Real Branding is How You Act Now

blog 2020
Written By Andrew Ford

I talk and write a lot about branding. Specifically Personal Branding, so I wanted to add my 2 cents on what really matters right now for your brand in this age of uncertainty.

Some people believe their brand is a logo, a website or even their social media. But it's not. Real branding is what your tribe thinks and more importantly feel about you. How you act and the policies you decide upon when things are hard, will be far more impactful than what you say. Particularly in times of crisis, people show their true colours and now is a critical time for all people to put up or shut up.

Live your brand.

The Corona Virus has hit a lot of people really hard. Particularly small hospitality and travel businesses, so what can you do to help? They need your sympathy of course, but they need your money more. Here are some awesome ways to help that I have heard from my clients and friends which we can all apply ourselves to our favourite cafe, restaurant or bar:

  1. Offer to buy a gift voucher for the future

  2. Order take away from them, even if it's not a normal delivery organisation

  3. Go out and sit at their place, we are not all homebound and having people there will attract more people to come

  4. Post on social media that you are there, so others might head out of their homes and support the businesses too

  5. Buy some stock from them if they have it available. i.e. your local bar might have stocked up on booze and needs to reduce this (of course, check licensing laws)

  6. If you are a supplier, offer longer credit terms

  7. If you are a landlord, relieve rent so they can keep paying their staff

  8. Donate some hard to find goods to them as they can't operate without hand sanitizer, toilet paper and other mandatory items

This is presuming you kept your job or your business is less impacted than others. It may cost you a little in the short term, but you will keep your clients loyal for the long term. Plus it's just the right thing to do.

Of course, we all need to practice social distancing and quality sanitisation which goes without saying.

So what are you going to do? Let's take some action as even the smallest gesture will be well received and lift the pressure off a local small business in your area. If we can lift the mood and add a few dollars to those in need it will go a long way to improving the mental health of small business owners.

I would love to hear of other ideas to help those in need.

Keep well,

Andy

P.S. If you are looking to start a business or grow your current one, building a powerful personal brand can have a massive impact on getting new clients, partners and staff. That's why we partnered with the best L&D company in Australia to build a brand new Personal Branding course - check it out here. (link https://www.socialstar.com.au/personal-branding-course-from-social-media-college)

Andrew Ford
Marketing expert Andrew Ford, the founder of Social Star, has discovered the secret of ‘Powerful Branding’. With a fire for unleashing people’s inner brand and developing business models to generate profit from an individual’s passions, Andrew leverages ground-breaking digital and social media marketing techniques to create digital strategies for clients to attract maximum opportunities. Having established a strong name for himself in the field, Andrew blends traditional business techniques with now-necessary tools for entrepreneurs to achieve scale, quality, and influence in their niche. Andrew’s comprehensive business background and qualifications consist of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) (RMIT 2003), a Graduate Certificate in Management (MBA Executive Program, University of Sydney 2005), and a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Swinburne University 2011). Continually on the cutting edge of his own education, Andrew has tested his marketing theories in forums such as the BCG Business Strategy Competition, which he won in 2005 against all Victorian MBA schools, and the Venture Cup Business Plan Competition (Swinburne University 2003), which he won in the Masters category. With experience working at Hewlett-Packard, Sensis (Telstra) and IBM, Andrew also has mentored dozens of junior staffs to help them achieve their professional goals. Meeting and influencing high-profile public figures helped Andrew to realise just how many professionals require more understanding and control of their public brands or appearance, and need help with the skills to use the many amazing free tools at their disposal to generate success. At Social Star, Andrew consults with clients to uncover their personal brand – both where it is today and where it can be tomorrow – and refine and define how that should be displayed in social media in order to attract their perfect target audience. Andrew mentors his clients to rapidly grow their business’ audiences, resulting in larger potential client bases and higher revenue. Applying formulas that integrate over twenty years of Andrew’s business experience and fifteen years of formal business education, Social Star specialises in building clarity and velocity for clients’ brands using the ‘Understand, Build and Leverage’ methodology. ‘Having a Personal Business enables people to have an authentic, congruent connection with their valued clients and partners, using their brand as the bridge,’ says Andrew. ‘I’m highly driven to work with the new breed of entrepreneurs and small business owners – people who have a passion for making the world a better place. Traditional business models are stepping aside as people follow their innermost dreams and my role is to see them operate within their values while creating wealth. Some people think you have to sacrifice what you love to be successful in your business, yet it is actually the opposite. Follow your passion and success will come.’ Lecturing at Swinburne University from 2009 to 2011 on brand dynamics and digital marketing, presenting at numerous conferences, and consulting to hundreds of clients, Andrew has seen his philosophy work that if you follow your unique path, based on your skills, experience, values and goals, you will automatically attract the opportunities you desire and achieve the success you deserve. Living his mantra, Andrew has created a successful business and attracts high-profile clients including musicians, athletes, authors, models, entrepreneurs, professionals and small business owners, helping them find their ‘why’ in their business and fulfilment in their lives. Business for Andrew is more than work, it’s personal. Running a personal business means that he is able to fulfil all of his values rather than separating his life from work. It supports his two boys while providing social opportunities, educational development, fitness opportunities, spiritual fulfilment and many valuable friendships. Social Star has now become the vehicle for Andrew to crystallise his mission in the world, to help people love what they do, supporting his ‘why’, that if more people loved what they did, the world would be a better place.
http://www.andrewford.com.au/
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