Brand Building: There’s 1 Thing You Can Do To Become An Overnight Success
The brand-building secret that could take you, your business, or your career to the next level comes down to two words. But, before we dive into this secret, it’s essential to ask: What is brand-building and its importance? Whether you have a business brand or a personal brand, it’s crucial to build a credible brand identity to create and maintain a successful brand.
So, what is brand building? In this article, we ask what are the four steps of brand building and answer with examples you can use for your brand. We also discuss strategies and processes to set yourself up for brand-building success.
What Is Brand Building and Why Is It Important?
According to Merriam-Webster, brand-building is “The activities associated with establishing and promoting a brand.” Whether these activities come through a thought-out marketing strategy, marketing campaign, mission statement, or researching your target market, your brand depends on the tools you use to build it. The stronger you can articulate your brand story, and the more you use your brand voice, the stronger your brand-building process.
Because there are so many brand-building strategies out there, you need to determine how your brand differentiates itself from a saturated market. Looking to established brands with a deep understanding of their target markets is a great place to start.
Brand Building Example
How a TEDx Talk Is the #1 Kept Brand Building Secret To-Date.
TEDx talks like Kevin Breel’s and Cynthia Thurlow’s have millions of views. Imagine if companies utilized their CEOs, executives, and leaders to land TEDx talks? Landing a TEDx talk offers exposure and builds credible branding for organizations. These talks allow you to verbalize your brand’s positioning statement and share it with thousands, if not millions, of potential customers. Most people can achieve that with the right Tedx coach.
TEDx Brand Building Example:
Using TED Talks In Your Brand Building Process.
1. Define your target audience
2. Uniquely position your product/services
3. Articulate your tone of voice
4. Create a brand book that underscores your brand
It’s challenging to communicate nonverbally through graphics or text, but nonverbal communication can be tapped into via video format. According to an article by Forbes, videos capture attention quickly and hold attention 5x more than stills. Meanwhile, the tone of voice, inflection, posture, and even speed of verbal delivery all work together to communicate your brand to your target audience.
1. Define Your Target Audience:
Defining your target audience is the most critical step in building a brand. If you don’t know who you’re trying to help, how can you help them? The better you articulate your audience, the more equipped you are to reach them. If you’re not sure how to do this, Hootsuite offers a free buyer persona template you can use to start defining your audience.
TED is an excellent example of a company that defines its audience and knows where to find it. With YouTube possessing about 2.3 billion active users, TED and TEDx recognize this as a gold mine for potential prospects. TED posts their talks on Youtube, and with over 2 billion users, odds are your target audience is somewhere on the platform too.
Positioning your Product or Services:
How you position your product or service in the marketplace directly influences your company’s brand. Once you create a product or service, the brand must differentiate itself from its competitors. For example, when Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007, Steve Jobs uniquely positioned his product by combining the aspects of an iPod with a smartphone that could surf the Web. These features were ahead of their time and set the iPhone apart from its competitors.
Your brand may not be as strong as Apple’s, but you can still position yourself as an authority figure. For example, giving a TEDx talk is an under-tapped market. The talk itself makes your company, product, and service stand out. By stepping on the TEDx stage, you make yourself unique to your market and bring something other brands do not—a personal connection, strong voice, and public branding that can reach millions.
2. Establish Your Tone of Voice:
40% listed memorable content as a factor that helps brands stand out
33% voted for distinct personality
32% said compelling storytelling
3. Create A Brand Book:
A brand book helps create brand consistency. Refer to your brand book as you articulate your logo, color scheme, tone of voice, style, etc., to employees. For example, including a TEDx talk in your brand book gives employees both a visual and an auditory example of the voice your company uses, the nonverbal way you communicate, and how you interact with potential customers.
For more ways to increase brand awareness, check out our other article: 5 Ways To Increase Brand Awareness.
TEDx Talk Brand Building Strategies:
82% of investors want the companies they invest in to have a strong brand. But what makes up a strong brand, and how do organizations compete with an ever-changing landscape? Position yourself uniquely via the strategies you build:
82% of investors want the companies they invest in to have a strong brand.
Position your TED talk within the framework of your strategy to build your brand successfully.
Repurpose your TED talk content.
- Layer your TEDx talk into your email marketing to help get leads through your marketing funnel.
- Share TEDx clips across your social channels.
Layer A TEDx Talk In Your Email Marketing Funnel:
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth many more. While landing a TEDx talk can take more work at the front end, with the proper guidance, it’s possible and can take your brand to levels you never dreamed of.
Share TEDx Talk Clips Across Your Organic Social Channels:
TEDx talks aren’t restricted to YouTube or the TED talk website. Instead, choose clips from your talk and use them across social media.
- Create a viral Instagram reel or TikTok by tying a key point from the talk to trending audio and layering the keypoint/tips as text on the video.
- Choose critical phrases and layer them over graphics for Twitter and Pinterest.
- Splice together a mashup of your main talking points and reshare on all social channels
Repurposing content establishes credibility and keeps your brand top of mind for audiences.
Why TEDx Talks Are The Key To Future Brand-Building
The more someone can recognize and connect with your brand, the easier it is for them to do business with you. For example, as mentioned, Barkbox uses TikTok to attract visitors and showcase its products. Likewise, Steve Jobs positioned the iPhone by combining critical aspects of his brand. In his commencement speech for Standard University, he referenced Apple. His talk went viral and is featured on TED as a Best of The Web pick.
The above are just a few examples of how giving a TEDx talk allows you the opportunity to attract visitors, showcase your product, service, and brand, and uniquely position yourself in the marketplace. But additionally, this underutilized resource enables you to: