This brings us to our 3rd of 3 articles this week. I’d like to thank Jessica again for having me as a guest blogger on her site. It has been a pleasure being here this week.

I’m very excited to share that my first full length book will soon be available on Amazon and at bookstores near you. The following is an excerpt from my book, Connect, Communicate and Profit, by D’vorah Lansky. Enjoy and please share your comments!

A key ingredient to growing your online presence is to develop an online branding strategy.  As you begin to brand yourself on the Internet, give thought to why it is you want to market your business online and what image you want to convey. Next, determine who your target or niche market is. This will provide you with focus and the ability to brand yourself as an expert in this field.

Here is an analogy between your storefront business and your online business. Your store’s name is analogous to the name of your online business, product, or program offering. Your domain name is comparable to your store’s street address. If someone wants to come to your store, they need to have your store name and your address so that they can find you. Your domain serves as your street address. This is the URL that people will type in the address bar of their Web browser to find your Web site. It is important for people to have an idea as to what your site is about based on your domain name; this will also help with search engine optimization and better ranking in Google.

The foundation of your Internet empire is your Web site. This is your online storefront or office building. Your Web site is where you can house your content, build community, make sales, and grow your business. It is crucial that your Web site reflect your branded image and that you provide ways for people to get to know you.

• Have a welcome audio or video message that your visitors can click on

• Display written, audio, or video testimonials from your customers, clients, and students

• Make sure your Web site is a warm and inviting place where people will want to frequent

• Post fresh and informative written content

Continuing the analogy, let’s talk about advertising. Perhaps you advertise your business on the radio or in your local newspaper. Online you can advertise on Google, Facebook, or by purchasing ad space on someone’s Web site. There are also numerous ways that you can advertise your business for free. You can place your signature, business name, tagline and Web address in your signature on the social networks or forums. You can write articles and in the bio box at the end of the article you can invite people to visit your Web site. You can also advertise via a YouTube video, linking viewers to your products. This will be discussed later.

Networking and interacting with others is a vital component of relationship marketing. Regarding networking, in your community you can go to the chamber of commerce or business networking groups, whereas online, we have social networks and forums. Social networks and forums are to your online business what offline business groups are to more traditional brick and mortar businesses. So, as you can see, setting up an online business is much like setting up and promoting an offline business.

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If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to receive a free chapter of my book at www.ConnectCommunicateProfit.com

I’d love to hear your comments and questions and look forward to getting to know you.

All the best,

D’vorah Lansky
Relationship Marketing Wizard   |   Author   |   Speaker   |   Educator
www.BlogWorldTour.com/blog

As a small business owner, you’ve undoubtedly come across the concept of branding. Most likely, you’ve heard that if you want to truly succeed and skyrocket your biz to the top, then you need to create a powerful and memorable brand that your prospects believe in.

The main problem is that most small business owners are confused, overwhelmed and frustrated about the entire branding process. Is it the creation of a logo? Is it the website? Or, maybe it’s the particular combination of colors used in the sales literature?

While all this is a piece of the branding process, it’s really not embracing the entire concept.

So, what is branding? According to Bill Chiaravalle, Principal and Creative Director of Brand Navigation, “brands are promises that consumers believe in.” He simplifies the entire branding process down to the fact that if a company has done a good job branding themselves, the consumer will trust them and ultimately develop a strong emotional attachment to them.

I want to introduce you to a company that embraces the branding concept brilliantly. Introducing…The Geek Squad.

The Geek Squad is not, in and of itself, a small business by any means, but they certainly have a lot to teach the small business owner about branding. Even if your office consists of your kitchen table and you’re the President, Vice-President and your own personal assistant, you can borrow the concepts of The Geek Squad and incorporate them into your own small business.

When you visit the Geek Squad website, it makes an instant impression on you. Furthermore, you immediately understand what they are promising you. They’re the funny, dedicated “geeks” who understand absolutely everything about computers. They’re the same “geeks” from your math class who knew every answer on the tests and helped you out with your homework. They’re safe, reliable and as smart as it gets.

The Geek Squad understands that branding covers every single aspect of business.  It’s never just about your website or business logo (although that’s part of it). Branding is about creating a feeling and a response in the minds of your clients and customers.

Here Are 10 Ways That The Geek Squad Can Help You Explode Your Own Brand:

1. Company Name. The name of your company is an integral part of the branding process. You need to ensure that your customers understand who you are and what your represent through your company name.  Obviously, the name “Geek Squad” speaks volumes.

2. Website. Your website needs to offer your prospects a big picture look at your entire brand. Everything on your site should promote the promise that you are making to your clients and customers.

3. Mission Statement. Your company mission statement should be a natural extension of your brand. The Geek Squad states, “We’re an army more than 18,000 strong, on a singular mission to rid the world of rogue technology. We’re still oddly dressed, but we’re now oddly dressed and saving the day across the globe.”  Brilliant.

4. Phone Tactics. Yes, branding even entails how you answer the phone. Think about ways that you can integrate your brand and your business phone. The Geek Squad doesn’t just “answer the phone.” Instead you are prompted to enter your “top secret pass code” or speak to a Geek Squad Special Agent. The on-hold music consists of a compilation of spy movie theme songs.

