Name Recognition - Breaking Down Your Professional Branding

Name Recognition - Breaking Down Your Professional Branding

By Matthew E Alleyne

A brand is more than just a name - it's the overall image that people have when it comes to who you are or what your business is. In the current climate, there's a lot of competition for markets, just as much as there is competition for various jobs. Making a name for yourself and making your name stand out is important.
Likewise, with online branding, you want someone searching for your name to find the right kind of information. Increasing name recognition isn't exactly rocket science but it does take a certain level of strategy and planning in order to brand yourself properly in this department.
So what can you do to increase your name recognition?
The Branding Company:
You could indeed go all out and hire someone to handle and promote your personal or professional brand. For a fee - often a bit on the hefty side - they'll take all your material right down to photos and bring it all together to coincide with a single unified message and image under your specified name.
The Value:
Provide a mission statement or a list of core values that show why you're here, why you exist and what you provide or bring to the table.
The Tagline:
If it works for movies & the actors within then it can work for you. It's not recommend to filch a DeNiro line but come up with something that speaks spades about you and your brand. If it's memorable, then so too will your name be.
The Content Marketing:
Are you doing everything you can to get your name out and get it heard? You should be writing press releases, articles and blogs that all feature your name or an author box about you. Let people know that you and/or your business are thought leaders within your market. When people recognize that you're an expert then your name starts to stick deep.
Know Your Audience:
This might be common sense but common sense isn't common knowledge. It might be shocking to realize that your target audience isn't necessarily found within your own industry. If you want to truly build on your brand then you should extend your reach so that you're hitting ALL of your target market. Those people you market too are spread out all over - make sure they hear your message.
Join the Conversation:
People hear this one a lot, but few actually move on it in order to help solidify their brand. You can only reach so many people and you can only do so much in the online world. There's a whole physical world out there made up of people who want to know you. Be engaging and joining the conversation offline - such as within conferences and seminars - you can reinforce your name and brand with your own style and image.
Be Different - Embrace the USP:
Branding yourself is about standing apart from the other guys within your market. With this in mind, use tip sheets that highlight why you're better than a competitor and use these tip sheets as a basis for your branding statements. When you hammer home what makes you different, it's easy for people to remember you because of your unique offering.
These are just a few of the things you can do to improve your brand position and recognition both online and offline. There's no one secret potion or special answer to make the process simple. Branding yourself is a slow process, especially if you stay authentic and transparent to the people interacting with your brand.

WikiToot is the #1 community for personal branding, brand protection and corporate branding. Discover the best way to toot your horn online and control your brand presence in the search results. Visit http://www.wikitoot.com today!

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Sports Marketing Firms Demand Character and Charity-Minded Clients

Between the rants, 'decisions', and salaries of today's athletes it's important to reassess companies' and athletes' values. Many professional athletes make a lot of money fast, which in their mind can put them above the general public, bringing forth poor decision making and a sense of superiority. It is important for the agencies and companies promoting professional athletes to place an emphasis on high morals, values, and good behavior.
Since professional athletes are such celebrities and role models, the companies and industries bringing them money need to examine their clients' characters just as much as their abilities. Companies like sports marketing firms, who bring in the money for top athletes, need to consistently implement the importance of their clients acting responsibly.
Not only does examining a professional athlete's character make for a respectable client, but it will also create a lasting image and good reputation for the brands involved in the endorsement partnership. Sports marketing firms are right in the center of deciding whether an athlete carries the strong and high enough character necessary to do business with. Additionally, the participating brands would like to stick their products' names on reputable athletes.
In addition to judging an athlete's character for branding purposes, sports marketing firms must also evaluate the sports stars for charitable opportunities. Since professional athletes have such a powerful influence on the public, they must demonstrate a desire to give back to a cause or their communities. All individuals, including professional athletes, have come from somewhere and gone through or witnessed a disability, need, or injustice.
As such powerful public figures, athletes must work together with sports marketing firms to give back and help those in need. As a focal point in every deal, these firms have the ability to make all sides of the deal win. Such companies have the expertise to merge: giving brands a lasting positive reputation, an athlete an endorsement deal, and most importantly a charity the necessary media attention and funding it needs.

Tyrone Tibbitts has been following the trends in sports marketing. He's been a follower as well of Warren Moon and Dave Meltzer Sports 1 Marketing CEO, both experts in sports and sports marketing industry. Learn more at http://davemeltzersports1marketing.posterous.com.

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Athletes and Network Marketing - A Match Made in Heaven?

In network marketing having the champion mindset is what separates the Leaders from the Losers. That's why experienced network marketing leaders and sponsors put self-motivation and drive at the top of their lists when scouting new talent for their businesses.

Being a former professional athlete myself, and in the sales arena for almost 10 years, I've seen first-hand the personality and behavioral characteristics of the most successful salespeople, and the most successful athletes. I've also witnessed athletes who have had no prior sales experience use that 'win-at-all-cost' mindset to build successful network marketing businesses. I've found that over and over again, no matter what their experience, the best, all have a strong desire to win and a passion to succeed.

So what is it that drives these Type A personalities? Well, the first is money and the second is recognition, the prize!

Very few athletes move on to the professional ranks after college, but their passion to compete and to succeed is carried through no matter what jobs they end up with in the future. This is why athletes are a hot commodity for many sales and managerial positions, and particularly coveted in the network marketing arena. Many athletes have a sense of leadership and responsibility to perform under pressure. They are coachable, working-hard is not an alien concept and they are used to working with a team to achieve a common goal; to WIN! Successful athletes and network marketers alike are aggressive, dominant, and committed to doing what it takes to achieve their goals.

However, there are some things to look out for when dealing with an athlete. Though they may possess all of the characteristics of a champion, as a network marketer they are essentially running their own businesses and they must somehow learn the skills associated with any small business owner-financial savvy, organization, communication and technical skills. They must learn how to prospect and how to close. Otherwise, they haven't got a chance.

These kind of skills can be taught and this is where athletes can excel. They are accustomed to training, to learning, to implementing and to performing under pressure which are all real-life indicators of sales success. Athletes turned network marketers who find success in our industry are also very open to coaching and constructive criticism which helps them reach their full potential. They find a mentor who they can learn from, one who can take them to the next level of performance no matter what skill-sets they start with.

While being an athlete does not ensure success in the network marketing industry, many athletes posses the winning traits and characteristics that can be used as the foundation for building a successful business as a network marketer. If you are able to identify an athlete that has the drive, motivation and champion mindset to win, there is nothing more do to than give them the systems, marketing support and technology and see how high they can fly!

Andrea Bolder is a former professional athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist turned home-based business advocate. Coaching network marketers and small business the techniques to winning the Olympics of Internet Marketing, she loves showing others how to implement easy step by step Network Marketing and Social Media strategies that allows any one to explode their business and become wildly successful regardless of your experience or company. Discover exactly how you can begin to recruit top notch athletes and professionals into your business!

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