Do you know Bob, Jill, Sage or Zach? There are a few people who have attained fame that we know who they are by the mention of their name. There are still fewer who are known by only their first name. Think of the following people: Elvis, Oprah, Prince, Rush. When you hear these names (notice they are only first names), you know exactly who I am talking about.

Being known by one name is called being mononymous. It is not all that rare for famous people to be known by their last name – think of Lincoln, Mozart, Seinfeld or Trump. It is much rarer to find someone with a mononymous first name. There is a marketing lesson to be learned by studying how famous people have used their first name to build a brand and how you can do the same for your brand.

One name

First, shorter is better in building a brand. It is better because it is easier to remember. You may have noticed that even though you may have a longer name, people will shorten it. It is how basketball player Shaquille O’Neal became the mononymous "Shaq” and singer Cherilyn Sarkisian Bono became "Cher.” The same is true of business brands. General Electric is known as GE. Chevrolet is known as Chevy. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing is known as 3M. If you are building a brand, you want to keep it short. One or two syllables per word is best. If you are using a phrase, no more than seven syllables becomes the rule if you want people to commit it to memory.

A unique language

People also remember unusual names. This does something to the psyche of customers. It creates an inner language that only those fans of a brand can speak. It is like an exclusive little club. Let me show you what I mean with a lesson from the sport of baseball. From its beginnings, professional baseball used unique nicknames for players because it helped their fans not only remember them, but also form a connection with them. They seemed to be more approachable and likable. Teams were filled with guys named Lefty, Pee Wee, Shoeless Joe, Yankee Clipper, Splendid Splinter, Hammerin’ Hank, Charlie Hustle, Catfish, Oil Can, Spaceman, Wild Thing, Rocket, Big Hurt, Big Papi, and many more. None of these were the players real names. Someone along the way gave them an odd nickname that stuck, not only with them, but with the fans of their baseball team. No one called George Ruth by his given name. He was called the Babe. Marketing departments sold tickets based on this connection. It got people talking a language that was totally centered around their brand. No one talked about going to watch George Anderson coach a team, but they talked a lot about Sparky Anderson. No one talked about Lawrence Berra catching a pitcher, but they talked about Yogi. The emotional connection between customer and your brand drives their enthusiasm, which in turn, drives sales. Anytime you can give your brand a short, catchy nickname, do so. McDonalds fans called them Mickey Ds, Walmart shoppers refer to them as Wally World, etc.

One in thought and spirit

What the entertainment industry has learned is that people will use a first name or a nickname when they feel like they know you. There is something about the informality of calling someone by their first name that seems much more friendly. It is why Adele Laurie Blue Atkins goes by Adele and Paul David Hewson goes by Bono. But knowing who you are is only half the battle. Getting your followers to feel like they are one kindred spirit with your brand is the other side of the coin. Your business name may not be based on a personality, but it still can have a personal connection with your marketplace. How? In the same way that the publicity around pop singers, actors and professional athletes make a connection by sharing a little of themselves with fans, the same can be done with your target market. For instance, if a pop show that puts famous people in a dancing competition, and someone named LeBron tweets his congratulations to one of the pop dancers, that catches the attention of the fans of the show. Why? First of all, they know who the mononymous LeBron is, because he has branded himself well. Second, because, although he is not a dancer and is not really qualified to judge a dancing competition, what LeBron says shows a little of himself and makes the fans of the show feel like they have a kindred spirit with him. Why? Because they agree with LeBron - the pop icon really danced well in their eyes - and we all want our opinions to be verified, especially by the famous and popular crowd. In other words, we gravitate towards people who think like we do, especially on an emotional level. We want to be one in thought and name - mononymous - with them. It is why people buy clothing with names of pop icons, politicians, athletes, and even company brand names on them. It is not logical, but it works.

What have you revealed to them that makes an emotional connection? What are you putting on social media to enhance your likability with your target market? Getting people to remember your brand is half the battle. The other half is getting them to feel like they know your brand by its first name and they are one in spirit with it.