Are You Still Branding? – Guest Post by Todd Pillars

I’m part of a discussion over at LinkedIn Groups (I didn’t link to it to protect my their identity)  about branding and whether or not it’s still relevant. They’re tossing around terms like media channels and marketing equations. They are confusing brand equity with market share. The marketing insiders just don’t get it. Granted they are talking to other marketing professionals. However, if they are true to their own brand then it is bound to leak through – ask any I.T. marketer about verticals, optimization, and integration.

I’m of the belief that, while the spirit of branding is still applicable (only it’s called promotion), the term branding is WAY over used. And because of the communication platform of the Internet (I tried really, really hard not say Social Media) branding has given way, thankfully, to “having a conversation”.

I used this example:

You have a company of 500 people. 400 people manufacture, package, and ship your super-duper baby spit-up remover. 50 of them are out there selling it. 10 are marketing folks. 40 provide support services and management. What’s the chance of all 500 employees living the brand? A snowball’s survival comes to mind.

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Are You Valuable…Or Interesting?

I’ve been talking to a number of new bloggers the past several weeks, and it seems that they’re all getting the same advice from the experts, namely that they should focus on providing valuable content.  This might come as a surprise, but I’ve told all of them to ignore that advice.  Why?

Before I tell you why, let me say for the record that I’m all for valuable content.  I think valuable content is great.  It’s what makes a blog worth reading.  It’s what makes the internet…well, valuable.  But here’s the thing: whether or not you provide valuable content is entirely secondary to what really matters: whether or not you’re interesting.

That’s why I tell people to ignore the advice about valuable content, at least at the beginning.  The directive to “provide valuable content” bogs down a lot of new, and even seasoned, bloggers because they end up spending all their time trying to figure out what readers will find “valuable” instead of actually writing anything.  Readers can never be interested in, and never, ever find value in what never gets written.

The same is true in sales.  I’ve seen salespeople who are completely obsessed with creating the perfect script to use when they make calls or deliver presentations.  In fact, they get so obsessed that they never actually get around to calling, let alone making any presentations.  Again, the desire to provide value gets in the way of actually delivering something valuable.

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My Crazy Idea for This Weekend: 20 New Blogs by Monday

So, I had this crazy idea on Wednesday: why not spend this weekend doing a Blog Building Marathon?  After all, I love blogging, I love the setup process, I know people who want to start blogging but don’t know how, and, best of all, it beats doing yard-work.  Never one to think small, I immediately set a BHAG I could be proud of: I set the intention to create 20 new blogs between Friday evening and Monday morning.  I know, crazy, right?

I told a few friends what I was planning and asked them to spread the word to anyone they knew who wanted to start blogging but needed a little help to get going.  There were questions, of course.  I also posted my plans on Facebook, which generated a few more questions.  I got my first two new bloggers lined up, and they had even more questions.  So I thought, why not write a blog post to let everyone know why I’m doing this and to answer some of those questions publicly.  Here goes:

Why are you doing this? First and foremost, I’m doing this because I love blogging. I think blogging is a great way to connect with other people who share your passions.  I believe that blogging is a fantastic tool for attracting new clients to your business (or new fans for your music, or new readers for your books…you get the point).  I’m also doing this because I’m getting tired of hearing stories from people who’ve paid big money to blogging “experts”, waited for months to see their sites, and still been disappointed with the results.  I figured that if I could knock out 20 blogs in a weekend for a minimal cost, maybe more people would realize that it’s not as complicated as the “experts” make it sound.

What are you offering? Basically, what you’re going to get is a WordPress blog configured with what I consider to be the essential plugins (if you don’t know what plugins are, don’t worry…I’ll send instructions for using them), including a domain name of your choice and hosting for 12 months.  The blog will be built on one of the thousands of available free WordPress themes, with a little bit of customization to make it uniquely your own.  Nothing fancy, unless you really want it, in which case we’ll need to work out some details.  The blog will also be integrated with your accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so that when you write a new post, your followers on those sites will know about it automatically.

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What Can Small Businesses Learn From Mobius Technologies?

I love the moxie of a small company in a small town in Northern California who looks at a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and says “Yeah…we can fix that.”

That’s exactly what Mobius Technologies, of Lincoln, CA, has done, and they didn’t stop there.  When Mobius realized that it was going to take too long to get through the bureaucracy and red tape required to get their product approved for use in the cleanup, they set about using social media tools like YouTube and Facebook to recruit a volunteer army and encouraged them to spread the message.

And while I think the powers that be at Mobius Technologies are making a huge mistake by not engaging with bloggers to help them spread their message (it seems they don’t consider bloggers to be “true” media outlets), I can’t argue with the results they’re getting.  Have a look at this video from the local ABC affiliate in Sacramento.

Mobius is starting to get some traction, and I applaud the work they’re doing.  More than that, though, I applaud the way they’re going about it.  Here are some valuable lessons other small business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from the example of Mobius Technologies:

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Can Small Business Solve Huge Problems?

