The time doesn’t stop for any us and we often find ourselves in a time crunch. Too many tasks to complete and you wonder if it’s all going to come crashing down on you or if you will somehow find the strength to prevail. Well stop for a second and put your brakes on. Take a deep breath because your business can’t afford to be second rate at anything – and that includes proofreading your marketing collateral.

You spend your time conveying to the world that your product or service is top notch – the best – and totally worth the dollars you are asking for. So why sacrifice detail when time is against you? Have you ever been in a position where you really wanted to buy something, let’s say a couch, but you couldn’t afford the one you really wanted?  So instead, you go to the local classifieds and get something that is quite used and you figure to yourself that at least you have something to sit on while you save up for the one you really want. What happens next? You end up never striving to get the couch you really wanted and up end settling for the one you bought for the next several years. Sound familiar?

When I see blatant spelling and grammar errors in a company’s marketing collateral, I think of the couch scenario. Is it really better to have “wrong” than to not have at all? There’s a brand identity conflict that goes on in this situation. You convey that you are dedicated 100% to your customers, but your own published work doesn’t even receive the time it deserves to be correct. What does this say to your customers?

While I understand that not everyone is an English professor, it’s not their job to be. However, it IS your job to be accurate and professional in every aspect of your company. Get a professional writer to proofread your material if you have to, but don’t leave this stone unturned. Don’t sacrifice quality and have to justify it later. Just do it right the first time and you won’t get a headache over it.

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Often times when I mention the word “branding” I get a somewhat puzzled or blank stare followed with the question, “What is branding?”. Well, in a nutshell, it’s your identity – hence, your “brand”. I’ll then throw out a few names of well known companies and ask them to tell me what words come to mind. For example, I’ll say “Arco” and typically get these words: cheaper, lower quality. I’ll say “Four Seasons” and typically get these words: expensive, plush, high-end, high-quality. All of these words are impressions that these brands have left consumers through various channels or mediums.

Brands are also identified beyond their name, they can have a symbol – their logo. Starbucks. Nike. Adidas. Need I say more? I bet when I wrote those company names that images went flashing through your mind. That’s the success of a strong brand, instant identification with positive connotations.

While many of today’s marketing efforts center around how to quantify the results via metrics, branding is one of those efforts that get undervalued at times. Branding isn’t a 1-2-3 close-the-sale type of strategy or plan. It’s an enduring effort that takes time to build, but when cohesively done, it conveys a long-lasting message to the public.

Yes, when you have a Pay-Per-Click campaign, you turn numbers. Yes, when you are at a trade show, leads are collected and your sales strategy comes in to try to close the deal. However, with branding, it’s the creation of an impression. It’s just as necessary in the marketing pie. It’s a necessary ingredient and sometimes it’s important to realize that not everything needs to have a cold hard number attached to it in order to determine its success.

The Super Bowl just took place not too long ago and companies paid approximately $3.8 million for a 30 second ad. Now, subsequent sales didn’t have some unique Super Bowl number attached to it. The commercials didn’t say, “The next time you purchase Budweiser, tell them SB2013.” However, getting in front of the eyes of consumers  - and millions of them – was enough cause to justify an ad purchase for many companies. Once again, it was to create brand awareness.

The commercials that stuck out to me were the Go Daddy and Budweiser Clydesdale commercials. Shock value on one end and a compelling story on the other end. In my mind, I just remembered them so clearly. I can replay the commercial in my mind – that’s how it stuck. That’s brand awareness. Will I go make these purchases right now? Tomorrow? Next month? Next year? Whether I do or don’t, I’m aware. I’m aware that they are out there and familiarity definitely influences my purchasing decisions.

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Today was yet another example of attending a trade show where over 90% of the show’s exhibitors have zero presence in the Media Center or Press Room. We can use these terms Media Center and Press Room interchangeably as they both serve the same purpose at a trade show.

First: What purpose does the Press Room serve at a convention or trade show?

