The Shine event was a mix of Ali and several others speakers. There was a buzz humming through the room on the first day of the event and everyone was looking forward to hearing Ali’s billionaire entrepreneur coach speak.

I was especially looking forward to the presentation because it was on branding. As a trained graphic designer, former corporate branding instructor, and current brand strategist for entrepreneurs, I was interested to hear her insights on branding.

I wanted to hear her thoughts on branding a business versus branding an individual person. I wanted to hear some strategies about building a strong brand and brand equity. I wanted to hear how she would communicate to the room how much your brand can do for your business and what a difference it can make.

A special packet just for notes was passed out for the talk, so I was thinking this is going to be good! But what I wanted to hear and what I did hear were two completely different things.

What I heard was:

• How much the Ali brand has changed over the years.
• Examples of Ali’s design and some brainstorming.
• What the Ali brand is becoming.

While that information and the examples shown were great in promoting the Ali Brand and showing her growth, not a whole lot of that would help a non-branding expert in developing their brand.

I heard several people around me whispering something along the lines of, “That’s great but how do I apply that to my business,” and “Yeah, but how do I do that.”

Seeing the progression of the Ali brand was interesting, but I was getting a little bummed at the lack of content and we were already over halfway through the presentation!

Finally we started to get to some content – not all on branding, but at least it was content. We covered things like:

• Map it out and actually do the doing.
• When you want it, make it happen.
• Start somewhere. Start small. Make a Sh!t load of money.
• Be a brand guardian. Make sure your essence is true and present in all you do.
• A brand has a consistent look through every piece of marketing and representation.
• Stay open. Influences can come from anywhere.
• Don’t use many different designers. Stick with one who truly understands your brand essence.
• Make sure your brand clearly communicates what you do.
• Your identity is the verbal and visual expression of your brand.

Then I threw down my pen, I stopped taking notes,
and I said, “Oh no she didn’t!”

This billionaire entrepreneur coach then stood on that stage a told everyone in the room that having their photo on their business cards is stupid. This is ironic because last year Ali told people putting their photo on their cards was a good idea.

We were also told that our logo stinks if it doesn’t communicate exactly what we do all by itself, with no tagline. This I also disagree with. There are huge brands that are extremely successful that have logos that in no way communicate what the business does or what products they sell. And, what about the people who are their business, and their business name is their name. Heck, even Ali’s logo doesn’t say much alone.

She then told everyone that including social media profile links on your card is stupid and that no one cares. She said social media links have no place on a business card and that we’re all just wasting our time with social media and clearly our businesses aren’t successful because too many of us screwing around on Twitter all day which is irrelevant.

WHAT? Are you kidding me?

Um, Ali used both to promote her event and she used a Facebook event page to encourage networking on the site prior to the event.

These blanket statements, in my opinion, were a very bad move. Clearly she didn’t research her audience that well and clearly she doesn’t “get” the social media revolution that is taking place.

I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of business from my endeavors on Facebook and Twitter and a lot of speaking invitations from my LinkedIn profile. These social media sites have also allowed to me connect with people pre- and post-event to share photos, info, and stay in touch.

I’d have to say that statements like these make me wonder if this billionaire is out of touch. Maybe when you get that rich you can completely ignore social media and social networking – I get it.

What I don’t get it being so frank and sort of snarky about it on stage in a room full of women who are looking to you for advice and looking up to you as a successful woman business owner, especially when most of the room has their photo and their social media profile links on their cards!

What a way to make a lot of fabulous women feel really insecure about handing out their business cards.

How do I know people were self-conscious about it? Easy, almost every time I was handed a card at the event, the giver made excuses for having their photo on it or for including their social media links.

I for one say don’t make excuses. I have my photo and my social media links on the back of my business card and I am dang proud of my card.

That billionaire entrepreneur coach is wrong.

I love cards with photos and social media profile links because I remember you after the event and can find you to connect online. Those links help me to build relationships with those I meet and continue the conversations we had.

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein wrote a blog post on this same topic that I love.

So, with that said, I have to wonder, was the standing ovation she received because of the amazing things she has done for the Ali Brown brand (which are impressive), or for her presentation? I’ll leave that up to you.

So, to help you get the most bang for your buck, I recommend creating print materials that not only use your colors, graphics, message and typefaces to reinforce your branding. But I also recommend materials that can be used for different purposes and in different circumstances.

For example here are five simple multi-purpose strategies:

1. Print a Rack Card with a perforated business card on one end that tears off. This way they can save your materials and file your business card in their rolodex.
2. Print a promotional postcard and leave the mailing area blank. Take it with you to networking events instead of your business card and write each person you hand it to a personal note in the blank area.
3. Print a marketing flyer shell. A shell is just the border or branded areas of the paper. You can then print the main content for the flyers as needed from home, allowing you to customize it for any occasion. Your designer should provide you with a Microsoft Word template to use with it.
4. Print a bookmark. Bookmarks are a great marketing tool because people save them and actually use them! One side may have a great quote, business tip, or holiday reminder, while the other could list your services and contact information.
5. Print custom greeting cards. Use the graphic elements on your logo and your brand support graphics to create interesting artwork for the front of a greeting card. By keeping it graphically focused and not including type, you can use the cards for thank yous, follow up, birthdays, holidays and more!

These are questions I get asked all the time and my answer is always the same. There are three main marketing pieces that every solopreneur, entrepreneur and small business owners needs. They are: 1) A business card, 2) A website, and 3) A marketing piece.

