What really is a “brand” anyway? A brand, by definition, is a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.
If you really think about it, a lot of things/people have brands.
For example, Jeffree Star is well known in the makeup industry for the amazing makeup that he produces.
Jeffree makes his money in multiple different ways,
YouTube:
Where most people are familiar with this big brand influencer
Not even where the bulk of his money comes from
16.2 million subscribers on YouTube and growing
His views average from 4M-35M
His YouTube videos give him a 6 figure pay out each year, easily
He is the richest YouTuber
He is the 2nd highest subscribed person on YouTube in the beauty section
Makeup:
His empire, also where most people know him
Makes $150 million a year, which 70 million of, he pockets
Profits 7.2 million for every product launch
Independent brand, not a large owned brand which means he profits more
This is Jeffree’s brand logo, if you notice his last name is Star, so for his logo it is a star.
Real Estate/ Marijuana
These are side investments that Star has took interest in
These are basically backups if the makeup brand does not work out
Jeffree has a lot of things that come together to make his brand, and make it signature to him. His logo of a star, which is also his last name, and the intro to his YouTube video.
Star has three personal homes, and 10 businesses he is running besides his makeup brand.
How to Create a Brand
Determine your brand’s audience.
Motivation
Pain points
Influencers
College students
Single moms
Establish your brand mission statement.
“Just do it.” – Nike
Research bands within your industry niche.
The goal is to differentiate from your competition
Outline key qualities and benefits your brand offers.
A better way to support productivity
Reducing costs with more affordable options
Create a brand logo and tagline.
Logo size and placement
Color pallet
Web elements
Photography/image style
Form your brand voice.
Professional
Technical
Friendly
Self-oriented
Promotional
Authoritative
Build a brand message and elevator pitch.
Who you are
What you offer
Why people should care
Let your brand personality shine.
Telling stories about real experiences
Intergrade your brand into every part of your business.
Visible and reflect in everything that you say/do
Stay true to your brand building.
Consistency is key
Be your brands biggest advocate.
No one knows your brand like you do, spread the word
Making a brand is not all that hard, once you think about it. Just follow these steps, stay true to you and your brand, and you’ll be on your way to having your own personal brand!
A few years ago, if you had to send documents, contracts or any written form of communication, you had to send it by mail. This required an envelope, filled with sender and receiver addresses, stamps, a typed and printed document copy for each receiver. Finally, the sender would take the mail to the post office and wait a few days for a reply. At that time, there was a smaller chance of making a mistake.
With all the technology we have today, computers, internet, and emails, all make our lives easier, save us time, and form better professional relationships. However, they can also put our jobs at risk when the topic is business emails. Many things can happen after you click the send button, and there is no way to undo your action.
Such mishaps can send
confidential salary information to the whole company, or maybe someone makes a bad
comment about a supervisor and sends it to the supervisor by mistake. Or, you
can open your mailbox in the morning and find out you got more than 50 “thanks”
in response to an e-mail. This is not a good way to start a day. It is just a
business routine, when a co-worker loves to respond to all.
Emails are the most used form
of communication in the business world. Here are some simple tips that can prevent
the most common mistakes:
Bad grammar/spelling: Proofread your
emails at least once.
Wrong recipient: Check the recipients one
by one before you click send.
Abuse of BCC: In the company’s own work environment
it is not necessary to use hidden copy.
Reply to all: Unless the information is
relevant to all users put in copy, you should not abuse this option.
Silence: Avoid a negative feeling in someone
who is waiting for an answer.
To whom it corresponds: this expression creates
less credibility.
The subject line: We focus on the body of
the email and forget to change the subject line.
Long emails: Keep it clear and concise.
Late night emails: It is not a good idea
to answer emails in a hurry or when you are tired. Answer them first thing in
the morning.
Emotional emailing: never send an email when
you are angry or upset. Take your time, read it again later, and reflect on the
tone used.
Spending a few minutes to double check an email before clicking the irreversible “send” button may save you time and prevent any misunderstanding or conflict in the future.
Are you looking for the real reason to use cover letters and send thank you letters? Look no further!
What is thereal reason we use cover letters and thank you letters? Well, let me tell you. It definitely has nothing to do with lions and tigers and bears! I have a few good reasons you will want to use a cover letter and follow-up with a thank you letter.
Why a Cover Letter?
To show the employer how AWESOME you are
And to make them FLIP THE PAGE to your resume
This gives you a better chance to get the interview
There are a couple of things to be aware of though. When you’re writing your cover letter be sure not to brag but tell the employer how you can benefit the company. If you’re applying to a few different places, then be sure to change some of your wording in your cover letter for each company. Employers DO NOT have time to read pages about how great you are. It’s important to keep it short and sweet and to the point.
Cover Letter Info
Looking for what goes into a cover letter? – More Info
If where you’re applying to specifically asks that you don’t add a cover letter, then don’t. Not following instructions can cause you not to get the interview. So, make sure you know what the employer wants!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
I hope this helps anyone wondering why it’s important to use cover letters and thank you letters. Please let me know what you think! Best of luck to your future endeavors.
Do you have dreams? Do you dream about getting a degree and finally graduating? Do you dream of what it would feel like to pay off all of your debt and be able to spend your earned money how you want? Do you dream of buying your dream house? What about owning your own business? All of your dreams are possible if you do the work to make them happen.
Rachel Hollis is a mother, a wife, and a self-made business woman who has dreams just like you and she is working towards her goals every day. She has figured out how to reach many of her goals by researching and not taking no for an answer. She created this podcast to share the tools that she used for her own success. Her podcast is called “Rise Podcast”.
In this podcast series, she interviews several successful business people, narrates chapters from her own book, and easily motivates you to actually make steps towards your dreams and goals. Rachel’s audience is mostly made up of females in the “Rise Podcast”. She speaks primarily to women because she was in the same place as her audience at one point in time.
There is a lot of marketing in this podcast. Like mentioned before, Rachel narrates chapters from her book. This is a form of marketing for her book. She also asks you to screen shot the podcast episode you are listening to and post on social media by tagging her in your Instagram stories or post via @msrachelhollis. I think this is very smart and a great way to market herself without saying, “Hey, go follow me!”. She knows how to drive traffic to her other outlets.
Rachel’s podcast may be focused on women but that does not mean that men cannot take notes. She has several interviews with very successful men. While this podcast’s main focus is women; Rachel and her husband have an additional podcast for married couples. This is something that she also markets in her “Rise Podcast”.
“Nobody, not a voice of authority, not your Mama, not the foremost expert in your arena; gets to tell you how big your dreams can be. They can talk all they want, but you get to decide if you’re willing to listen.” -Rachel Hollis
How does businesses communicate to the customer their product? Most would say through the various channels such as T.V., radio, newspaper, social media, etc. and all are correct. But what is the message that they want to convey for their benefit and how is it developed? This is where Marketing comes into play. Many businesses spend millions of dollars in research and development to create brand equity. The task is not easy, businesses must develop a marketing plan for their product and eventually create their logo, slogan, and promotions to attract customers.
I want to give more emphasis on business slogans as is what most customers remember when a company is mention. The slogan does not only represent the company but is also the message that businesses want the customer to remember. Such as Home Depot, “More saving. More doing.”, choosing effective slogans that relate directly to customer satisfaction is key. Ultimately, no one buys something if it does not satisfy a need or want. Effective slogans draw attention to the business and their products.
This marketing technique is very important and seen with most major corporations in the world. Slogans are so important that they are utilized in the business’s commercial, apparel, billboards, videos, business cards, and anything else that they may use for advertisement. Now, can you think of different companies and see if you remember their slogan? Wal-Mart, Nike, Red Bull, McDonalds, Skittles, MasterCard, etc. If you could recall the company’s slogan can you think of why it became important to you as a customer?
If you were to start your own business think of how important it is to develop an effective slogan. Remember that your slogan should be memorable by customers, it should define a benefit, and differentiate you from competitors. While there are many more key factors in a business always remember that your slogan will be something that your customers will remember, and it will carry on for years.
Listening to me and Hearing me are two different things. How well do you listen? According to PR Daily, less than two percent of the country’s population, have had formal education on how to listen. Did that not just blow your mind, because mine is flabbergasted. We communicate everyday with people from around the world, only to realize what we are saying to each other is only being heard, and not comprehended. I have three quick points on how we can enhance our communication skills, by simply improving our listening abilities.
