The concept of “branding” to a small business or entrepreneur may seem like a concern of the big business but smart branding is a crucial strategy for the small business too. As a small business person I have become fascinated with the concept of branding on the small business, non-profit and personal level. I hope this series is bringing a little more meaning to the concept of branding. Anyone can take advantage of the principles. It’s not only for the large mega-corporations.

The Duct Tape Marketing blog described small business branding as,

A small business brand is so much more complicated than a tagline, colors or logos, a small business brand is everything the business does and has done, much like a biography…
made up of who the owner is, who the customers are, what the employees say, what the press says, and who you had lunch with today - in your business, everything is brandographical!

Let’s get this out in the open. Most small businesses don’t have the budget to create awareness campaigns or commercials that have been made famous during the Super Bowl, multiple billboards or product placement in movies. Most small businesses work on the local level or in a specific niche with a smaller audience and thus such “awareness campaigns” are not needed at that stage in a companies life.

SpinningSilk Multimedia currently has two employees, my wife and myself and even when we hire more people in the not too distant future we will still be considered “small” by modern business standards(unless something radical happens). How are we “doing small business branding?” Here is a list of some things that have helped us grow our “brand” since we have been in business;

• We have a creative name the opens up the conversation and helps us explain what we do, our vision and mission. SpinningSilk is inspired by spiders spinning strong webs out of a thin material. Of course the World Wide Web concept inspired this and one of the products we want to provide is effective web sites with optimized code, graphics and other elements that not only load quickly in a browser but also capture people’s attention.
• Our branding elements like logos, etc. are consistent across our web sites, print material, how we answer the phone, etc.
• Our mission and personal beliefs are part of how we do business.
• We participate in local networking groups
• Made our brand know in various online social networking services like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube to name a few.
• Standing firm that our company is “real business entity” and not just a couple of freelancers. We have plans for growth beyond ourselves as business owners.
• Focusing more and more on niches so we are unique and experts in our field
• Constantly adding fresh content to our web site via this blog which has significantly boosted our search rankings and visibility.

Read more about how a small business can build its brand and market itself on a small business budget in a couple of recommended books, Duct Tape Marketing and Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.

Are you a small business owner? How have you been able to build your brand with the resources you have? What challenges are you facing?

2007 was a turning point year for SpinningSilk Multimedia and our parent company, SpinningSilk, LLC and the first month of 2008 seemed to have as many positive milestones and the whole year of 2007. February 2008 is looking great as well!

Milestones reached in 2007–

Established downtown Greenville office
Became a LLC after a few years as a sole proprietorship
Became more active in the PNC–involved in two networks
Became an active organizer of the Upstate Entrepreneur’s Forum
Established a business partnership with CHIC Magazine
Increased sales by 48% for the year!

Milestones Jan. 2008

Joined the Greenville Chamber of Commerce
Participated as a stop in a virtual book tour and interviewed Seth Godin
Prepared to launch E-mail defense service
Launched new Blog & Business Card package

Future 2008 Goals…so far

Our first in-company podcast
podcasts for our clients and our own original shows
Selling managed services to protect and restore your valuable content
A seminar for local business people on the importance of new media in their marketing efforts

Perhaps the first picture that pops into our mind when we think of a brand is the name of a product, a logo or trademark. In fact the original intent of a brand label, brand name or trademark was to make one’s product stand out from the rest. Wow? Is that what it is? Does it really boil down to one farmer selling his apples right next to another farmer with similar looking apples except with a different sign or label? Well, yes, sometimes even if two products have varying degrees of quality or different part on the inside a name or distinctive imagery may be the only different thing some people see. if you went to the dairy case at the grocery store and some prankster had ripped off all the labels you would not be able to tell one brand from another unless the cartoon itself was also distinctive but let’s just assume the cartoon is the same in this example.

