Online Branding Strategies

In today’s competitive environment, where there are so many self-proclaimed experts, how can one stay ahead of their competition, brand themselves as a true expert in their field and provide a way for their audience to come to know, like and trust them? There has never been a better time to address this issue.

With the advent of Web 2.0 Technology, we have access to resources and marketing tools that provide us with the ability to share our thoughts, voice and image (both moving and still) with our audience. As an example, you can access countless free resources that will allow you to do the following:

* publish your own internet radio or television show
* build your own browser toolbar which you can easily load with helpful resource links for your niche audience
* develop your own blog / expert site and invite interaction with your readers
* create flash ad banners and web graphics
* broadcast custom videos with your message
* network with professionals from around the globe
* communicate verbally with a small or large group of people
* and much, much more

Let us explore just one of these methods, that being the power of Conference Calls. Conference Calls offer you a great deal as far as being able to share your message and expertise with a small or large group of people at the same time. There are several free options available to you, my favorite is Free Conference Call.com . What this service allows me to do is set up a conference call with up to 100 people. (In future articles we will explore other Conference Calling options that allow you to reach an audience of up to 2,000 people.)

You can either speak via a muted line, thus cutting out all background noise, or you can set up your call to allow audience interaction. You can even set up your call to allow one or more guest speakers. For those not able to attend the live call, this service provides you with an MP3 recording of your call. Thus, people have the option of listening online or downloading your conference call to a CD or an MP3 player.

For a moment let’s explore what else you can do with this material to bring value to your audience and brand yourself as an expert in your field. There is a term which is becoming known in Internet Marketing circles called “repurposing”. An example of “repurposing” would be, as in the above example, providing an MP3 recording of your call. Another example would be for you to provide the transcripts to your call. How powerful would it be for someone in your target audience to not only have listened in on your call, but to have received the transcript which they can print off and review at their convenience.

Taking this a step further, what if you were to take your transcripts and break them into smaller chunks which can either become the foundation for an ebook or manual or can be used as part of your weekly email training. There are many, many ways that one can “repurpose” their materials in the efforts to brand themselves and offer more value to their audience. We will discuss additional ideas in future articles.