Using video is one of the fastest ways in which you can build a connection with your audience, and platforms, like YouTube, make it really easy to highlight your brand. Before you decide to upload your latest video, there are a couple of things you need to do. In this video, I back up the truck (catch that in the video) and break down exactly how to brand yourself on YouTube.
Goals & Getting It Down
The whole goal for going on YouTube is to highlight your brand experience. Now, the one key portion that you shouldn’t overlook is your branding! Ah, ha. Yes, it all comes down to those subtle yet powerful and effective cues. Specifically, you’ll need to brand your YouTube channel art, thumbnail, and watermark, to name a few elements. In addition to these items, don’t forget your old reliable, signature colors and fonts.
Big Benefits
Once you have your elements in place, you’ll ensure that your channel is professionally showcased. Not only that, but you’ll also, once again, send out those cues that remind people of your unique style. Your audience will get a feel for your videos and will become trained to spot them among the many other videos on the YouTube.
Getting Started
If you’re still green with your branding but ready to make your mark, I invite you to join the free, RAW BRANDED® 5-day branding challenge. I’ll work with you each of the five days to get your branding in order. You’ll get a full understanding of how to arrive professionally branded on all digital spaces as well as strategies for executing your brand.
If you haven’t started using video to build your brand, you’re missing out on a lot! Through this visual exchange, you’re able to showcase the person or team behind the brand. In this video I outline 5 ways to use video for brand building.
Why Video?
Right now, video is among, if not, the fastest tool that you can use to forge a relationship with your audience. As I mentioned in this video, a good way to get people to “get it” is to get them to get you! It’s not about a gimmick but actually being real—RAW BRANDED.
You can also use video to infotain. No, this doesn’t mean that you’re putting on a sideshow. However, when using video, you will need to capture people’s attention. This is where you can marry the provision of information with entertainment. Allow yourself to think far and away, outside the box. #DontBeBoring
Additional Tips
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While I outline 5 ways to use video for brand building, I also encourage you to share your advice and strategies by commenting below.
Are there other ways in which video can be used for brands?
The Lenovo Yoga and HP Spectre are two of the leading two-in-one laptops out there that are ideal for small business owners, particularly creatives. One minute you could be hammering out the details of a project on your computer, and the next minute, you could flip those nifty computers into a tablet and design something amazing as if you’re working with a paintbrush and paper. I put these two laptops to the test in my recent product review.
What Had Happened Was …
When it comes down to choosing among bigger brands, it often becomes a battle between the brand name, reputation/reviews from others, and then the product itself. Well, I found myself in this interesting position when my trusty laptop suddenly kicked the can, and I was forced to replace it. Of course, the timing was the worst, as is the time in which these things tend to happen. So, off to Best Buy I went … completely reluctant to dish out the cash that I also didn’t have available. 💸
What I Found Was …
You really need to go into the computer buying process with a completely clear vision of how you plan on using the computer, how it will fit into your lifestyle, and your budget. The thing is, after the shiny penny syndrome runs off, you’ll be left with something that really needs to meet your needs. It becomes much more than the brand itself. Interestingly, I gravitated to the bigger brands because I felt as if they were trustworthy based on their reputation. The defining factor became a combination of form, function, and affordability. 🎯
Lesson Learned …
The takeaway for all brands is to remember that besides all of the sparkling marketing that we put out there, it is essential to deliver on our brand promise (what we essentially promise consumers at the end of the day). That being said, there is still some hidden magic in wrapping our services and products in pretty little packages. Yes, the psychology is real! 🎁
Check out the video above for more details on all this and chime in below!
There are two essential pages that you need to have on any personal branding website—an about page and a story page.
Riddle me this! Your target audience member stumbles upon your website and sees a snazzy picture of you. There you are offering some service, freebie, and/or magical potion. Now, the said target audience member is actually intrigued. He/she actually want to learn more about you! Where does that person go? … Yes, to your about page!
Your about page should provide a quick overview of who you are and why people should keep you in mind. This page should tell folks all about what makes you so special. That being said, you’ll also need a story page. This page is like the ultimate sidekick to your about page. This is where you’ll begin to breakdown your brand’s backstory. This is your moment to connect with your target audience on a deeper level.
If you haven’t done a SWOT analysis of your brand, you’re missing out on an opportunity to survey your brand and move further towards achieving your goals!
SWOT, a nifty little acronym, stands for your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. When you take a moment to look at all these elements of your brand, you’ll be able to better position your brand in the marketplace. When in doubt, SWOT it out!
Relax, relate, and release! I’ll walk you through all steps in this video.
