Posted on: November 16, 2015
By Nancy Marshall, The PR Maven® and CEO, Marshall Communications
In the early days of the Web, most businesses used a dot-com extension for their Web address or URL (which stands for Uniform Resource Locator). For example, the Web address for my agency is www.marshallpr.com. That’s the address you are on right now. It’s a dot com, which has been pretty standard for the past 20 years or so.
However, in recent times, more domain extensions have been introduced, allowing businesses, organizations and individuals a lot more choice in selecting their Web address. One Web domain that is really interesting to me is dot ME. It’s interesting for two reasons.
First, my business is located in Maine, and many Maine businesses and Maine residents want to link their brand identity with the great state of Maine. Why? Because Maine’s brand is all about honesty, integrity, purity, and beauty.
Think about companies like Poland Spring, which sells pure spring water from Maine. Or LL Bean, whose iron-clad brand guarantees anything you buy from them for your entire lifetime and will give you your money back for any reason, or no reason at all. Or, how about Maine lobster, which is the tastiest lobster in the world? Or, Maine blueberries? They are the best. And, Maine maple syrup, the most delicate tasting syrup of any state.
Maine’s brand is full of amazing brand equity. So. if you choose a .ME domain extension, you will be tapping into all of that brand goodness. Did you known that Mainers are so entrepreneurial that 97% of Maine’s employers are small businesses and many of them are family owned and operated? Maine’s entrepreneurial spirit and Mainers’ desire to be independent and unique is a good reason to have a Domain.ME domain.
The second reason that the .ME domain name appeals to me is that I am certified as a personal branding strategist, and having yourname.ME is a great way to establish a personal website that communicates what makes you different from all the other teachers/lawyers/plumbers/electricians/journalists/fill-in-the-blank for your profession. So rather than the state of Maine, you may want to identify with the state of ME (or the state of you!)
Personal branding is about staking your claim on your superpower: the thing or quality that makes you stand out or that you do better than anyone in the universe. So, whether you’re building a personal website or a small business website with a Maine identity, the Domain.ME extension is a great way to tap into a new and unique online brand extension that is memorable.
I must tell you that the Domain.ME people sponsored this post because they saw me as someone who had an influential personal brand and a strong Maine connection. Even though .ME’s are not the official domain of Maine, I believe that a .ME domain name is a great way to build online brand equity as a Maine brand, a personal brand, or both. This post was inspired and sponsored by Domain.ME, the provider of the personal domains that end in .ME. As a company, they aim to promote thought leadership to the tech world. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information, go to http://dot.me/1QxHlX3.
