Web Success Diva

Are You Making This Online Branding Mistake?

February 15, 2008 · Online Business

…. Yes, online branding matters … even in your social media marketing plan. It really does. Online branding is important, regardless of the marketing techniques your using. And, its value becomes even more important the more dynamic your marketing plan is. Branding is the glue that keeps your online presence cohesive. It is important. So, with that cleared up — chances are your making this online branding mistake. Don’t worry, it’s fixable

The core of your online branding decisions are based on the wrong information.

This is a big one, showing itself in many different forms. I mean this is a really big one. Like the saying goes, “junk in, junk out.” Where does all this mis-information come from?

The Internet has clearly made it much easier for junk to be disseminated. And in some cases, the person producing online marketing information isn’t even aware of the damage they are doing. They pitch it as a Blueprint, One-Size-Fits-All solution, or sell it as if it is the reality driving online success. Let’s just say, the Internet is far to dynamic and there are far too many factors involved to even try and “box” it up neatly.
Too many are duplicating, not creating. Unfortunately, this is one of the most widespread mistakes solopreneurs can make. Yes, there certainly are tools and online resources that will benefit your online marketing plan. Things that come to mind include a blog, Facebook account, and ezine, to name a few. But, let’s be clear, duplicating the exact system of someone will likely not get you far. Smart solopreneurs will take those key ingredients and spice it up. Find your voice and run with it.
Far too many carry over the old school way of target/niche marketing and don’t consider their market a living audience. This causes you to assume all the wrong stuff. Period.
There is simply too much information out there. Talk about information overload. Its often hard to discern what really matters.

There is so much mis-information involved, its affect can be seen throughout a solopreneur’s online branding plan. Your online presence becomes diluted, confusing, and scattered — if you get any results at all, they are at a significantly lower level than they could have been. How does this manifest itself in “real-life?” If your a victim of this unfortunate situation - your online branding decisions typically look like this:

In the past three months, you’ve probably opened a few profiles on the “hot” new social media sites you’ve heard about. Chances are, none of them are fully optimized to solidify your online brand - and your likely not using them to their full potential. In fact, your poor execution is hindering your online branding efforts.
You spent a ton of money getting a blog online, your so excited, instant expert status, right? Not exactly. Your now so overwhelmed by the task of maintaining and marketing the blog, that your posting is sporatic and your not sticking with your own voice - a key part of your online brand. Voice? Yes, voice. Your voice is how you communicate with your audience, it is a component of the total package known as your online brand.
Given that all your online marketing plans are so hit and miss, your usually scrambling to get the real work done at a level that truly adds value for your client and contributes positively to your online marketing plan. In other words, most nights your just too tired to write that great article, produce that best-selling ebook, or focus on development of your business. Who’s got time, you’ve got profiles to maintain and blog commenting to do, right? A large part of your online identity, and resulting online brand, is what others say about you. Good or bad, when you dive into an online business you’d better make sure your business can handle it. Getting side-tracked by online marketing tools certainly won’t help your cause.
Who knows your market better than you, right? Ok, life coach extraordinaire, so explain to me why your wasting time twittering your clients (you know, the 20 who actually use twitter) — you haven’t quite mastered it yet creating a time-sucking-vaccumm in your daily regimen of online marketing. The next day, you rush to produce your ezine to a list that is now topping over 2,000. Does anyone see something wrong with this picture? Successful solopreneurs realize that you have to work smarter, not harder. Testing online marketing tools is obviously a great idea, some will work, some won’t. But if all you do is run to the next online marketing hot topic, cycling through them all, never getting results. Your clients will suffer, your business will suffer, and so will your online reputation — another key component to your online brand.

The list could go on and on. Mis-information is sucking the life out of your online branding efforts… slowly draining any potency it could have had. Look, I’ve been there, starting out, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information out there… And often times, as solopreneurs, you’ve got a much bigger time crunch, time is of the essence for you. Wasting your time chasing the paths paved with mis-information can literally cripple your future online.

The moral of the story? Get centered on the needs of your business. Not the latest online marketing miracle cream. Stay focused on your audience. And go out there, solidify your brand… to infinity and beyoooooonnnd!