Do you want to improve your company’s branding, but you’re unsure of where to start?  Maybe you know your brand could be improved, but you just can’t put your finger on the problem.  Maybe you like your brand, but your brand is getting mixed reviews from your ideal target lately so you’re concerned about its performance.

After all, if you don’t think there’s room for improvement, you probably wouldn’t be asking questions.  But here you are, not only questioning your brand’s effectiveness, but also reading The Branding Spot blog!  You feel there’s something not quite right and you don’t know where to turn.

So that tells me that you’re ready for an honest, professional opinion on your brand.  We can help!

Christophe Chocolatier's Business Card - Before & After a Brand Alignment

Big Branding Questions

There’s no time like the present to start thinking about brand improvement.  After all, great branding is often an ongoing process.  So if you haven’t given much thought to brand improvement lately, here are some questions to help you begin to gauge the strength and effectiveness of your current brand and branding tactics.

Ask yourself…

• Do you love to give out your business cards?  Are you proud enough that you whip them out easily, and at a moment’s notice?
• Do you absolutely, positively love, Love, LOVE(!) your logo?
• Do you know if your target audience not only easily relates to your brand, but also LOVE’s your brand?
• Why are you questioning the effectiveness of your current branding?  Did something specific trigger your desire to seek out ideas for better branding?

Now take a break.  Take a few deep breaths.

Ok, now take a step back…

Was it hard to answer the questions posed above?  Did you find yourself unsure of your answers, perhaps even shrugging a bit as you searched for an accurate response?

A great brand…

• Is Unforgettable
• Is Entirely Unique
• & Tells Your Interesting Story

Does your brand do all that and more?  If not, it should!

Ok!  Enough with the questions!  You need brand answers.

You deserve a brand that works for you and for your company.  You need a brand that attracts and retains your ideal clients and/or customers.  You’re an expert in your field and your brand should live up to your unique story, and your superior products and your services.

Your next question is, “YES, but how do I do this?”

Take your brand from just ok to GREAT!

A Brand Alignment Package from Spot-On Branding is just what you need to pump the life back into your brand.  This package is the perfect way to get good advice and real solutions to your branding questions from a qualified industry professional. The Brand Alignment Package includes a review of up to three pieces of marketing collateral (such as your business card, brochure, website, e-zine, direct mail piece, ad and/or product packaging).

Well Designed Journeys - Ezine Before & After a Brand Alignment

You’ll get spot-on professional branding analysis and advice in the form of a report with 10 individualized tips on how to make your brand more effective.  Plus, you get a 20-minute recorded (and emailed) phone session with Nora D. Richardson to answer your additional questions and outline the next steps toward improving your brand. No strings attached.  Just good advice to get your brand in the spotlight.

Contact Spot-On Branding today for your Brand Alignment Package – your first step toward envisioning your best branding yet!

Client attraction: it’s something we’re all concerned about as business owners.  So how do you grab not only more clients, but great clients who keep coming back again and again?  Try employing these three big ideas to attract (and keep!) great clients this year!

“Eliminate” the “Competition”

The business world is changing, big time.  With so many “competitors” out there, now’s the time to redefine how we interact with business owners in our particular industry.  The new trend?  Collaboration over competition.

That’s right: stop trying to compete with your competition!

Sounds crazy, right?  Wrong!  Here’s how it works…

Offering the same features with maybe one or two differences just isn’t effective anymore.  Instead, find out the wants or needs of your current and potential clients, then, find out what they’re NOT getting from your industry colleagues.

That’s how you develop your niche.  And if you don’t have one, you need one.

It’s simple: develop your niche and your former competitors become colleagues – business owners you can partner up with for certain types of projects.  It’s easy to build a business relationship when you cut out the envy.  It’s win-win.

Filling the Funnel

The sales funnel is a graphical representation of what your sales process should look like.  Imagine a funnel, narrow end down, broken up into distinct layers.  At the top, you have all of your leads – this could be people you only met or emailed once, or even simply people who have signed up for your mailing list.  Leads become opportunities, and those fall into the middle, narrower section of your funnel.  The closer your prospects travel towards the bottom of your funnel, the more likely you’re looking at a soon-to-be new clients.

When you use the sales funnel system, you can easily assess how many potential clients you’ll convert to actual clients, allowing you to establish trends and then judge your monthly schedule and sales potential as you go.  When your funnel is full, you’ll find you’re less stressed because you have a plan in action and you know the ratio of conversion.

