If you’re thinking about starting a business or have recently launched one and are wondering how to build a successful brand, you’ve come to the right place. You may have seen the influencers that have millions of followers or views and think “they know how to build a successful brand, maybe that’s what I should do too?” But there’s so much more to building a successful brand that makes you long term income. You need “staying power”.
Let’s Look at a Major “Influencer” with Staying Power
Dave Ramsey – Dave Ramsey has been an “influencer” longer than Instagram has been a thing. Now, he has millions of followers and views on multiple platforms, but that’s not how he started. He started with a connection. And then another. And another. You see where I’m going.
Building a brand is more than building a following, it’s more than building an email list, it’s more than generating leads. To build a successful brand, you have to focus on building a community that trusts you to help them, to serve them, and solve their problems. Are you building a brand?
Not sure? Answer these questions.
- Do I know any of my customers by name?
- Have I gotten DMs or emails saying things like “I really needed that message” or “Thank you for helping me with (fill in the blank)”?
- Do you get real comments on Instagram? I.E. more than “heart”, “great post” or a pitch for someone else’s account.
If you can’t say yes to any of the above questions, it’s time for a mind-shift. There are three main steps I take all of my clients through in our time together. Now let me say, the process is more involved than three steps, but this is the 50,000 level view. So what are their three main steps?
- Forget the word target market, or at least replace it with tribe, community, or something to that effect. How can your customers fully know, like and trust you, if all you are considering them as is a “target” to be hit?
- Know who you’re serving and why. This one is a no brainer, but can easily be missed. In the beginning, everyone wants to be serving everyone or taking every job because they “need” the sales. – I was the same way, that’s how I know this. 🙂
- Tell your story or your product/service story in an authentic way that tells your tribe how you can solve their problems. This is the basis of all of your sales copy. Again, this comes back to the know, like, and trust factor.