I wanted to share something I came across last week that I believe demonstrates a lot of the principles that this blog is all about.  Have a look at this video, but don’t form an opinion just yet: 

The reason I asked you not to form an opinion just yet is that I’d like for you to get a little more information before you get too excited and start demanding that this product be used in the Gulf oil spill.  I don’t want you guys and gals to start acting like a “herd”!  I do, however, want for this product and Mobius’ claims to get some media attention so that the product can be vetted for use in the cleanup efforts.

So why am I sharing the video, then?

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Meet Some of My Virtual Friends

No matter what anyone says, the internet is the coolest place in the world, especially since that whole Web 2.0 evolution. Where else can you meet so many fantastic people from around the world (and right in your own backyard) who think like you do?

I’ve been reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau for the third or fourth time, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like for a guy like him; he seemed to be constantly frustrated by the refusal of his fellow townspeople to think about anything other than their crops and the latest gossip. Sure, he could go visit Ralph Waldo Emerson (what was it with these guys and the three names?) and chat about transcendetalism, but what then? No wonder he wandered into the woods for a couple of years to just be alone.

Thoreau would have loved the internet, I think. He would have been able to read everything he ever wanted to, connect with other like minds and discuss or debate ideas until the cows came home. He would have found his tribe, have no doubt. I know I have.

In a little over a year, I’ve met more intelligent, articulate, clear-thinking people than I did in the previous decade. Many, in fact most, I’ve never met in person; our relationships are entirely virtual, but the connections are real, nevertheless. Here are a few of my virtual friends and a taste of what they’re doing to make a difference:

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Does Anybody Good Like You?

I’m going nuts trying to track down a video on YouTube, or anywhere for that matter. It’s an MTV commercial from the early 90s; in it, there are two punk rockers, a boy and a girl, sitting on a curb.

The boy complains, “Nobody likes me.”

The girl replies, “I like you Oliver.”

After a long pause, the boy responds, “Nobody good likes me.”

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A Social Media Fable

Hi kids!  It’s Social Media Fable time, and you get to pick the moral:

Once upon a time, there was a Facebook fan named Jerry.  He was going about his days on Facebook, enjoying his interactions with his virtual friends, and life was good.

One day, he received an invitation form one of his Facebook friends, Mr. G, to become a fan of a bakery in a far-away town.  Since Jerry had never been to the bakery or tasted their confectionery delights, he hit the “ignore” button and thought no more of it.

A few days later though, Mr. G repeated his request to become a fan of the bakery.   Since he still hadn’t tried the bakery’s cupcakes, Jerry clicked the ‘ignore’ button again, and again thought nothing of it.  ”Just an oversight on Mr. G’s part, that’s all,” he thought.

The very next morning, though, the invitation appeared again!  Jerry started to get annoyed, but, as always, managed to keep his cool.  He simply hit ‘ignore’ again and went about his day.  His annoyance grew, however, when later the same day there was another invitation!  ”This is madness,” he thought to himself, clicked ‘ignore’ again, and wondered what he should do.

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Are We Having Fun Yet?

I wanted to talk a little more about the topic of customer engagement.  I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, in light of the changes that business is facing.  Social media, web 2.0 and a shrinking world are putting tremendous pressure on businesses to adapt to the new expectations of their clients.

Traditional companies, especially those who are looking for their customers among Generations X and Y, have a new challenge to rise to.  That challenge can be summed up in one question: Is it fun to do business with you?

There’s no denying it.  Baby Boomers have for years decried the fact that “kids these days” need to be constantly entertained.  And they’re right, of course.  Just look at phones: modern phones are not made for placing calls, they’re made for entertaining.  So if you’re selling a product or service to this group who need to be entertained, what are you doing to entertain them? Again, are you making doing business with you fun?  If you’re not, there’s a pretty good chance you’re not going to survive.

Tomorrow’s customer isn’t going to base their buying decisions primarily on things like features and benefits or price.  Their expectation is that every company will offer great features, benefits and prices.  After all, this is a generation of buyers who knows how to research, and if you’re not in line with the market, you don’t stand a chance.  No, tomorrow’s net-savvy consumer is going to decide whether or not to buy from you based on the entertainment value you provide.

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Taking My Own Advice

While I was driving around yesterday and thinking about some things I wanted to do with this blog to make it better for you, the readers, it occurred to me that I needed to take a bit of my own advice from Monday’s post about the new rules for business, the 3 Cs: content, connection and conversation.

I realized that while the content I’m writing seems to be striking a chord with readers (thank you again for all your support!), and while I’m conversing with you all when you leave comments, I haven’t yet provided a place where we can all connect.  I realized I needed to remedy that as quickly as possible.

Now, call me lazy if you like, but I’m not inclined to take on the responsibility of creating and managing a Ning site right at the moment.  So, I opted to create a Facebook fan page for the blog instead.  A couple of clicks later, it was all done, and I’d like to invite you all to join in the connections and conversations over at the Motivation 101 Blog fan page.

Here’s what I’d like to see on this page: your ideas, suggestions, links, tips and tricks for getting and staying motivated to press forward in your businesses, careers and lives.  I’d like for this to be a place where you can come and ask questions and get advice on how to be a better salesperson for your business.  I’d like to see everyone helping each other in the true spirit of community.

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