Hit Your Target

Stop selling to everyone.  Seriously.  “Everyone” is not your target market.

Ok, I’ll admit it: even I have a hard time with this concept.  I can (and have) designed in nearly every industry, plus, I’ve designed at least one of every thing, from products to services.  I like designing for different people in different industries, and I like learning about new industries too.

I started as a run of the mill, ordinary graphic designer.  Over the years I’ve gradually narrowed my field of expertise and my target audience.  Sure, I got work as a generalist, but I ran into trouble: I found my clients didn’t understand my value – and that was my fault!  I didn’t understand or know my value either!  So I narrowed my focus to a particular branch of design and branding, so I’m getting closer and closer to the ideal clients I’m looking for – but I’m still not there yet.  So this year, I’m narrowing my focus once again, because although I’m doing well, I’m still working on defining my exact ideal clients and branding projects.  So, I know it’s hard, but stop trying to sell to everyone!

Generalists don’t stand out in a crowd.  Experts do.

So get out there and attract more clients – and more of the clients you WANT – this year by putting these three big ideas in practice!  Collaborate, don’t compete; keep that sales funnel full, and narrow your target market.  Make 2012 your best year yet!

Last week on The Branding Spot, we talked about four must-have components for business success: a clearly identified target market, passion for your work, a reliable support system, and a continuous emphasis on networking.

And what’s the FIFTH key component for business success?

A Reliable, Qualified & Talented Creative Team!

Never overlook or undervalue real creativity.  After you assemble an awesome team of creatives to back your business, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them.  You may think I’m biased, seeing as I’m a creative myself, but it’s the truth: every business needs creatives!  Your creative team works together to create your unique story and vision, while distributing it to the masses in the fashion that best suits your company.

Every member of your creative team should be:

• Reliable
  • Creatives are sometimes stereotyped as flaky.  But I assure you, dedicated creative professionals are actually dedicated and professional.  We all want to know that everyone we employ or partner with is as enveloped in our endeavors as we are ourselves.  So seek out likeminded, passionate talent – and with those qualities comes reliability.  Don’t settle for anything less!
• Qualified & Talented
  • Do just as you would before hiring a new employee: ask for references and examples of their past work, look at their website and review their experience and qualifications.  When you choose a creative to work with your company, their work should always meet or exceed your expectations – and those of your peers.  At the same time, be aware that when you hire qualified creative professionals, you need to take a step back and let them do their jobs!

Your Creative Team consists of (at minimum):

Your Brand Designer/Brand Strategist

If you value your business, value your brand.  A branding professional designs and creates a comprehensive, well-aligned brand that both tells your unique story and reaches out to your target audience.  A great design professional will also design, create and align your logo, website, brochures and signage – everything and anything with your company name on it.  This creative professional will create a consistent look and feel across every collateral piece promoting your business, on or off the web.

Your Copywriter

Content, content, content!  Search engines favor websites with new, relevant, grammatically correct and constantly updated content.  Let’s face it: most businesses just don’t have time to devote to generating copy all day.  This is where your copywriter and/or ghostwriter steps in and gets your business out there through great search engine optimization (SEO) practices.  Great writers are often fairly versatile; they can write or edit website text, blog articles, social media posts, press releases – you name it.

Your Marketing/PR Director

A great marketing director takes your business and your brand as a whole (your vision, your branding, your graphics, your copy) and promotes it to your clearly identified target market.  This includes everything from local events and promotions to social media and online presence.  A creative marketing professional will work with you and your brand to develop a marketing plan that will get your business noticed, exactly when and where your target market is paying the most attention.

In case you missed last week’s post on the four additional components to business success, click here to read them all.  Tune in every Tuesday for new posts on great branding and business tips from The Branding Spot!

Is 2012 the year YOU start your own business?  If starting a business is in your future, you need to be prepared for all the challenges and successes that await you.  This week, I took a look back at not only my trials and tribulations, but also my summits and successes from the previous year.  I came up with this list of important business components that you simply cannot overlook if you want to see business success in the new year!

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Identify Your Target

Whether your business is your vision, your dream, or your mission – you’ll fall right through the cracks (and quickly) without a well-thought-out business plan.  Successful business plans are centered on achieving a viable profit from a clearly identified target market. If you don’t know your target, you can’t tailor your branding and your marketing to the needs of that audience.  And remember, “everyone” is NOT your target market!

Pure Passion

Do what you love and love what you do!  When you back your business plan with a passion for your industry and an unwavering drive toward success, you’re already ahead of the game.  With passion comes devotion and perseverance, three aspects ANY successful professional will tell you are necessary keys for long-term success.