A photo posted by reneewalkerpena (@reneewalkerpena) on
Is it a case of narcissism or is it just plain ol’ identity formation? However you define it, selfies have now become a part of our lives. Whether you or someone/some celebrity you know is engaging in it, at the very least you have heard the term before. Selfies are so omnipresent that they’ve found their way into the English Oxford Dictionary in 2013. Nary does a day go by when you won’t find your Instagram or even Facebook feeds filled with the homage to oneself: the Vogue-esk body angle, the dramatic head tilt, and well-rehearsed smile or smize are all the usual elements of the selfie.
When it initially gained steam a few years ago, I thought the selfie would become a quickly passing fad that would die hard. We would all look back the year after and tsk tsk our participation in the madness ala the word “bling,” but I was wrong! The selfie has taken on a life of its own, and as time goes on, it’s becoming normalized. There are now ways to incorporate successful selfie strategies into your marketing campaigns. What makes this style of photography so darn appealing? According to Psychology Today, selfies allow us to engage in the storytelling experience as both the subject and photographer. We get to become both the lead actor and director.
Self-ish v. Personal Branding
Millennials, aka what I like to deem as “Generation Me,” are often credited with giving birth to the selfie. They may actually have more pictures of themselves now than their parents even took of them as babies! But what’s the obsession?? For many of these young adults, teens, and even tweens it’s about self empowerment and/or esteem building. These self portraits also serve as a tool for chronicling a moment in time. Remember Ellen’s Oscar selfie in 2014? That moment in time reigned as the most re-Tweeted image, with more than 3.3 million shares, until 2016.
Regardless of the personal goal, the act of creating a selfie reinforces your personal brand. Selfies communicate your brand experience. They are a peek into who you are and what you stand for. It represents (or should represent) your authentic self, whether that is the intent or not. It gives social proof through the image itself and its popularity. The more likes, the better evidence you’ll have that your brand is working to build trust and credibility. Remember, people gravitate towards products and services that they trust, and pictures are found to increase trust, according to new research on increasing “truthiness.” Once you establish this relationship, you can reap the rewards found through sales.
Companies have caught on to the selfie trend and have been incorporating them into clever, low-budget, marketing campaigns. Most are based on having followers and/or customers post real photos of themselves with a product or embody a brand’s essence. Take notes, as these seven successful selfie strategies may also work for your marketing campaigns.
GoPro – Selfies are ideal for the photography industry. This seemed like a no brainer for GoPro, which created a viral marketing campaign by embracing the entertaining videos produced by its customers. While the effort began with the company’s partnership with extreme athletes, the company is now showcasing the works of its fans, which includes death-defying sky dives and bungee jumps. It’s user-generated content has yielded more than 3 million views and 3 million subscribers!
Strategy: Spotlight fans who embody your brand essence.
Dove’s campaign challenges traditional beauty standards.
Dove – The company continues to be consistently conscious. Sticking with its brand, Dove created the documentary #Selfie (2014) to showcase the unrealistic beauty standards young ladies face in a social media driven world. The 7-minute short encourages women to redefine these traditional beauty standards by becoming content creators.
Strategy: Use selfies to showcase your authenticity.
WIRED – Their February 2014 issue debuted with a unique spin. WIRED offered readers the opportunity to use an app that places them on the cover of its magazine. They also asked readers to them use the app to share the cover pic on social media, using #WiredGoesViral. Yes, you too could have been a cover girl/boy.
Strategy: Place your supporters front and center.
Marc, by Marc Jacobs – similar to WIRED, Marc literally sought out real people as models. Although the concept isn’t new (hello Banana Republic!) the designer’s execution was. His company created a casting call by asking fans to post selfies on Instagram and Twitter and tag them using #CastMeMarc. The campaign drew more than 70,000 applicants.
Strategy: Give back by showcasing your fans and their story.
Samsung – To promote its Samsung Galaxy S5’s water resistance feature, guess what the company did. Yep, you guessed it. The folks at Samsung embraced the underwater selfie, using divers in Lake Zurich to approach passersby with the S5 and entice them to join them in the lake for a chance at winning the phone. Strategy: Think outside the box to capture winning moments.
Beats – When debuting its Solo2 headphones, Beats used celebrities to take selfies of themselves going from one side of the headphone to the other. The images and videos were shared via Twitter and Instagram with hashtag #SoloSelfie, resulting in more than 9,000 posts.
Strategy: Use celebrities to ignite your audience’s support when possible.
Nokia Lumia 735 – The smartphone company launched “The Selfie Collection” as a means of using a “selfish” act to support an unselfish cause. The campaign featured self-taken images of famous Scandinavian fashion bloggers using the Lumia 735. The bloggers also donated a fashion item for an auction to support the fight against online bullying.
Strategy: As an alternative to celebrities, partner with digital superstars who can vouch for you.
The New Normal
Do I now have you convinced that there’s a method to all this madness?
If not, here’s one more attempt that showcases pop culture at its finest. Grab your selfie stick and enjoy the #Selfie song. Never gets old!
