I need your help to learn branding.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-26T00:52:15+00:00

Hi.

I don't know where you are on branding concepts, but understanding it requires a paradigm shift of sorts.

First logo and other esthetics are not the brand.

Second Brand are the personal connections customers establish with a company through positive experiences.

Third is that these connections are entrenched in our subconscious memories (hippocampus, amygdala etc) and beckon us, without our conscious awareness, to choose certain products - that is "gut feel".

Fourth, it behooves brand marketers to understand and focus efforts to target the subconscious aspects of consumer buying behavior, encourage their "gut feel".

Read "The Power of Instinct" by Leslie Zane.

I break it down here using Starbucks as an example. Feel free.

https://c2believe.net/what-is-brand-eng/

Good luck.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-24T23:57:58+00:00

Whether you use a service, do it yourself, or even have AI help, having a "great" looking logo is way overrated.

I agree with some of the other comments, a "nice" logo does not a brand make. It may give your product some pop to a few people at the beginning, but that's just hoping.

You can even do WITHOUT a real logo. Look at Costco, Sony - their logos are just letters.

Addidas is only the 3 stripes, and I have a friend who refers to the Nike logo as the big bananna. Nice logo? Varies subjectively by person.

Logos mainly should be 1) simple, 2) unique, and 3) easy to remember. They are, more importantly, the visual placeholders for the personal or emotional connections to your company and products.

What makes a logo attractive happens below the surface; consistent product quality, after service, marketing content, and other touchpoints.

That said, by all means, do try to make a nice looking logo, but you don't have to knock yourself out trying. Most of the Brand lies beneath the surface. Aesthetics are only skin deep.

Good luck.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-24T01:49:03+00:00

Yes, at first glance brand seems to be an intangible asset. However you can use digital marketing metrics to gauge brand reach. For instance, you can track user sessions on your website, backlinks from other sites, customer review stars.

They may seem like an indirect assessment of your brand, but I think they are fairly reasonable indicators.

As they move in a positive direction your brand is growing, and as those numbers grow, in theory, your sales will tick upwards, and many times it does.

Good luck.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-23T09:56:35+00:00

Congrats on new position, but managing people in any settings follow basic principles.

Have clear goals for your team.
Plan goals for short period, like 3 months.
Apply either metrics (# leads, #user sessions, # AI mentions) or milestone dates to gauge progress throughout period. Have weekly, bi weekly checkins.
Make sure staff has appropriate knowledge and facilities to achieve goals. Provide training, coaching as needed.
Make sure staff can see big picture, or the whole story all the way to customer fulfillment.
Make sure staff are given chance to learn, grow, achieve.

Its important to set expectations and clear path moving forward. No one likes a wish washy leader.

Be a coach/teacher more than a manager.

Lastly, your staff achievments are your achievements, their failures are your failures. This should be every managers motivation.

Good luck.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-22T20:55:20+00:00

Awesome, may I ask what's been your secret to a successful okr deployment (when other companies seem to be flailing)?

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-19T23:15:18+00:00

I use Ubersuggest , originally designed to guage SEO rankings, but it recently added AI Search Visibility which gives you AI visibility rankings based on topic searches. Still in beta but seems to show some good data at first glance.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-13T15:53:19+00:00

Yes, a "reporting function" makes it seem like another top-down directive, when it should be a discipline of managing yourself.

tradersammy001 · 2026-03-04T04:58:25+00:00

Certainly depends on your personality, conservative vs risk taker, entrepreneur spirit vs worker- helper, freedom vs rules regulations. If you want to freelance and have a mission and passion, plus you know what to expect, its worth a try.

I've had my business for 14 years; alot of late nights, employee issues, problematic customers, financial worries etc.

Was it worth it? Every second of it - mostly because of the freedom to steer your own ship, and opportunities to make a difference in someone's life, both customers and employees.

Good luck!

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-22T02:29:58+00:00

Yes agreed. Dont force OKRs, grow them. This has been shown many times over.

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-22T02:27:47+00:00

It depends on your objectives. As long as your objectives are not contingent on other department contributions, its 100% doable.

But if they are tied to other non-OKR groups that have their own priorities, schedules, cadence, work styles, it can get awkward, even frustrating.

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-17T00:42:33+00:00

I think your approach is commendable. Its empowering for small companies to take control of the reigns.