Backups that Stack Up

As business owners, we need a dependable support network to back us up, so we can focus our attention where it’s most needed at any given time.  From the little details to the big picture, these individuals shine light on great ideas and ease the day-to-day workload.

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Your supporting team should include a:

• Reliable Bookkeeper
  • Every business needs a Bookkeeper.  Even if your business is small, it’s likely you don’t want the additional task of monitoring the ins and outs of your money.  The good news is, nowadays it’s easy to find remote bookkeepers to do your books in only a fraction of the time that you can – saving you time and money.
• Virtual Assistant
  • Virtual assistants are all the rage right now – and for good reason.  Talk about a time saver!  Virtual assistants work remotely and do all the things a business owner doesn’t have time to do, such as: open and answer emails, follow up with customers, and schedule appointments and meetings.  Mine, helps me do research.
• Business Coach, Accountability Partner and/or Tribe of Colleagues
  • Finding meaningful partners who keep you focused is vital to the well being of you and your business (and, keep in mind, these people/groups can overlap)!  Support and education are what every business owner needs— and, more often than not, we’re too close to our own business to see the easiest way to a practical solution.  Coaches, partners and tribes help us see the big picture and keep us responsible and accountable for our goals.

NETWORK!

I cannot emphasize this enough: network, network, network!  Never underestimate the importance of networking both online and in person.  Building relationships builds your business: you build your reputation, your credibility, and you increase the opportunity to meaningfully interact with your target audience and possible business partners.  And always be sure to follow up! 

•••

With structure and support, failure becomes less of a threat and success will be right at your fingertips.  Stay tuned next week for the FIFTH component for business success: A Solid, Qualified & Talented Creative Team!

Happy New Year from Spot-On Branding!  Here’s to a safe and happy new year – and here’s to an exciting 2012 at The Branding Spot blog!

Since the New Year is both a time for reflection and a time to look forward with hope, I’ve decided to share a few key lessons that I’ve learned over the years.  Sometimes I still struggle with some of these ideas – and you might too!  It happens.  The important thing is to keep everything in perspective, and to always remain positive.

For a happy, successful and prosperous new year…

Do What You LOVE

If you’re not doing what you love, you will fail.

Passion is what sparks achievement and fulfillment.  When you don’t allow yourself to do what you love, you get easily sidetracked, or worse, bored.  This is your life!  Your time is too valuable to be wasted on activities or endeavors that you don’t enjoy or don’t believe in.

Find Your Niche

If you don’t niche, no one will listen to you.  A Jack-of-All-Trades is a master of none.

Stop trying to be everything to everybody!  It’s just plain impossible.  When you hone in on one particular specialty, you will become an expert in your field.  You’ll find more people will be interested in you and your business, and more people will listen to you.  Experts are influential, and influence means power and respect.

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Get Real

If you’re not honest with where you are now, you can’t define where you want to go.

Take the time to seriously review and reflect upon your previous year.  Acknowledge what went well and what fell through before you make your new year goals and plans.  If you’re having trouble, check out Benny Hsu’s handy annual review worksheet here.

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Set Goals – Then Reach Them

Without goals, you will not grow. This can apply to both your business and your personal life.

Try this:

1. Clearly define your goals for the year.  Set specific goals and WRITE THEM DOWN.
2. Include an achievable measurement with each goal.  (Think # of days or # of dollars or # of items.)
3. Set a date of completion for each goal.  Nothing gets me hopping like a deadline!
4. Hang up your goal list somewhere where you’ll be sure to see it every day.

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Annnnnd…Action!

If you don’t take action in your life or in your business, you won’t achieve anything – because when you don’t act, you don’t GO anywhere!  The magic only happens when you’re out of your comfort zone.  Personally, I’m good at getting stuck in planning mode.  I’ll plan and plan and plan and never feel comfortable putting the plan into action.  (*This is one thing I’ll definitely be focused on improving this year!)

Bonus Tip: If you really want to get serious about achieving your goals this year (and you should!), get an accountability partner.  It’s one thing when you don’t complete a goal for yourself.  (Most of us are all too good at rationalizing our mistakes!)  BUT, when you have to admit that you flaked out to someone else, now that’s not easy.

I’m really looking forward to sharing an abundance of great branding and business tips and quips throughout 2012 with all of you awesome readers out there.  We’re rolling out a lot of great ideas this year, so feel free to visit as much as you like!  The Branding Spot blog is updated every Tuesday.

