Branding Products vs. People

Our world is becoming an increasingly digital environment, and we all have to go with the changing flow of it, especially writers. The thing about writers is that anyone at virtually an age can become a writer, and the integration of technology into a writer's career is practically unavoidable. Yet some people feel like they are drowning in the ever increasing sea of technology because editors and agent don't teach writers about facebooking, tweeting, blogging, or updating their own website. 

To help the situation and keep frustrated writers from quitting technology all together, The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog is going to talk about establishing an online literary presence and effective communication over digital media. They started with branding.

The word "branding" is apparently overused and misused, and people don't really know what it is. The BDCWB points out that branding is usually used in marketing to reference a product, but that "personal branding" has become important, especially for writers.

They said that "a brand is a promise.  Branding is about consistently realizing the pre-determined expectations of a user each time they interact with you, your service, your product or any extension thereof." 

Branding is what causes consumers to have certain expectations of certain products because the product's branding has told you to expect certain things of certain products. Still, branding doesn't stop with consumer products. It goes beyond the pumpkin spice lattes and Crest toothpaste.  

The BDCWB said it perfectly, "social media has allowed us to see that viewing one’s online self not merely as a person but as a brand consumed by an audience is an effective way to approach communication strategy in various digital outlets."

We've talked about branding a little bit in my publishing class. Branding is important for writers because it helps them to establish themselves and to establish a loyal readership. I'm doing a little bit of branding with this blog. I joined Twitter earlier this year, and that's also involved with branding. We'll see where all of this goes.

Are you personally branding yourself as a writer? What can people expect from you?

BK