Branding Is Like Beekeeping

March 4, 2010 - Copyright 2010 - Heardable, Inc. - www.heardable.com

2

when we are online...

our instinctsguide us in an informed way

we consult with people who we trust for guidance

3

we alert others when we discover things that are meaningful and

useful 4

we steer clear of 'smokey' corporate propaganda

5

6

a quorum in our network can cause a swarm of action

7

we exhibit behavior

like bees

8

the web is funny

users are trying to find their

way

9

brands are trying

hard to be found

10

...through unfamiliar territory

we need a means of navigating

11

likes bees.

12

the average worker bee flies more than 560 miles during

a lifetime

each of the bee's sensesis used for navigation

navigability is directly

proportionalto the shortest possible path

13

14

most animals have highly developed homing instincts

that help them navigate long distances to nests and hives

humans don't have an innate sense of direction

like animals

15

we get lost easily

we go forward with fits & starts, creating maps based onmemories of our journey

16

which forces us to develop a means of

17

navigating through unfamiliar terrain

we solicit help from others and use guideposts as

markers

18

19

[influencers/guides] are of great value to brands

because they have a higher propensity to propagate

product information [Gladwell, 2002], based on

a combination of their being particularly

influential and their having more friends

the foragers, scouts, communicators20

they are the UBER info-gatherers

21

erecting familar landmarks

on the hyperlinked highway for many to

follow

22

CMO's should cultivate, nurture& support brand influencers [evangelists]

because they are worththeir weight in gold[en] honey

23

24

brands [unlike bees] need to

help

for brands, we must ask: what is our

click-to-findability

ratio?25

26

1. We should consider content syndication to reach faraway targets

2. And publish well-localized content to exploit nearby opportunities

search-friendly, mobile-ready, socially-engaged 27

we must illuminate pathways

we should embrace the law of reciprocity [the giving web]

28

and add breadcrumbs29

30

so that john q. citizen

can find us

31

via any device,

at any time

32

for brands to survive and

prosper, they must master entirely new

skills be effective

33

conversationsrule

34

digital communities are the medium

35

trust is essential

yes, beekeeking is a lot like branding

36

no work, no money

37

no bees, no honey

38

branding is like beekeeping

1. establish colonies [promote identity to differentiate]

2. build hives [corporations, people, strategies, campaigns]

3. control parasites [press, competitors, haters]

4. extract honey [revenue, information, influence]

5. raise & protect the queen bee [ceo]

6. sell honey [products & services]

Heardable.com the world's first and only online brand

optimization tool

What The Pros Are Saying

The genius of Heardable is that it accounts for every possible dimension of a site and illustrates how it can be enhanced. - Charlie Quirk, Account Executive, Overland Agency

Our clients love Heardable. It really helps them discover how effective they are online, what their competitors are doing, and what they can do to get better. - Krim Stephenson, Practice Leader, Arlington Mill Group

I finally found a no-nonsense, independent measure for my company web site. Forget the advice you get from the IT department, this is the real deal. - Michael Leahy, Director, Wontok Enterprises

41

blog http://heardable.com/blogroll.php

What's Your Heardable Score?

website heardable.com

twitter @heardable

Copyright 2010 Heardable, Inc. www.heardable.com