Branding

Hey, hey! Below you'll find all the posts from Outspoken on the topic of Branding. In this competitive search world, your brand is more than just your image -- it's your whole existence. It means visitors, sales, and, essentially, your livelihood. If you're serious about growing your business and creating a positive brand image, we highly encourage you to check out the posts in this category.

The truth is, it used to be a whole lot easier to control your brand. Once upon a time, consumers and their voices were fragmented and weak. Big companies could get away with far more without having to worry about the toll it would take on their brand. However, the birth of blogs, social media and sites like Twitter have banded consumers together, creating a much larger platform for them and a greater need for you to promote a positive brand image.

And that's exactly what this section will cover: The who, what, when, where, why and how of branding. How to create a brand. How to manage it. And how to make it outspoken.

Please, make yourself at home.  We're going to be doing our part to get this section fattened up in no time, however, while we're busy writing and creating, we direct you to the following resources for tips on how to strengthen your brand online:

If you have suggestions for posts we should do or techniques you’d like to see covered, contact us and let us know. Or, if you want to know how we can help you through our Internet marketing services, feel free to contact us about that, too.

How To Find The Web Designer That Will Bring Your Brand To Life

August 20, 2009

Your message is important. You want it expressed in the most effective way and you are needing a web designer to put your brand image onto a website. That website needs to, without getting too New Age-y up in here, have an essence about it that completes you. Er, your brand. Choosing a designer is [...]

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How To Be Remembered

August 14, 2009

You probably use social media for a lot of things. Or at least, you’ve heard that you can. For me, it’s about establishing top of mind. It’s about using all the tools available to me so that I can be me as loud as I possibly can. And sure, that probably drives droves of [...]

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Dear Microsoft, Stop Trying To Be Funny.

August 6, 2009

Twitter is down today. (OMG WTF!) So now it’s up to you to amuse me. Let’s play a game. Ready? I’m gonna say a word and you’re going to think of a few adjectives to describe that word.
The word is Microsoft. I’ll give you a second.
So what did you think of? Blue [...]

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Should For-Pay Blogging Require a Morality Clause?

July 13, 2009

The New York Times is talking about sponsored blog posts. Business Week wants to debate the pros and cons of co-branding. And Michael Gray has been on the war path for months calling out folks landing free trips and cars in exchange for guaranteed coverage. Paid links issue aside, with so many [...]

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Adding Custom Default Gravatars to Your Blog

June 29, 2009
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You may have noticed that the default avatar on the Outspoken blog for folks not registered with Gravatar is not the typical default Gravatars. Instead, it’s a grayed out replica of the bullhorn in the Outspoken logo.
Quite a few folks have asked me how we’ve done this, so I figured I’d give a mini tutorial [...]

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Can You Save A Damaged Brand?

May 27, 2009
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Business owners share a common goal. We want our babies to grow up and be brands. We want to be memorable and known. We dream of loyal customers and Google authority. But what happens when your brand isn’t positive? When it’s based not on the quality of your product, but on your failures and history [...]

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How To Find Conversations By Tracking Brand Mentions

May 4, 2009
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As Outspoken’s Chief Branding Officer, I get asked fairly often what types of mentions I track, how I track them and how the hell I can be in every Twitter conversation and still get any work done. Well, I’ll tell you. The truth is I don’t spend nearly as much time on Twitter as [...]

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Google Forcing Your Hand, Stealing Your Thumbprint

April 24, 2009
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There are a few things you should know about me. I’ll knock you over for a cupcake in a jar, I still cry every time I watch that Susan Boyle video, and I really hate it when people force me into uncomfortable situations. I mean, I know none of us like it, but I [...]

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How To Easily Create Your Own URL Shortener With WordPress

April 21, 2009
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This morning I set Outspoken Media up with it’s own URL “shortening service” so to speak and Lisa thought you guys might want to know how I did it. With all the talk of Tweet-Jacking and concerns regarding the branding you’re doing for URL shortening services instead of yourself, it only makes sense to create [...]

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Personal Brands in SEO: Stop Obeying False Idols

March 2, 2009
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I apologize if this comes off as a rant.
Actually, no, I don’t. I’m in a ranty mood today and this is my blog. There will be warm milk after. You’ll be okay.
Todd Mintz had an interesting post today over on Search Engine People. In it, he talks about the self-branding of search marketers and how [...]

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ShoeMoney: Why, When & How to Protect Your Brand Online

February 25, 2009
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Rule: People are asshats.
Rhea (lovingly) gives me shit for all the attention I give Twitter. And while I get that my 10,000+ tweets are excessive, Twitter’s pudone a lot to establish my personal brand. A brand that will mean nothing if the asshats don’t get their hands off it. [glare]
It wasn’t too long ago that [...]

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Denny’s Grand Slam Fumble

February 18, 2009
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Rae:  What’s tomorrow’s post about?
Lisa: Denny’s.
Rae: What the [censored] does Denny’s have to do with Internet marketing?
Lisa: [blink] Their Superbowl ad and whether or not they just blew $3million on marketing?
Rae: Oh. Okay. We didn’t see that ad in Canada.
Lisa: [rolls eyes, walks away]
There comes a point in every relationship where you have to ask [...]

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