5. Dress Code. If you can incorporate your brand into the way that you or your employees dress, this will even add more believability to your brand. Of course, Geek Squad employees dress in white shirts, dress pants, “geeky” ties and yes, some even flaunt the pocket protector.

6. Tweets. If you’re going to use Twitter as a marketing tool, make sure that you use it as a platform to develop powerful brand awareness regarding your small business.  @GeekSquad tweets daily tips on fixing your computer, removing spyware and other “geeky’ topics that their dedicated customer-base loves.

7. Blog. One of the most important marketing tools for today’s small business is maintaining a blog. There is no better way to communicate directly with your prospects, customers and clients.  At the Geek Blog, the writers go into depth about geeky technology, geeky facts and geeky jokes.

8. Videos. Have you heard about GeekSquad TV? That’s the ingenious Geek Squad videos that showcase the intelligence and utter geekiness of these likable employees. Again, their videos continue to drive home the fact that these guys know what they’re doing.

9. The Car You Drive. If you are creative enough, branding can even be a part of the car you drive. Take a look at the “Geek Mobile,” a compact, little VW emblazoned with the Geek Squad logo. If that doesn’t create brand awareness, I don’t know what would!

10. Consistency. One of the most crucial aspects of branding a small business is that you must be absolutely consistent. Every single interaction that your customers have must send the same message. You are ultimately creating experiences for your prospects, clients and customers that create trust and build emotional attachments to your company.

So, as you begin the task of building a brand that creates fierce and intense loyalty in your market area, don’t forget about the Geek Squad. They are branding masters.

Last week I was a lucky audience member at an Oprah taping. (And, if you know anything about me, you know that I am a die-hard Oprah fanatic.)

I had purchased the tickets at an auction a few months back and when I called the reservation line, I was given a choice of a few different dates. However, I wasn’t given any information about who would be on the show or what the show was about, so I simply picked the date that fit best with my schedule.

My sister, Alicia, and I drove down to the city, got in line and soon found out that the guest on the show was none other than Adam Lampert. Now, I hate to show my age (and my obvious cluelessness about the world of entertainment), but I really had NO idea who Adam Lampert was.

Of course, the twenty-year old, Adam Lampert groupie standing in line in front of us, was clearly appalled at our lack of education.  Much to her dismay she had to explain to my sister and me that Adam was the Runner-up from the last season of American Idol. She proceeded to show me her T-shirt imprinted with a picture of Adam with his jet-black, wild hair, black eyeliner and unmistaken “glam” look.

Now, I like to think of myself as pretty hip and accepting but, this Adam Lambert was definitely not my style. I think that the black nail polish just threw me for a loop.
Fast forward a few hours later and Oprah calls Adam out to the stage for an interview before he sings his first song.

Well, what can I say? He was absolutely adorable, charming, articulate and incredibly likable. In fact, I really, really LIKED Adam Lambert. Not only that, but when he performed, I was dancing and singing along with the best of the hard-core Adam fans.

After we left the show, my sister and I played his CD on full blast and, I must admit, we’re now big fans. (i.e. if I didn’t have kids, I’d be touring his band.)

The whole, crazy experience made me realize that as much as we avoid “judging a book by its cover,” it happens all the time.

It’s not fair, but prospects are going to make snap judgments the minute they encounter you and your small business. They may judge you on your looks; they may judge you on your gender; they may judge you based on the name of your company.  Your prospects make their judgments based on their own personal interactions with the world, so it’s impossible to determine how each prospect will judge you when they first encounter you. However, you can rest assured that you will be judged.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink states, “Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions . . . by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions.”

The bottom line is that it’s imperative for small business owners to discover a way for prospects to get to know them beyond that first impression. Fortunately, with the vast array of marketing tools available, this isn’t a difficult task to accomplish.

In today’s competitive environment, small business owners who realize that marketing is about cultivating relationships, building trust and remaining transparent are the winners.

If you’re a car sales-person, you’ve certainly run across many individuals who have deep-seeded beliefs about your integrity. As Gladwell suggests, these prospects have developed their impression based on their own experiences and the experiences that they have heard from others.

However, you have the ability to change your prospects’ experiences. It’s within your power to create a brand new, positive experience for your prospect. Obviously, you need to educate, offer value and show your prospects, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are a truthful and honest car sales-person. Because, if you can show them a new reality, they will change their minds.

One of your jobs, as a small business owner, is to continually educate your prospects beyond their initial judgments. You need to showcase your personality and your own unique qualities. This doesn’t mean that you have to put together a slick presentation of your tap-dance skills. You simply need to be you.

Too many small business owners are so wrapped up in “professionalism” that they’re afraid to let their prospects know who they really are; this is a huge mistake.  Talk to your prospects; engage them; develop a relationship with them. This is how the new Fortune 500 companies are being built – one relationship at a time.

And remember, as you read this article, I just may be touring with Adam Lampert. He changed my reality – who would have guessed?