The Press Room is where the editorial press and media first check-in at a trade show. This is where editors get their up-to-date show floor info prior to walking the floor. With the enticement of coffee, beverages and a typical light snack, this is a very popular room pre-,during and post-show. Tables are set up where editorial press can browse the exhibitor directory, read the daily show news AND see what kinds of exhibitor press kits are available. The Press Room is also an area where editors retreat to take a break, mingle with fellow members of the media and perhaps surf the web.

Second:  What should you, an exhibitor, put in the Press Room?

While there is definitely an eco-friendly trend and companies using Virtual Press Rooms to disseminate their press kits, it’s always important to have some kind of a presence in the physical Press Room. You don’t have to make a 20-page press kit to get your news across to editors. A post card depicting some interesting facts plus a mention of where your booth is definitely helps. A USB Flash Drive certainly makes it easier for editors to read news releases and to use your company’s provided stock images – which will surely depict your products in the best light. I’ve seen some very straight forward looking press kits – primarily a folder (sometimes customized to the company) with proper inserted information about the company and its latest news, and I’ve seen some extremely creative press kits where it’s almost a piece of art. 

Third: How are press kits laid out in the Press Room?

There are typically three different ways that the Press Room presents press kits to the editors. The most popular is the Cubby Hole organizer method. It’s a huge section of cubbies that are labeled alphabetically to help editors find a particular company. Sometimes, the Press Room will have a wall of plexi-glass holders where press kits individually occupy their own holder. Lastly, there is the table method where press kits are laid out as neat as they can possibly be to help editors scan through them.

Four: Why should I have my press kit or company info in the Press Room?

Well, this is a very simple answer. You have paid to be an exhibitor at the trade show and taking advantage of reaching journalists and editors is FREE. Delivering your company’s most recent news to the media in one setting is a useful, effective and great opportunity to gain awareness and relevance in the press. So, the next time you are setting up your exhibit booth, remember to bring your press materials to the Press Room. Trust me, they’ll have a spot for you!

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How many social media sites are out there for you to use? Tons and tons! Have you ever seen a site where it literally offers you over 15 ways to share their content? It’s much better to use social media effectively rather than achieving a high number of “memberships” just for numbers sake.

So how do you decide which social media avenues are right for you? First of all – identify your market and determine which social media sites that your market is most active in. Without getting into specifics, these social media sites are the most popular:

1. Facebook – At the Global Gaming Convention, one gaming executive cited that the average Facebook user logs in six times each day and spends on average about 20 minutes surfing around each time. This is a captive audience for you to communicate with. Set up a Page for your company and this is how you can publicly interact with your customers. You don’t want to set up a normal Facebook profile where customers must “Friend” you in order to access your wall. Remember to create your “Page” so customers can “Like” your page. The more customers engage with your content (update regularly), the more likely your new posts will be on their radar.

2. Twitter – Sure, it’s a 140 character message each time, but you can get a lot out in just a few words. Word of caution: Don’t over promote on Twitter. Twitter followers want to know some perspective – not just the next sale. That can get old very quickly. Instead, use Twitter to engage your customers by giving some great snippets of info or advice. When you have a contest – let’s say on Facebook – you can announce it on Twitter and drive them back to your Facebook page.

3. LinkedIn – So this isn’t the place to put your pet pictures up on, but it’s a very valuable tool to show your level of business contacts. At the executive level, you now become connected to even more higher level executives. In business, we are all trying to elevate our list of connections and LinkedIn is a great place to make those connections. Look at it like an “online mixer” where you are meeting others who are connected to those you already know. You can also use this platform to make company announcements, but once again, please refrain from promoting.

4. Google Plus – There are a select group of individuals who like to use Google Plus and while it’s far behind Facebook’s popularity at this point, it certainly holds the name of a giant so I expect that it will surface with some extraordinary capabilities that can rival Facebook at some point…but when, I have no clue. At this point, Facebook is the hare and Google is the tortoise that is busy crafting some strategy in hopes to catch up in the social media race. At the moment, Google Plus is popular among engineers and those alike. However, it may still be necessary for your business to have a Google Plus profile just to stay at par with the potential future.