Your Business Card

Your business card is typically the first thing a new prospect will see. Their first impression of your business is often based on your business card. It is a key way to connect with others and give them your contact information. Your business card should clearly communicate not only who you are and what you do, but it should capture their attention and make them want to learn more.

Your business card should contain the following:

• Your logo
• Your brand color palette and typefaces
• Your contact information, including a mailing address. Providing a mailing address on your cards immediately adds stability and credibility to you and your business.
• Support information. This may be a tagline, call to action, sales pitch, or a list of services.

Your Website

If you are in business, you absolutely must have a website. Not having a website could be driving your prospects to your competition’s door! Not only does a professional, easy to navigate website give you an online presence, it adds credibility and instantly makes your business feel more established. It also is a great tool for marketing your business, educating your prospects and clients, and automating repetitive tasks.

Things to remember when developing your website:

• The images should be crisp and clear and load quickly.
• The content should be written at the fifth or sixth grade level, making is clear and easy to understand. Be cautious of using too much technical jargon. Remember, a confused shopper usually doesn’t purchase.
• The design (the look and feel) should blend cohesively into your brand, reinforcing your message and supporting your brand positioning.
• The site should be easy to use, allowing visitors to quickly find the information they need.
• Scalability is key in the development of your site, making sure it is able to grow and expand with your business.
• The site should be easy to update by building in templates or a content management system.
• The website should include basic search engine optimization, including title tags, keyword and description meta tags, HTML heading tags and ALT tags.

Your Marketing Piece

To further build your brand and connect with your customers and prospects, you will also need some sort of follow up item. This could be a brochure, a rack card, a postcard, a note card, or an HTML email. The specific type of item will be different for each business. You may use an HTML email newsletter template to keep your target market updated on your business, or your may use a note card to write a quick personal follow up note after a networking event.

However you decide to keep in touch with your target market and stay top-of-mind, the key is to actually do it and be consistent. Have a system in place with a clear follow up process for each aspect of your business – for example, your follow up process for someone you met at a networking event, may be different from someone who just purchased one of your products or services.

Here are some quick tips on choosing and creating your follow up items:

• Examine the ways in which you come in contact with your target market and what type of follow up would be the most appropriate and the most preferred in each case. Would a postcard be more appropriate or maybe a thank you note, or maybe an HTML email?
• Examine the amount of time you have available for follow up. Do you have time to handwrite or customize each follow up message? Or would it be better for you to develop a printed piece that could be used over and over? Also, look at how often you are going to do follow up and schedule the time into your calendar. Will it be once a week or twice a month, etc.
• Examine what part of the follow up process can be delegated to an employee or virtual assistant. Will you make all of the phone calls yourself, but outsource the mailing of postcards? Or, if your target market prefers email communications, will you use auto responders and schedule out a series of messages?
• Make sure any marketing materials you match your brand and consistently communicate your message and reinforce your identity. The content should be valuable and timely, it should give them a way to join or leave your list and it should always include a call to action.

Together, these three marketing pieces your business card, your website, and your follow up item are a combination your business can’t live without. Separately, each is important, but when used together, they are a powerhouse trio that will help you build your brand, generate leads and increase your bottom line.

IS YOUR CARD UP TO PAR WITH WHERE IT SHOULD BE? I am going to share with you the top two mistakes that are killing some entrepreneurs’ chances for new business.

1. YOU ARE CHEAP.

With the rise of digital printing and a professional designer, inexpensive and great business cards are a possibility. But some entrepreneurs are communicating to their prospects a deadly message – “I don’t value myself.” How are they doing this?

Printing their cards at home on perforated pages. Perforation marks on your card are a telltale sign of a cheapskate! Plus your cards are usually flimsy and have a distinctly unprofessional feel.
Using the free cards at Vista Print. Hello! Don’t use a free template that another business, probably a competitor may use too. Your business card needs to be distinct and truly represent your uniqueness and message. Plus, you don’t want your customers to get you mixed up with a competitor. If you can believe it, I actually ran into two people in the same industry with the same cards (free Vista Print cards) at one networking event recently. Talk about no point of differentiation. Don’t let this happen to you!

Allowing the “You can get free cards too” message to be on the back of your cards. Yikes! Need I say more?

Printing your own cards with no branding or identity development on laser computer paper and cutting them with scissors. Yes, I have seen this done. I would have to say it would be better for you to say you don’t have any cards left right now and get the card of the person you are talking to as a temporary solution. Or tell them you just ran out, just gave out your last one… or if you are brand new, be honest about it. Tell them you are just starting out and your cards are on order, but you are so excited to get started you didn’t want to wait for them to get out there and start networking.

2. YOU DON’T VALUE YOURSELF OR YOUR SERVICES.

If you don’t value yourself and your services enough to invest in an eye-catching, custom branded business card that will intrigue the viewers, how can you expect your prospect to value you? The saying dress for the career you want, not the career you have says it all. To bring in new leads and convert them into sales, you need to communicate your value and the benefits that you deliver… and your business card is the first step in the process when you meet someone.

So, if you don’t have a professionally designed and printed card yet, make this the year to step it up. Present yourself in 2009 as the business you want to be and soon others will start to see you as that business and who knows, maybe you’ll find you have become that business.

If you are interested in a business card, identity, or stationery package redesign, inquiries@bourncreative.comlet me know! I’d love to help your business take it’s communications to the next level and start getting some more attention from your ideal clients and target market!

Have you or some one your know experienced an business card blunder? I’d love to hear your story!