Many business professionals and small business owners have an erroneously narrow view of their organization's brand. A brand is much more than a logo, an advertising campaign or a slogan. A brand is the entire image your organization presents to the outside world. One often overlooked aspect of a company's brand is its employees and the image they portray.

If you think that utilizing employees to promote your intended brand may seem like a "soft" business tactic, consider the following:

First Impressions

For many customers and potential business partners, a company's employees may represent the first and most significant contact with the organization. If you are not making a strong effort to harness the branding power of your employees, you're missing out on a valuable opportunity to define your company's image in the minds of customers.

Lasting Impressions

How many times has an unprofessional or disrespectful server tarnished your image of a restaurant or restaurant chain? Even if an employee is working part time for less than a year, the impression she makes on customers can impact their opinion of your business - and the opinion of the friends and relatives they complain to - for years to come.

Recruitment

Marketing your company to potential employees is just as important as marketing to customers. Even in a tough job market, finding highly qualified, highly motivated employees can be difficult.  

Clearly, there are many reasons for using employees as a part of your company's branding structure. But doing so effectively is easier said than done. For tips on how to maximize your employees' role in supporting and strengthening your brand, request a copy of our most recent white paper: Your Employees and Your Brand: A Critical Connection. 

A great, inexpensive way to promote your business and gain exposure is to take your ideas online and put them into video format. Many consultants advertise their expertise by drafting whitepapers or putting useful information on a website. Moving to a video format is simply a natural progression of this marketing technique. 

While putting yourself in front of the camera and creating a permanent, internationally available video might be terrifying for some people, YouTube offers significant benefits, such as ease of access and use for your audience; a more intimate, human experience; and an enormous reach. For some tips on how to create and use YouTube effectively as a marketing tool for your business, see our recent blog.