Backlinks, Branding, and Your Own Businesses' Apple Moment

The metrics of consumer tastes are always changing. The truth is that so much of the products found on shelves is simply repackaged sameness. Even if your product is "new" you need to find a way for your brand to stand out lest you suffer the sad fate of irrelevance. How do you get your brand to that place where you are able to sell your product with some amount of zeal and inspire customer loyalty?

To start you have to have vision. In 1997 when Apple was just one of those technology companies; teetering towards the brink of bankruptcy, they made their move. Apple decided that their product would be "the" product to have. They made their products elite and created their own buzz around new product releases. By engaging with their customers and creating their own world in the PC-dominated landscape of the late 90's they gave consumers something to feel excited about. In a time when PC's were becoming cheap and expendable; Mac's were the exact opposite. Steve Jobs had that vision and it appears as though Apple is still poised to do great work for some time. This rise in company value from hackneyed to cachet; in stock price from $6 to $350 in just over 10 years is impressive. It doesn't have to be unattainable though; the Apple story is the brand strategy of our modern era; it could be yours too. Give your customers something exciting to relate back to your product, create cachet with your brand, have patience and most of all have a vision for your product and you too could achieve success.

Of course it's unrealistic to think Jobs-like success is just going to "happen." As we all know Steve Jobs worked the Apple train as far as he could go. For that reason you can't just sit back and wait for the dollars to roll in; you have to have a partner who can make things happen for you. You also need to be your own biggest fan.

Backlinks are very important; having people who hyperlink back to your page from other pages. Backlinks are one of the bigger reasons pages get indexed page rank increases across all the major search engines. When you have clout in search related exercises you have a certain stature and authority bestowed on you. This is all cultivated by the brand building and brand identity bestowed on you by the agency doing the work for you.

Another important brand strategy for businesses just getting started in the brand development stage is to leave yourself plenty of options for expanding and developing that brand. Time Management Coach Stacey Vulakh has said as much of her branding guru Lisa Orrell. From helping to launch her coaching and consulting business to building her speaking platform all the way to helping her with content for her first book; the more assistance you have in figuring the particulars of this branding crusade, the better off you will be.

Everyone needs to come into their own with their business and businesses often need a helping hand to guide them on their path. At the end of the day the product or service is yours and you should own this. Finding clever ways to make the same product have broader appeal is done through excellent brand strategy.

Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-successful-rebranding-campaigns-2011-2#apple-was-nearly-bankrupt-now-its-ruling-the-world-9

http://google.about.com/od/b/g/backlinksdef.htm

http://www.prweb.com/releases/branding-marketing-expert/small-business-coach/prweb8539545.htm