Pay Attention
Open Your Mind
Interact
These tips do not have to be completed in order, but it is much easier to understand the conversation if you do. Let’s break these tips down into a simpler form.
Paying attention is the key to any conversation. This allows the sender and receiver the opportunity to feel each other out. It is also needed to retain pertinent information.
Open your mind to all ideas whether you feel like they are good or bad. You never know what someone else can bring to the table, not to mention we all fall short of knowing everything, so always be willing to learn something new.
Both the sender and the receiver should interact with each other. By doing this the other knows if the message sent is clear. Interaction could be as simple as eye contact or a nod of the head. The point is you are letting the other know you get it!
I have found in relationships with others in my life, communicating effectively is so important. Not understanding what someone is trying to tell you after they have said it over and over and you have heard it over and over is beyond frustrating. That is why during the communicating process, we must openly listen to each other and pay attention to the details in the message so that we can respond to effectively. Considering there are so many cultures that make up our country, some ways of getting a message across will vary. These steps might not work for every situation, but they can assist with the process.
I’m sure many of you if not all of you have been through at least one job interview in your lifetime so far. Well, how many of you actually took time and effort to prepare for the interview? Probably not as much as you wish you would’ve. An interview consists of many simple but huge steps you should always follow. After completing all your resume steps which should have been done in order for you to get an interview, you want to make sure those files and documents are accessible to yourself as well as your future employer. Make sure you always plan ahead and maybe even bring an extra copy of your resume. You should always go into the job interview feeling confident and strong that you have a place to fill the position you’re trying to get. Employers have many jobs other than being a hiring manager. Time is money, don’t waste their time. Most employers will only bring you in for an interview if they feel like you will be a good fit for the position and team. Most interviews for very serious businesses are put together to get to know you more personally. If they know you can do the job, they will always have you come in for a face-to-face interview that way they can get to see how you act in person. Most of the time you’re going to be at work and so they want to make sure they like you at a personal level as well as a coworker/team. In order for you to do good in an interview, you should always be conversational with the employer. Don’t be shy, speak up and speak to them as if you met a new person. A lot of times people feel discouraged in an interview which results in them being quiet and not showing themselves at a high potential. You don’t want to make them feel awkward, the more you talk the better you will be off. You should always be prepared physically as well as mentally. Going into an interview you should be wearing something that is at least a bit dressier than a regular day for yourself. Maybe slacks, jeans, polos, clean shoes, etc. Dress yourself accordingly to the job title. Although not everyone can look as nice as one another, you should always try to be at your best physical appearance that way they know you are serious enough about their opening position. Expect the greatest but don’t let that tear you don’t fit the requirements for the open position. You can expect to receive a drug test, background check, legal citizenship, and other requirements for the job. Hopefully this has given you a few helpful tips about a job interview.
Google’s brand image, they used in creating Google, was to figure out a way to display information that is easily accessible. Google put this brand image of simplicity and effectiveness into action when they built the Google search engine. The Google search engine finds important individual pages on the World Wide Web, and then links these important individual pages to the users.
Google represents its brand image through new design, as well as innovation of new methods of user interface. Google loves to use color to attract its user. From the bright blue carpet in the middle of its first headquarters, to the traditional red, yellow, and green logo, color and design are important to Google.
Communication through technology is Google’s way of penetrating the marketplace, and this has worked out very well for it. Google now employs more than 60,000 employees worldwide and is known for other products besides the Google search engine, such as Youtube and Android.
A business lesson that we can learn from Google, is that we should remain innovative and keep finding new ways to appeal to consumers through accessibility and effectiveness.
Defining and targeting an audience are vital steps in great communication. In publications, the ads are an excellent representation of who the targeted audience is. Websites of these publications also target an audience but with an added dimension, the ability to individually target the viewer (audience.) The ads vary by the choices selected within the publication website thus, redefining the audience.