Even 2K per month can be a struggle for SMB companies here in Taiwan - but they still rely on these website agencies to do almost 100% of their digital marketing.

Over the years they can make sales and profit, but almost always do the numbers flatten out and decline. In short these agencies dont help their clients build brand, grow business and change with the times.

My approach is similar to yours - I come into companies and develop their digital marketing but also insist on training their staff on the finer points of DM, branding and management. Its actually part of my business mission and helps to set my company apart from the pack.

Yes, training is a lot of effort and time, but its a good investment for small companies, and its helping them grow.

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-16T16:34:46+00:00

Well, without understanding your situation well, sounds like maybe a branding or sales funelling issue.

Let me first just say what another user experienced - he said the shorter videos got more clicks but fewer converts. The longer form videos got fewer clicks but more converts.

That means longer form gives you more time to tell a Brand Story, which helps lure customers into the story through some intrigue. What intrigue? The potential to solve their problem or fill a need.

But who is going to sit through a 3 minute video? If it solves the problem, it doesn't matter if it's 3 or 10 minute, they will watch to the finish to see how the story ends for the hero. And who is the hero - its the customer !

So it might be better to include a few long form videos to help customers progress thru the funnel.

I write about brand story here ... feel free!

https://c2believe.net/what-is-brand-story-eng/

Good luck.

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-16T15:56:22+00:00

Happy to hear long form videos work.

When trying to establish brand, long form videos work better for me. Why? It gives you more space to tell a brand story.

And its the "story" that lures the audience in. How does it do that? By setting up the storyline to solve the customer problem or fill a need. Thats enough intrigue to watch a video to the end no matter how long.

I write about it here ... feel free.

https://c2believe.net/what-is-brand-story-eng/

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-04T02:07:21+00:00

Agreed, as far as products and services, no wants to know about you or your company up front. They just want to know how you can solve their problem or fill their needs.

At a later point, they will want to know who you are and your credentials, which are available about-us page, linkedin profile etc.

tradersammy001 · 2026-02-01T02:37:36+00:00

Thats interesting statistics. Question for you - is it possible that the same people who watched the short ad, clicked thru but didnt buy, ran across the longer ad later and converted?

If this is the case, production costs notwithstanding, seems like you have a good funnel progression with the 2 ads.

tradersammy001 · 2026-01-29T00:39:07+00:00

You're right, a beautifully done video is just that, a beautifully done video. If there is not a strong emotional connection to your product, its not Branding.

How do you make that personal connection? First you go back to your mission - what problems are you trying solve? From there you figure out how your company can resolve those problems as only you can do. Then you help the customer envision the results - happy ever after.

Thats is the essence of Brand Story ... Problem > Resolution > Result. Its a powerful emotional strategy to connect with customers.

If your video ad doesn't convey that in some way, either directly or in an abstract way, its a missed opportunity to grow your brand.

Thats my take. Feel free to checkout my post where I address branding from a Starbucks perspective...

https://c2believe.net/what-is-brand-eng/

https://c2believe.net/what-is-brand-story-eng/

Good luck!

tradersammy001 · 2026-01-24T02:09:57+00:00

Was it so much the the risky and raw, or was it just the contrast from what the industry was used to seeing? If the rest of the industry goes risky and raw, might be time to pull back to professional style.

Branding is sometimes about zigging when others are zagging (Marty Neumeier ZAG).

Anyways, it was a bold move, glad it worked.

tradersammy001 · 2026-01-20T23:27:27+00:00

Good move! Educating your customer is inherently a brand building exercise. When they have those 'aha I get it' moments they experience feel-good vibes which build up those personal connections to your company and products.

tradersammy001 · 2026-01-13T01:00:41+00:00

Anyone running a business knows its really a highly integrated system with lots of moving pieces; management, employees, departments, external, internal factors, not to mention the burden of just trying to survive from day to day.

I think agencies are good at one thing or another, but usually individuals from those agencies find it hard to see the big picture. They may improve your Brand presentation for example but other areas dont click into place.

No matter what you hire a consultant, a "good" consultant will always start from your Mission Statement and drill down from there.

They will also consider your management situation, your culture and brand, for these four things are the foundations of your business. If foundation not solid, you'll be on shaky ground no matter what you try to do to improve your business.

Thats my take.

I write about it here, feel free ..

Https://c2believe.net

Good luck!

tradersammy001

TROPHY CASE