Are you struggling to build an authentic and memorable brand? Are you finding it difficult to find your tribe? What if I told you, the difference between a successful brand and a not so successful one might be as simple as 4 things? Read on my friend.
I had a client who was having an issue building her audience. She did “all the things” you’re supposed to do. She had an Instagram page with lots of pretty pictures. She had a beautiful website with testimonials. She had lots of valuable freebees. She even had a YouTube account with tons of views. But she had a tiny amount of real engagement and even smaller sales. So, what was she doing wrong?
No consistency!
Her Instagram feed was filled with food, beaches, animals, journaling pages, quotes about entrepreneurship and personal growth, sewing tips, and jewelry. Her website had blog posts like choosing the best restaurant in Dallas and creating a morning routine. Her YouTube channel’s most popular videos were how-to’s on sewing and painting and vlogs about the importance of Mindset. Do you have a clear idea of her niche? Would you guess a life coach?
When I asked her about the inconsistency, she told me something that I have heard from a lot of business owners. “I thought if I covered my bases with a lot of things, more people would find me, and I could build my brand faster.” But she couldn’t be further from the truth.
She got a lot of eyes on her pages, but they weren’t the right eyes. They weren’t looking for a life coach. So yeah, they liked the photo or the how to’s, but they didn’t need her services. The bigger issue with this strategy was that the ones who needed a life coach were confused about what she really offered and who she really was. They were looking for an authentic brand, and my client wasn’t providing it.
So how did we fix it? We implemented these four simple, but effective strategies, three of which are found in my new Branding Workbook. Which you can download here.
Consistent Written Content
There’s a reason that words are the first area in the Branding Workbook. Words are impactful and tell your market who you are, what you’re about, and how you can serve them with your product or service. Words convey your message and your mission. But more than that, the words you choose show your brand in everything you write. When those words are incoherent or scattered, your target market doesn’t see a clear picture and may become confused about who you are and what your message truly is.
For example.
In one post you start out Hey Y’all! And show a picture of you and your kids by the pool drinking lemonade to talk about how you understand the importance of family, but in the next post, you have a picture of a bunch of men in
Consistent Visual Content
We are a visual world. The most popular posts on Facebook are those with photos or videos. Instagram is growing by thousands of users weekly and Youtube is becoming the go-to space for self-education, entertainment, and growing your brand. This trend is not a fluke. We love visuals! But if your visuals don’t paint a clear and consistent picture, they don’t build a consistent audience.
Remember my client? Her visuals were all over the place! No one knew who she really helped or what she helped them with. But once her visual message was consistent, her impact increased and so did her number of clients.
Consistent Colors and Text
Keeping your colors and text consistent is one of the biggest tips I can share for building an authentic and memorable brand. Let’s look at some of the biggest brands to prove my point. When you think of Disney or Coca Cola, what is your first thought? Without a doubt, you think of their distinctive fonts and certain colors come to mind like maybe a blue sky/background (for the iconic Disney Studios logo) or red and white (for those enticing cans).
You don’t have to invent your own font to build an authentic and memorable brand, but you do need to make your font and colors consistent to give you that “knowability” factor that these companies have created.
Have Fun and Show It!
My last tip for building an authentic and memorable brand is all about loving what you do. Of course, I would have to mention love in February. But you don’t have to make chocolates and flower arrangements to be in the “love business”. You just need to make sure that your business shows that “fire” in you for what you do.
My client wasn’t telling her potential clients anything about why she got into the industry and she certainly didn’t show them how much she enjoyed working with clients and seeing their lives changed. But once she shared those things and started showing how excited she got when a client saw real growth, they were hooked. And if you do the same, your audience will be hooked too!
The Branding Workbook
Now it’s your turn. Download my free branding workbook and use it to keep all of your branding details in one spot. I’ve included places for all of the areas I’ve covered (except the fun part, that’s up to you!). Use my examples above to complete your workbook with your information. Plus, I’ve included a bonus spot for Hashtags as well. I recommend writing these in pencils since they seem to change so much!
Alright, are you ready to build your authentic and memorable brand? Download your free branding workbook and get started!