Forbes website was the chosen publication to illustrate this changing targeted audience. On the homepage of Forbes, the ads are geared toward a well-defined target group. The initial ads were for Wall Street Journal; government tax programs; CD bank rates; oil dividends; filmmaking courses; and senior cell phone plans. Together, these ads are for older wealthy businessmen. These are representative of the homepage initial ads. The target audience is towards one who is interested in financial issues of taxes, CD notes, dividends, and business news from the WSJ…a businessman of diverse monetary concerns. Definitely, the “senior plan” refers to an older generation. The filmmaking courses also reinforce the older target group with an advertisement for a new hobby or starting a new business. This is an extremely focused target audience.
Having the advantage of real-time viewing, websites can narrow the target audience. When a viewer chooses a selection, a story or an article, the site chooses ads focusing on the audience’s interests. If the chosen article deals with businesses with negative issues then the ads may change to customer service aids for businesses, insurance ads, or company improvement ads. Relating the ads to the different types of articles narrows the targeted audience.
Another audience-targeting dimension of websites is third party advertising, directly targeting the individual viewer. Third party advertising is advertisers which monitor viewers’ web surfing on their computers. Directing ads of the real-time viewer’s interests allows the publication to broaden its audience. These viewer-interest ads frame the articles with familiar and personal target ads. Even though these ads may not have any connection with the article or the publication, the audience is familiar with these ads. This frame may keep them reading the articles. This allows for various changes so the targeted audience is the viewer even if the viewers do not fit the original targeted audience. A young want-to-be businesswoman planning to start her own business would now be a targeted audience. This real-time changing redefines the target audience as the current viewer to keep them interested in the publication even if they may not initially seem to be the audience targeted.
Concluding, this publication’s ads were aimed at a senior population of wealthy businessmen. In general, this is the overall targeted audience but with websites drawing in different audiences with a specific article, the website uses ads to include the new audience in real-time viewing. This advantage allows websites to reframe the site to include the viewer. This is the magic of website ads – framing articles with advertising content this viewer is interested in seeing.
Defining and targeting an audience are vital steps in great communication. In publications, the ads are an excellent representation of who the targeted audience is. Websites of these publications also target an audience but with an added dimension, the ability to individually target the viewer (audience.) The ads vary by the choices selected within the publication website thus, redefining the audience.
Forbes website was the chosen publication to illustrate this changing targeted audience. On the homepage of Forbes, the ads are geared toward a well-defined target group. The initial ads were for Wall Street Journal; government tax programs; CD bank rates; oil dividends; filmmaking courses; and senior cell phone plans. Together, these ads are for older wealthy businessmen. These are representative of the homepage initial ads. The target audience is towards one who is interested in financial issues of taxes, CD notes, dividends, and business news from the WSJ…a businessman of diverse monetary concerns. Definitely, the “senior plan” refers to an older generation. The filmmaking courses also reinforce the older target group with an advertisement for a new hobby or starting a new business. This is an extremely focused target audience.
Having the advantage of real-time viewing, websites can narrow the target audience. When a viewer chooses a selection, a story or an article, the site chooses ads focusing on the audience’s interests. If the chosen article deals with businesses with negative issues then the ads may change to customer service aids for businesses, insurance ads, or company improvement ads. Relating the ads to the different types of articles narrows the targeted audience.
Another audience-targeting dimension of websites is third party advertising, directly targeting the individual viewer. Third party advertising is advertisers which monitor viewers’ web surfing on their computers. Directing ads of the real-time viewer’s interests allows the publication to broaden its audience. These viewer-interest ads frame the articles with familiar and personal target ads. Even though these ads may not have any connection with the article or the publication, the audience is familiar with these ads. This frame may keep them reading the articles. This allows for various changes so the targeted audience is the viewer even if the viewers do not fit the original targeted audience. A young want-to-be businesswoman planning to start her own business would now be a targeted audience. This real-time changing redefines the target audience as the current viewer to keep them interested in the publication even if they may not initially seem to be the audience targeted.
Concluding, this publication’s ads were aimed at a senior population of wealthy businessmen. In general, this is the overall targeted audience but with websites drawing in different audiences with a specific article, the website uses ads to include the new audience in real-time viewing. This advantage allows websites to reframe the site to include the viewer. This is the magic of website ads – framing articles with advertising content this viewer is interested in seeing.
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X204 Project 