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Files upon files upon files. How do we keep our desks organized and even more importantly, our computer files? Sometimes I take for granted that everyone knows about some kind of Cloud storage, but I realize that my Dropbox capacity keeps getting larger because of all the referrals that I make to it. I get 500MB for each referral and why not refer – it’s mutually beneficial!

Dropbox isn’t just a Cloud storage that helps people share files, but it’s also a great way to keep your own files under control without ever having to mutter to yourself, “The file I need is on the other computer!” or “The file I need is on the other flash drive!”. If you have ten computers, imagine always having your most important files on hand and auto-synced. Plus, Dropbox even has an app for your phone and iPad. If all else fails and you don’t have any of your on-the-go technology on you, no problem, find any computer and do the traditional login via the Internet and you still have all of your files.

Here are the steps to get your Dropox (free by the way!):

1. Go to www.Dropbox.com

2. Download Dropbox

3. After downloading, it will allow you to create your new account with username and password.

4. After creating your account, Dropbox will ask if you want to download it onto your computer and you will want to do this.

5. Then Dropbox takes you on a really nice tour of all its features and even gives you more opportunities to “gain” more Cloud storage space.

My Dropbox suggestions:

1. Download Dropbox on all of your devices – smartphones, tablets and computers so that everything is always auto-synced.

2. Make “Shared” folders with people that you work closely with on projects. Sharing folders is a great way to have and to provide access to files in a protected manner. For example, If Amy and Jeff share a folder, Jeff will not be able to see the files in a folder that Amy shares with Cindy. Dropbox doesn’t limit you on how many people you can share a folder with so if a project that you are working on has five people in it, you can share a folder with five people. Dropbox uses the same folder organization system as your computer, so organize accordingly!

3. When you discover how convenient Dropbox is, you will naturally store more and more files in it. Now, you may find yourself running out of space. That’s fine – you have the opportunity to gain more space. Think of any friends, family or business contacts who don’t already use a Cloud-based storage system and refer them to Dropbox  by logging in yourself and entering their email. When a person signs up for Dropbox off of your referral, Dropbox automatically rewards you with 500MB of additional storage space.

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While most have a .com domain name extension, you will also find many who have a .net, .biz or even .info extension. While choosing a business name is usually your first order, I advise people to think about the availability of the domain name and a .com extension that corresponds with your business name. You don’t want a domain name that is too far off from your business name.

Now, I have heard of some scary stories before where a domain name was last seen to be available only to be snatched up the very next day after it was searched. So, my advice on that…go to the search board with some ideas in mind in a prioritized order. If one is available and it works for you all the way around, buy it! Don’t wait and don’t give anyone else the opportunity to grab it before you do. It’s real life business. If you don’t get it, someone else will.

While some will settle for seconds and get a .net – I advise them not to if you don’t have the .com as well. Why? Well, you will now be inadvertently driving traffic to your .com counterpart while they were really looking for you. Now, you allow the .com site to capitalize on this traffic. If you can’t get the .com, I don’t think that getting the .net is worth it. Or – even the .biz, .info etc.

First objective is to grab a good .com for your business. Then, also for a small nominal investment, scoop up the .net as well. This way, while you do reign supreme with your .com ownership, you also secure yourself from having a .net come in from under you at any time. Simply point the .net domain to your .com path and you will be set. No confusion there.

The .com is so important because it’s what most people associate with when it comes to typing in URLs and searching for a site. If you’re like me, OK, you do remember domain extensions and are keen on observing these things. However, if only your business name flashes across the screen without an actual URL – then most people (including myself) will attempt to look up the company .com style.

The post Which Domain Extension is Right for You? appeared first on Kwan International.