The week in between Christmas and New Year’s for me is either spent traveling or organizing my office for the new year.  I absolutely hate to file things, so inevitably I have client folders, brand inspiration pieces and creative books in several piles around my office at the end of the year.

I find it very therapeutic to dive into these piles.  During the year, I am usually working at a fast pace on 10+ projects at a time and it is nice to have this moment to reflect on what I have accomplished.  I share the following article, because I start this big feat every year end exactly where she suggests…Happy New Year!

Guest Post by Kacy Paide

“I just don’t know where to start” is something I hear each week. Usually by the time I show up, a client has already been spinning their wheels for months or years.  Recently I realized that as far as paper sorting goes, I always start in the same place: finances.

You may have too many books, piles of catalogs on the floor, stacked file bins, and an ugly desk, but you have to zero in one and only one place to start. I find that the walls of paper could literally be falling down around us and I nearly always start by bundling statements and paid bills.

This actually has nothing to do with the significance of an organized financial life, but more to do with the practice it gives one in putting like with like.  Putting like with like is not always as obvious as it sounds, so we have to get some practice with the easy stuff. Your statements and bills right now may be on the shelf, under the chair, in your bag, and partially filed.  If so, here’s what you do:

1. Ignore everything else in the office and give yourself permission to just master your financial papers.
2. Go on a scavenger hunt through all the nooks and crannies and create 1 (huge, unruly) pile for bills and statements.
3. Break it out into type of statement and bill. (ie: Bank of America, Verizon, Gas)
4. Further break out the statements by account and year – one account per folder and one year per folder.
5. Further break out the bills by year (ie: Verizon 2011, Verizon 2012)

This will give you a quick sense of accomplishment, even if the piles are still falling down around you.  Inevitably, you will also come across lots of trash in the process.  One more thing: envelopes are not allowed in your folders! Open your mail!

Kacy Paide, Office Organizing Expert, transforms messy offices into creative work-havens.  She works best with creative entrepreneurs who hate filing and are out-of-sight-out-of-mind. To get your FREE list of “!00 Ways To Organize Your Office” and to receive her weekly articles on creative ways to organize and inspire your office, visit www.theinspiredoffice.com.

Looking for new and creative ways to reach your target audience?  Well, if you’re not, you should be, of course!  Have you been thinking about your 2012 marketing goals?  Is starting a blog or creating a YouTube channel on your list?  Well, 2012 might just be the opportunity you’re looking for, seeing as content marketing is as popular and effective as ever.

What is Content Marketing?

Put simply, content marketing is creating and distributing content to attract a particular target audience.  The idea behind content marketing is to provide entertaining, informational content to your target market, the ultimate goal being repeated brand exposure and consistent lead generation for your business.

Popular Content Vehicles in 2011:

• Blog Posts
• Social Media Updates
• eNewsletters
• Articles
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Webinars

…and more!

Pick an outlet you’re looking to explore.  Social media is a good place to start.  A little lost?  Hire a branding or marketing expert to help find the best outlet for the type(s) of content you’re looking to provide your ideal potential clients.

Content marketing is selling to your target market, without, well, selling.  People are tired of the same old sales game.  It’s time to get creative!  So instead of pitching ideas, you’re providing information, empowering your potential clients – and today’s buyers like that!  A lot!

For Great Content, Think Great Branding

Great content marketing emulates great branding!  Think about it: what are the components of a great brand?

A Great Brand:

• Tells your Story
• Is Consistent and Comprehensive
• Is Unique
• Is Memorable

Whichever outlet and method you choose (starting a blog, a newsletter or a video series, for example), the content you provide your target audience should mimic the same qualities found in a great brand…

Great Content:

• Tells a story
  • Like your brand, your content should be informed, interesting, entertaining, relevant and engaging to your target audience.
• Is Consistent and Comprehensive
  • Your content should be produced on a regular schedule and in a format that’s consistent not only from week to week, but also consistently illustrates your brand and brand components, such as colors, themes and language.
  • When working with multiple outlets, always try to cross-pollinate.  For example, if you update your blog or create a new podcast or YouTube video, tweet about it, post about it on LinkedIn and/or post your article to Biznik.
• Is Unique
  • Great content differentiates you from competition – and that’s huge!  Share your insight through your unique personality and show why you’re the real expert in your field.
  • Unique, engaging and informative content establishes and reinforces your reputation and the reputation of your business. This is a great opportunity to really be your brand – so get out there and show them what you’ve got!  You Are Your Brand!
• Is Memorable
  • Memorable content is shareable content, and that’s what you’re really looking for from content marketing.  The more people value your content, the more they are likely to share it with others in your target market.  Be shareable and your content spreads on its own!

