What is a brand?

I’ve seen a lot of blog owners get really twisted up over the idea of their brand… or their “personal brand”. But, many times, it doesn’t seem as if they truly understand what a brand is.

What is a brand? When you really get down to it is a mental image picture.

Keep this in mind – we all basically think in “pictures”. We don’t tend to think in words – we think in pictures. Words are just symbols which brings some pictures to mind. It is usually the way that we think.

When you hear a good story, or recall a good movie, you most likely remember the imagery and the mood way easier than you remember the specific words said on screen.

So, a brand is a mental image picture which forms in the mind of your prospect when they see your stuff.

Nike is often used as a good example of branding. We see the Nike swoosh and we have a certain mental image picture that comes to mind. We think of the runner who’s out there hustling. We have this feeling of accomplishment and making things happen. When you see a Nike commercial, you’ll notice how they barely ever talk about their shoes specifically. Instead, they contain a lot of imagery and music of the athlete defying the odds and accomplishing great things.

That’s branding. It is a mental image picture.

With good branding, this mental image picture matches what your prospect needs and wants.That is what makes a brand work and that’s what makes it a VERY powerful idea.

This picture makes people want to do business with you. They want what they see. They want to BE that.

Whatever brand that you’re creating for yourself – if you’re using it for proper purposes – that mental image picture is going to serve a need or a want that they have. It’s going to be something they identify with and they want that.

So, that’s what the brand is. It’s ultimately a mental image picture and the idea that goes along with it.

What picture… what feeling… does your blog, your emails, your online presence give off? What do people associate with you?

– David