National Association of Black Journalists
Digital Journalists Task Force
August 10, 2007
Bally Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada

Express Yourself!:
Branding by Using Current Digital Media Tools

The way you get your brand across is projecting your personality – who you ARE – in every aspect of your business. What your web page looks like, the wording, the inclusionof quotes or not, graphics, the way you handle your customers, how well you deliverproducts, promises and services. You products and your style.
       – Susan Dunn, What is Branding and Why Do You Want It?

Ten Tips on Branding Your Website

1. Make sure your domain name is easily identifiable and
promotes your company
2. Understand your website’s/company’s personality
3. Clearly define your – U.S.P – Unique Selling Proposition
4. Create a ‘search engine friendly’ Home Page. Avoid a graphic as the home page.
5. Make it easy for your readers/consumers to find information on your site
6. Don’t get hung up with Design/Logos/Colors, but make sure they are aesthically pleasing
7. Create quality content that is credible and updated frequently
8. Allow site visitors to opt-in for e-Newsletters and distribute them frequently
9. Integrate audio, video, photo slide shows and other useful form of user interactivity
10.  Always think keywords and search Engines

Here are links to several articles that are useful.  There are many others, and I encourage you to post other links via comments.

What is Branding and Why Do You Want It?
http://www.icbs.com/KB/Branding/kb_what-is-branding.htm
By Susan Dunn

Elements to Effective Branding
http://www.bebit.co.jp/english/column/column021.html

Branding Tips – Implementing Branding on your Website
http://www.alteredimpressions.com/Branding/Brand_Better_Website.htm

Search Engine Optimization – Keyword Phases
http://www.alteredimpressions.com/SEO/SEO_Keywords.htm

Shattering the Branding Myths
by Diane Hughes
http://www.marketingsource.com/articles/view/1466

Social Bookmarking Helps Users Organize and Share Favorite Content
By Ellyn Angelotti,Interactivity Editor
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=125705

For more digital media links, please visite DigitalMediaCrashCourse.com!

In an aggressive fashion, the National Association of Black Journalists’  Digital Journalists Task Force, under the director of chairman Andrew Humphrey organized a series of strongly attended seminars sprinkled throughout the five day event.Of course, for the digi-media fanatics,  like myself,  for the thousands of  other journalists attending, there need to be more sessions.

My seminar on branding had nearly 100 people in it.  While it was scheduled to end at 3:30, the 90-minute session ended at 4PM with a mostly packed room. My panelists were perfect: Sybril Bennett of Belmont University, Barry Cooper, founder of Black Voices and managing editor of pilotonline.com and Katrina Witherspoon, vice president, interactive services for Reach Media – parent company of  the Tom Joyner Morning Show and BlackAmericaWeb.com. They each broke down the complexities of branding, and talked clearly and honestly about what it takes to be successful on the web.

What was clear from most of the participants’ questions was that there is a huge knowledge gap. Most of the journalists in attendance fell into several categories:

1) Very afraid of the internet, simply because of the lack of understanding of how the web works;

2) Focused on thinking the web will be the ticket to making money in their next and/or current careers; and,

3) Eager to learn, absorb, grasp anything they can about the internet and digital media.It’s that third group that is the most encouraging  – and most frightening.

I’m glad my journalists friends are “eager” to learn, but as Bennett stressed several times, there are too many of us who are so late to the game that we really need to catch up.  Basically, many of us are behind and need to get with the program to:  1) try to secure their jobs for the present and future; 2)  quickly learn and develop their own personal strategy to create their own brand. So, here’s some quick advice to my journalist friends who are – well – freaking out:1) Learn how to use a digital camera.  Yeah, go ahead and purchase even the most basic one from your local Circuit City, Wolf Camera or heck, your local Walgreens! Get us to taking pictures, downloading them, playing around with whichever picture editor is on your computer. Upload those pix; download, email them.