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5 Tips To Make Your Brand Stand Out
By Terri Trespicio Terri Trespicio is a New York–based writer, branding consultant, and co-creator of Lights Camera Expert, an online program for experts who want to grow their media presence. Her TEDx talk (“Stop Searching for Your Passion”) has earned more than a million views. For nearly a decade, she served as a senior editor and radio host at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Her work has appeared in Jezebel, XOJane, Marie Claire, Prevention, MindBodyGreen, and DailyWorth. Terri delivers
keynotes and breakout sessions to a range of conferences and events nationwide, and she was rated the #1 speaker at How Design Live in 2015.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in an attempt to get more attention for their brands or businesses is to go broad instead of big. They think they have to appeal to more people, instead of trying to stand out. And you can’t do both. That’s like adding more and more water to your soup in an attempt to serve more guests, and wondering why no one wants it.
understand the instinct. But in fact, the broader you go, the less interesting, urgent, and vital you are. Period. Most people (and companies) are afraid to limit themselves or the scope
of their business. And I’m not saying you turn away money, of course. But if you want to target and attract your audience more effectively, then you need to focus on those people—the ones most likely to listen to you (because most are completely tuned out).
As someone who has created her own brand and business, and who teaches experts, authors, and business owners how to stand out to media and online, this is my jam. I help them find their THING—that thing that makes them unlike anyone else, be it their story, their perspective, or their take on the world. And while most people think they know what it is, they often don’t— or they haven’t found a way to articulate it in a way that matters to anyone else but them. It’s hard because we’re so in the woods of our own business that it’s hard for us gain perspective.
Here are my 5 tips for making your brand stand out, with an eye toward your online presence.
1. Recognize that your brand and business are not the same. Your business is simply how you make money. Someone pays you and they get something in return (a wrench, a book, a course on marketing). But your brand is more than that. And I see people get stuck here all the time. They think the brand IS the business. But it’s not. Your business is about the transaction and how you fill a need. Your brand is what your business means to other people. You can have a business and not much of a brand (see the convenience store on my corner). A brand requires a different kind of work and attention, and in order to have a good one, you need to know what it’s for.
2. Make your promise known. What specific need are you filling, and what solution are you providing? What will you deliver—beyond the thing itself ? Don’t just say you’re the best in the world or you offer the highest standards, best service, blah blah. Don’t promise perfect health or eternal bliss. Be super specific about what that promise is—and who it’s for. Think smaller and sharper. I’d rather know you’re for me or not for me, right away. You don’t need to promise me the earth, moon, and stars to get my business. You just have to be a fit.
Example: A copyeditor isn’t just selling proofreading services; if she’s smart, she’ll communicate that the real goal is to make sure you seem as smart on paper as you do in person. She’s selling self confidence, not punctuation. But few copyeditors put that into words (and they really should). They, and many others, tend to think that what they do IS the brand. Nope.
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