Every extension of marketing equates to the development of creative concepts. That is, except for one thing and I’m quite adamant about it. When it comes to the spelling of your company name it needs to be something that the general population can remember and identify.  You’ve already heard that there is an extremely limited time in which to capture someone on your website. If you fail this task, they are gone. Imagine when someone is searching for your site and Google (insert search engine name) can’t find it right away. Now, you never even had the chance to introduce your site.

While it’s GR8 to be creative – yes I encourage that in every other respect of company branding – don’t get too XCITED and overzealous with making your company name awkward to spell. It’s cool that Prince liked to use numbers 4 substitution, but 4 U, this is not a good thing. It’s OK 2 use a creative word as a part of your company name, but if you spell it like it’s supposed to be spelled, you’ll end up being found more easily. You also prevent other companies from capitalizing on the people who are searching for your company and inadvertently land on someone else’s page.

Branding all starts in the very beginning. How you see your image through your company’s growth is absolutely essential to the planning stages – before anything is ever solidified. When you come up with a company name and you get past the spelling part first, make sure to check if the corresponding domain name is even available. I’ve come across many discussions before where the company name was formed with all business documents done only to realize that the domain name wasn’t available. Now a difficult choice comes into play: Do you change your business name? Do you pick an alternate domain where you run the chance of confusing your customers?

Til the next blog my friends…where I’ll share my thoughts on picking domain names and the domain extension.

The post What’s in a Name? appeared first on Kwan International.

Well this is a bit annoying. Technology has bitten us once again. We have finally launched the overhaul of our new site and – whoops – we accidentally lost ALL of our past blog entries…again.  A more genius move would have been to save it to a Word doc…JUST in case. So hopefully you have read the past blogs and have them firmly planted in your memory bank. Now, we are going to start fresh again.

Let’s just talk about blogs in general today. So you don’t always know what to blog about? Do you sit in front of your computer or notepad and draw a blank? Well, the beauty of blogging is that it’s like a long informative thought. I choose to put my personality into it because let’s face it, if it doesn’t humor you at times, you may not come back.

Keeping a list of things that you may like to blog about is also a great back-up. If you draw a blank, then pull out your sheet and instantaneously your mind will go on a creative run. For companies, make your blogs informative. People crave information these days and if they aren’t getting it from your site, they are getting it somewhere else. You have an opportunity to capture them with your knowledge and from that, you’ll gain a loyal following. Blogs are also great if you concentrate on a specific topic – for me it’s marketing – and to blog about the topics that are extensions of your main topic. Stay away from constant promoting on your blogs, that kind of advertising gets old quickly and people get tired of it as well.

In business, you have to give in order to get. Give great information and you will get a great response from all directions.

The post Third time is a charm for blog appeared first on Kwan International.

It’s a very special thing when you see a young up and coming youth show such passion for a hobby – a sport. Michael Womack was one of these youngsters who was racing on the road course just outside of my office at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As always, I was working on the weekend because everyone knows that a business owner never takes a day off. I can’t help it. Anyways, after one of the practices I heard a voice echo “Hello?” in the “shop” section of my office.  I put down my lunch to find Michael and his friend Ricky who were motorbiking around the complex while on break.

Inquisitive over the boxing ring in my “shop” he introduced himself and could relate to the combat sports aspect as he had taken martial arts for years. After a brief intro, the duo left. Soon after, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael’s father, who also goes by the same name. From there, I learned about this very special father-son relationship that was spurred through auto racing. It was something special. One young driver showed up after the next to check out what Michael had told them about. Riding motocross bikes and driving golf carts, there was something extremely independent about these racers. They were confident and they were competitive, yet they were all hang out buddies when they were off the track.

I was asked a gazillion questions, “How come you have a boxing ring? Can you hit the speed bag for us? Can we go in the ring? Can we box each other?” I was a bit overwhelmed with all of these voices asking questions left and right but that’s what the best part was, having these kids and teens take me to a moment when I had a break from my work. I shared with them my career in boxing and they were enthused. Life’s not always about work, work, work and no fun. These kids reminded me of that through a lesson they taught me today.

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