use them every day). There’s no single “best” way to use them.
For example, twitter/facebook are great if you have a lot of little things to mention. They’re also a great tool to start building your “fan” base.
Have lots of photos? Go for Flickr. Video? YouTube or Vimeo.
Blogs, on the other hand, are great if you are more of a writer who has a lot to say, and like saying it in a thoughtful manner. It takes longer to build an audience, though, so it’s best to combine it with something that has a bigger built-in audience, and are more immediate (Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter).
Note that all of these tools can accommodate various forms of media and writings, and they are often most effective when they are combined.
For example, if you had a great blog, you’d want to highlight it in your magazine ad, and maybe create a tie-in by giving something away on-line to those who saw the ad. You can connect your facebook account to your blog, and vice versa, to help grow your audience.
Q6: How do I know where to focus my efforts with social media?
A: You won’t know until you start.
I would suggest you first think about what you want to say, and how you are most comfortable saying it. And start with one, if you haven’t already, and experiment a little before you plunge in. If you stick with it for a little bit, you are likely to start having a few “a-ha” moments about its use. Using it consistently is often the best way to learn when it comes to social media tools.
Once you become comfortable with the first tool of your choice, you can start experimenting with other tools to see how you like using them, and combine them for the maximum impact.
Of course, there are ways to measure your effectiveness. Have clear, measurable goals (”reach xx people every week”) and track click-throughs, traffic, queries, conversions, etc. continuously.
But, you won’t have much to measure until you start using these tools. And you won’t have much to use them for if you didn’t have clear messages to get across. And coming up with these messages are hard to do if you didn’t know who you are and what you stand for.
Figuring that out, is what “brand identity” is all about, and the first step of any company/organization’s marketing efforts.
(Hint: that’s where DK comes in!)