It’s time to add content marketing to your 2012 branding strategy.  Building content in 2012 will build your brand and your business.  Happy New Year from The Branding Spot!

Everyone knows you can put your logo on a pen or a cup, but we all know that’s pretty darn BLAH!  This year, instead of handing out something barely worthy of a trade show freebie, why not find unique, memorable gifts for your clients, cohorts and prospective customers?

I’m talking gifts that speak to their industry, profession and/or business.  Gifts they’ll love.  Gifts they’ll keep!  And yes, these great gifts will absolutely show off your great brand too!

Professional Gift Giving Goals:

• Reflect both the spirit of the season and the spirit of your business.
• Intertwine your business ideals and values with theirs in a creative, memorable way!

Merry…and Bright!

It’s all about finding new and creative ways to remain memorable long after the holidays are over.  You want your gift recipients to enjoy and appreciate a gift from your company.  The holidays are a great opportunity to show you care and to create a lasting impression.

So now’s the time to be smart and thoughtful!

Here are some fun ideas to get you started…

Your Business: Cutting edge mobile app design.

Great Gift: Branded Mobile Charging Stations – so your clients never have to be away from their apps for too long.

Your Ideal Customer: An upscale, luxury boutique.

Great Gift: Your logo, on fine chocolate.

You Are: A financial planner

Great Gift: How about a simple money clip with your logo?  Useful and memorable.

Your Client: A group of beer drinking, computer loving IT people.

Great Gift: How about a branded USB/Bottle Opener combo?

Say No to the Aluminum Tree

If you’re going to give a GREAT gift, you must be both creative and authentic.  NEVER skimp on the details or the quality of the item you’re gifting!

DON’T:

• Be Cheap
  • What’s the point of giving out a pen with your logo if the pen doesn’t work?  Is that the lasting impression you want?  Not at all!
• Be Common
  • Magnets, pens, buttons – BLAH.  If you want to make an impression, be unique!  Trust me, you can find quality, unique items within your budget.

The Bottom Line: Be wise when promoting your business.  Promotional items branded with your company’s logo are a great way to create a lasting impression on your target audience – and the last thing you want is a lasting, negative impression!

A Boost for 2012

Unlike traditional gifts, these promotional items can really set your business apart from your competition, giving you the edge for the upcoming New Year.  Why?  Because great gifts establish brand recognition (and fast!) and, if you do it right, you might just improve your brand’s reputation.

A Promotional Products Association International study from 2009 found that a whopping 83% of Americans surveyed enjoyed receiving promotional items.  In fact, 48% said they’d be interested in receiving these items more often, and 38% felt a continual association between the item and the company that sent it.

So believe me, great branded gifts are worth it!

A great gift is one that your target audience already uses or likes.  Add your logo and BAM! – you have built in marketing and brand loyalty that’s more cost effective than traditional advertising!

Think about it: the memory of a banner ad on a website fades quickly, but a three dimensional item that your target uses monthly, weekly or daily creates a stronger bond with your company that lasts and lasts.

Give the right gift this season and watch your business grow in 2012!  Happy Holidays!

*Warning! This blog post most definitely contains a Stow-away-asaurus!*

What are you doing to stand out from the competition over the holidays?  If you want to pump up your holiday sales this season, it’s time to get creative – NOW!  This is THE time of year people are looking to purchase your products or services, so it’s the perfect time to come up with a unique and clever way to stick in the minds of your target market, and to keep them coming back for more all year round!

‘Tis the Season – For Gifts!

I love this holiday season so much that I simply can’t wait all the way until Christmas to partake in the gift giving!  Since I’m always giving gifts early, my family now returns the favor throughout the month of December.  Lucky me!

So, even though we’re not even fully into the first week of December, I’ve already received my first gift from my husband, Michael.  (And don’t let him fool you, he likes it this way – he never has to wrap any gifts!)  He bought me a telephoto lens for my iPhone, complete with tripod.  Oh so cute and for only $35.  It works, too!

How did my husband find this perfect little stocking stuffer (that we both knew would never see the inside of my stocking)?  I found an ad for Photojojo and suggested that he check it out.  Hint, hint.  My husband was so excited about my gift that he kept me informed as to where my present was in the whole packing, shipping and tracking process. (He’s so cute.)

