The world of branding has indeed taken a hit in recent years due to the global recession. Now there are fewer high-end brands and many of the survivors are wounded. Still, consumers love brands and many non-branded or not very well branded competitors have also exited the market place. But where does that leave the brains and creative geniuses behind the scenes?
What about all the branding experts what can they do to market themselves, now that there are fewer clients and more out of work gurus in the sector seeking to snag them? One online branding superstar tells me; “I have decided to concentrate some effort on writing articles.”
Indeed, this makes sense although I am not convinced that writing articles online and simply submitting them to online article directories is the right option. Article marketing works, and has for decades, as anyone that has ever written an article to a trade journal can attest, still, one must be careful if they are basing their future livelihood article marketing. You see, even though it is a viable form of informational marketing, it should not be your only avenue.
For instance, if you are a branding expert you might try writing for Brand Channel or Brand Week, or even in B2B Magazine, or Electronic Retailer, and such. Posting your regular articles or discussions on branding at the top online article directory site is wise, that’s all well and good for link backs, Google searches, and such, but it probably will not get you to where you wish to be.
This is why the trade journals in various industries might be a better play, plus the “branding” and marketing journals, perhaps even writing a few pieces for Wired, FastCompany, Entrepreneur, Business Week, or the WSJ weekend. If articles get rejected to such media, then surely post them online, or make simpler articles for the Internet crowd.
One brand professional told me that the reason she wanted to write articles was two-fold, first to keep herself positioned as an expert in the field which she is without a doubt, but also to “keep my head in the game,” she said.
To that, I’d say definitely! Surely it will keep your mind active and in the game, guaranteed, and yes it will open doors, amazing sometimes, but they may not be the doors you wish to run throw while sprinting down the hall of the Matrix. See that point? If you are in a similar situation, maybe you too should be thinking here.
