What Is Brand Blending?
Tonight I had two great happenings. First off, I got to meet the author of one of the very first books I ever bought on marketing. Raleigh Pinskey, author of 101 Ways To Promote Yourself.
I remember ages ago her book being one of the first books I ever bought on marketing myself when I was just really getting going and learning with my business.
Tonight, she brought up a term that I had never heard of before. I’ve been teaching the concept for years but she actually came up with a great name for it. Brand Blending.
This is the art of blending your brand online and offline. Taking your traditional offline brick and morter business and combining all of your offline efforts and taking them online to blend them together.
Here is an example she gave, This pizza place in Atlanta she has known for years used to have a great big sign with the company name on it. Nothing abnormal about that. But the great thing is that they have recently changed the sign. Instead of it being the name of the company, it now is a great big sign with their website address and a tag line under it that says “Follow us on Twitter”.
Have you noticed more and more companies doing this? Watch a sports channel for a few minutes, every few minutes of their latest programs, you will see a plug for their social media links.
They are blending their traditional marketing efforts (neon signs, printed ads, TV shows, etc) and encouraging people to connection online as well.
In today’s world you need that brand blending. Do you do networking at a local group? The next time you do your 30 second commercial, be sure to add your website address to it. Things like that are now remembered a lot more.
Like I said, I have been telling people to do this for ages but it is great to hear one of the greats talking about it. Plus she even coined a name for it.
So, get out there and blend!
About The Author:
Ely Delaney is a dad, author, speaker, marketing consultant and Founder/CEO of Your Marketing University. His goal is to teach marketing in a simple easy to understand format that businesses can use to help gain marketing ideas & market their businesses to boost sales.
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2 Responses to “What Is Brand Blending?”
Lisa Raymond
Great article, Ely! I recommend people do similar on their print material, but I’m finding either the idea is slow to catch on, or they may not be active on the social media (or not on it at all!). Have you found a way to gently persuade those holdouts to give social media a try? The biggest complaint I hear is how long it takes to learn and they don’t have time; my usual comeback has been, “If you don’t or aren’t spending time on it, your competition is or will be.” I don’t want my clients to feel like they “have to” but I really think they’re missing a vital connection with the public by not following this avenue. Also, do you find if businesses are struggling they’ll try social media to “save the business”?
Ely
Lisa,
Thanks for the awesome feedback.
Yes I do find many businesses that don’t get Social Media yet. Some don’t get it. Some think its stupid. And most, think it will take too long.
Most of the time, everything takes to long for most of them. They are looking for a magic bullet. Those people are usually a lost cause.
However… If they do say it takes too long and they just need a system, I show them a couple of things and then explain my system which takes 1 hour once a week and 15 minutes a day for ALL my social media stuff. Then they are more excited and want to know more.
As for those that are jumping on the Social Media bandwagon “Cuz thats where the money is” (in my best hick voice), they are usually very disappointed and it doesn’t last for them. Social media is about a conversation and building relationships. The sale is a by-product. I see a ton of people that jump on purely because they think that is how they will make their millions. Its very sad and they are pretty much all disappointed with it.
If they jump in to Social Media as a last ditch effort to save their business, it’s usually too late for them already.
Not always, but usually.
Great conversation!
Ely