Needless to say, we were both greatly anticipating its arrival!

The Stow-away-asaurus Surprise

Now just imagine our surprise when the big day finally came – and the package arrives on our doorstep with this huge WARNING label!

*This shipment may contain a Stow-away-asaurus!*

Weird!  So now, not only am I excited about my gift, but I’m also excited to discover what the heck a Stow-away-asaurus is!  What fun!  So we opened the package and looked at the contents form, which was anything but boring.  Right up top it says, “OMG! Your goodies are heeeeeeere!”  The goodies?  My iPhone Telephoto Lens Kit and a mysterious item called “Rawwwwwwwwr!”

Then I found the Stow-away-asaurus – it was just a cheap, plastic dinosaur.  I couldn’t help but smirk.  Simple, inexpensive, yet so fun!  BRILLIANT!

What’s-In-A-Saurus?

This cute little gimmick works wonders for the Photojojo company and brand.

Why?  Because this unique marketing effort is:

• Emotionally Appealing.  A great brand evokes emotion from its target market.  Photojojo knows how excited their customers are about getting their packages, so they use fun language and an expressive font to show they share in that enthusiasm.
• Memorable.  Every time I use my new telephoto lens, I’ll probably think of this experience – and therefore, I will continuously think positively about the Photojojo brand and company, even if only subconsciously.  This is exactly the kind of mind-permeation you want in your branding!  (Not to mention, I have my new pet displayed on my desk with my other creative items.)
• Unique.  Even though Photojojo isn’t a company based in plastic dinosaur sales, they found a fun and engaging way to reach their audience and retain those customers.  I, for one, now get the warm fuzzies when I think of the experience and the company.  I’m more interested than ever in discovering what else Photojojo has to offer!

Find Your Stow-away-asaurus!

This is the season to send positive, engaging messages to current and potential customers.  If you can catch their attention during the holidays, you’ll open a world of possibilities for the rest of the year.

The end of the year is quickly approaching, so the ever popular time for renewal and goal setting – the New Year! – is right around the corner.  It’s never too early, or too late, to start thinking about your goals for next year.

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The Ultimate Plan

As I dive into the creation of my new and exciting vision for next year, I’m trying to break apart my goals into smaller, more manageable bits.  I’d like to share some of the items I’ll be focusing on next year, as I organize my thoughts and plan out my goals and goal bits.

The Ultimate Plan is my week-by-week definition and plan to accomplish my Ultimate Goals.  (Ok, so this is the part I haven’t quite broken up yet, but I know what direction I’m headed!)

What’s your Ultimate Plan? Sounds like a huge, grueling task, doesn’t it?  Well, it is quite a project, but a worthwhile one, I promise.  (Right now, I feel like a mouse in a maze looking for the cheese.) So, the first step is to sit down and figure out exactly how you define success.  What major, big picture goals do you want to accomplish next year?  Be sure that these goals are specific enough that you know exactly when you’ve reached them.  For example, don’t write down I want to have a better brand.  Instead, write I will hire a branding expert during the first quarter to reevaluate my brand’s effectiveness.  Next, break out all of your big goals into a realistic timeline.  And you don’t have to work it out week-by-week if that’s too detailed for you.  Shoot for at least one Ultimate Goal per month instead!

Branding Blog Bits

I’ve very much enjoyed writing The Branding Spot Blog for quite some time now and it’s thrilling to see all of the feedback and insights I’ve received here.  So, on that note, a big part of my 2012 Ultimate Plan will be improving the blog, piece-by-piece and working with more social media to gain more recognition.

Here are my main focus points:

• Set my editorial calendar
• Reevaluate my target audience
  • Review my most popular posts and determine new content based on feedback
• Line up more guest bloggers
• Do more guest blogging on other blogs!
• Evaluate where I can best redistribute my content to reach my target audience
• Use other forms of social media more, and more consistently
  • Find the best way to use my favorite forms of social media
  • Incorporate Twitter  (Follow me @Spot_OnBranding!)
  • Start something new!  Maybe a podcast?  YouTube?
  • Focus on drawing more influencers to my blog articles
• Evaluate available tools to optimize and track blog content

What are your blogging and social media goals for the New Year? Like I said, now’s the time to at least start thinking about the direction you want to take your business and your personal brand next year!

Any ideas for The Branding Spot? As always, I enjoy and appreciate your feedback!  Please leave a comment with your thoughts and perhaps you’ll spark an idea that makes it into my 2012 Ultimate Plan!