Even if I was daring enough to start taking the lids of the gallons of milk and started sampling I still might have a hard time tell each brand apart. Truthfully I wouldn’t start sampling different gallons. I might notify the store manager as he at least would know where my preferred brand was supposed to be located on the shelf. Obviously a good and memorable name is important. In a previous post I gave an example of what is considered the world’s most popular soft drink, CoCa-Cola and the offense people took when they tried to radically change the brand. Let’s go back to dairy however for a good example of a company that has build it’s brand above the cheaper “store brands.” I live in the southeastern United States and Mayfield Dairy Farms is a very popular brand and has a lot of brand loyality. Mayfield’s featured products are Milk, Yougurt and Ice Cream and their packaging is recognized by the the yellow boxes with brown text and the logo and mascot is a very recognizable cow. In recent years Mayfield has stood strong against the competition by utilizing their name, logo and mascot. In the past few years we have taken our nephew to see the giant Mayfield cow downtown, get a free sample of a new flavor and participate in an “election” where consumers can chose the new flavor. The name Mayfield is evocative of a peaceful farm setting. A place you would definitely want your dairy products to come from. I’ve never been to a Mayfield farm myself but the combination of the name, warm colors in the packaging sets them apart from the store brands.

Why do I give Mayfield as an example of good naming, logos and other distinctive elements? First of all I am very tempted to give a lot of example from the technology industry. I’m very familiar with technology companies but you see enough of that on the Internet and anytime I can give “face-time” to other industries I think that’s a good thing. Secondly Mayfield has not been my favorite brand, especially of Ice Cream. I’ve pretty much been a fan of Breyers Ice Cream but I admit Mayfield is really working on me as a consumer with their marketing efforts in recent years. When I go to the dairy case in my local grocery store I definitely know where the Mayfield products are and what they stand for.

How are you using your company name, logo, slogan and other visual branding elements to engage consumers?

I learned today that one of my favorite podcasts, Photoshop User TV, is going to now be available on a cable television channel! Photoshop User TV which is produced by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and features three hosts, Scott Kelby, Dave Cross and Matt Kloskowski. The majority of each show features wonderful tips on how to maximize the potential of Adobe Photoshop. I learn something new each time I watch the show. They also provide news about new products (this is the kind of commercial I don’t mind at all), upcoming seminars and the show also has a weekly contest. I love participating in the contest because not only to I have a chance to win great prizes but the act of participating in the contest helps me learn something about Photoshop I probably would have never discovered on my own.

I use Photoshop a lot in my product photography, photography for print publications, web design products, etc. It’s a wonderful tool that helps me develop compelling content for my clients and my own work.

Perhaps you may not have access to the cable channel that Photoshop User TV will be on but it will still be available as a free downloadable podcast viewable on your computer or maybe better yet via a device like Apple TV. Have you enjoyed Photoshop User TV? What other podcasts would you like to see recognized by the old media? Wouldn’t it be great if people started producing quality local content and local stations decided to rebroadcast that content? I would love to see local podcasters in the upstate and Greenville, SC area recognized by the older media markets and reach a wider audience. I plan on doing what i can to make this a reality for my clients.

I really enjoyed the last series I brought you on design. Another aspect of what SpinningSilk Multimedia does is helping small businesses and organizations with their branding efforts. What we do specifically will be covered in part 10 of this upcoming series. The term branding can sound very intimidating but in reality it can boil down to some very simple principles that a business of any size or individual of any size can follow. I plan on sharing my thoughts on the following topics over the next several days;

1. The Aspects of Branding - Part 1: It begins with the product or service
2. The Aspects of Branding - Part 2: Brand Management
3. The Aspects of Branding - Part 3: Naming, logos and slogans
4. The Aspects of Branding - Part 4: The Myths of Brand Engagement
5. The Aspects of Branding - Part 5: Brand Community
6. The Aspects of Branding - Part 6: Brand Loyalty
7. The Aspects of Branding - Part 7: Small Business Branding
8. The Aspects of Branding - Part 8: Religious and Non-Profit Branding
9. The Aspects of Branding - Part 9: Are you branding yourself?
10. The Aspects of Branding - Part 10: Integrated Marketing Communications
11. The Aspects of Branding - Part 11: Recommended books, blogs and podcasts

I enjoy following other blogs that focus on this topic and look forward to contributing and extending the conversation to you. I look forward to your participation, questions and contributions in this next series.