When we talk about branding in a business sense, the first things people think of are logos and colour palettes. While these are important elements to a company’s brand – think Coca-Cola or McDonald’s – branding is more about how you set up your company to stand out from the crowd. Branding incorporates your company’s message and mission, and when all these things line up correctly, you become memorable to your audience and solidify the foundation for a strong relationship.
Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to buy your products or services. They have certain expectations about what your brand should offer them, and meeting those expectations is crucial to the success of your business.
If your brand fails to meet the expectations of your target audience, they may choose to do business with a competitor instead. This can be costly for your business and prevent it from growing and thriving.
On the other hand, if your brand exceeds the expectations of your target audience, they are more likely to become loyal customers who recommend your brand to others. This can help your business grow and succeed.
To ensure your brand meets the expectations of your target audience, it’s important to understand their needs, wants, and expectations. This requires ongoing research and communication, as well as a willingness to adapt and evolve as your target audience’s needs change over time.
Here are four ways to develop your brand to connect with more people:
1. Identify what you do, your goals, your objectives, purpose and values.
You’re not just a coach. You’re a business coach, a health coach, a life coach, a marriage coach. Add any adjective you want before the word “coach” that identifies YOU and don’t be afraid to tell people. Wear that title proudly and soon your tribe will associate your name with your chosen title. Your goals and objectives will form your mission, which in turn tells you who your target market is. If your mission and your market don’t match, you need to do more research.
Defining your brand’s purpose and values is a critical step in creating a strong and effective brand for your business. Your brand purpose is the reason why your business exists, beyond just making a profit. It’s the higher-level goal that drives your business and sets it apart from others in your industry.
To define your brand purpose, ask yourself questions like, “Why did I start this business? What problem am I trying to solve? What impact do I want to have on the world?”
Your brand values, on the other hand, are the principles that guide your business and the way you operate. They should align with your brand purpose and reflect what your business stands for. Your values should be clear and consistent, and they should be reflected in all aspects of your business, including your branding and marketing.
To identify your brand values, think about the qualities that are most important to your business. For example, if your business is focused on sustainability, your values might include environmental responsibility, ethical sourcing, and community engagement.
Once you have defined your brand purpose and values, you can use them to guide all aspects of your branding and marketing. Your brand purpose and values should be communicated clearly and consistently across all channels, from your website to your social media presence. This helps build trust and credibility with your target audience and helps differentiate your business from competitors who may not have a clear brand purpose or values.
2. Determine your brand attributes and identity.
What perception do you want your brand to portray? What image should appear in people’s minds when they hear your name? Do these adjectives match up with your objectives, logo, colour palettes, and overall online image?
Your brand identity is the visual representation of your brand and includes elements like your logo, colours, typography, and imagery. A strong brand identity is essential for creating a recognizable and memorable brand that stands out from the competition.
Here are four ways to develop your brand to connect with more people:
- Logo: Your logo is the visual symbol that represents your brand. It should be unique, memorable, and easily recognizable. When designing your logo, consider the colours, typography, and imagery that will best represent your brand.
- Colours: Your brand’s colour palette should be consistent across all marketing materials, including your website, social media, and advertising. Choose colours that reflect your brand’s personality and values and that resonate with your target audience.
- Typography: The fonts you use in your branding should be consistent and reflect your brand’s personality. Consider using a combination of serif and sans-serif fonts to create a balanced and visually appealing look.
- Imagery: The images you use in your branding should be high-quality and reflect your brand’s personality and values. Whether you use photographs, illustrations, or graphics, make sure they are consistent and reflect your brand’s style.
- Tone of voice: Your brand’s tone of voice is the way you communicate with your audience. Whether your brand is serious and professional or fun and lighthearted, your tone of voice should be consistent across all marketing materials.
When creating your brand identity, it’s important to consider how it will be perceived by your target audience. Your branding should reflect your brand’s personality and values, but it should also resonate with your audience and differentiate you from the competition.
By developing a strong and consistent brand identity, you can create a memorable and recognizable brand that helps you build trust and credibility with your target audience.
3. Create a consistent online presence with your website, blog, and social media platforms.
Yes, colour palettes, headshots, and logos are important and play an important role in your online presence. Clear communication with your web designer and social media manager will go a long way to guarantee that your brand identity is consistent across all these platforms and that your online image matches your offline image 100%.
Consistency is key when it comes to branding. Your brand should have a consistent look and feel across all marketing materials, including your website, social media, advertising, and packaging. This means using the same colours, typography, and imagery, as well as a consistent tone of voice.
Consistency helps build trust and credibility with your target audience, as it creates a recognizable and memorable brand that they can easily identify. It also helps position your brand as professional and trustworthy, which can help differentiate you from competitors.
When developing your branding strategy, consider creating brand guidelines that outline the rules for using your brand identity. This can include guidelines for your logo usage, colour palette, typography, and tone of voice. By creating these guidelines, you can ensure that all marketing materials are consistent and aligned with your brand’s values and personality.
Flexibility is also important when it comes to branding. While consistency is key, you also need to be able to adapt your branding to different channels and audiences. For example, you may need to adjust your tone of voice or imagery depending on the platform or the audience you are targeting.
Flexibility also means being open to evolution and change over time. As your business grows and evolves, your branding may need to adapt to reflect these changes. This could include updating your logo, refreshing your colour palette, or adjusting your messaging.
When considering flexibility, it’s important to strike a balance between consistency and adaptation. Your branding should remain consistent in its core elements, such as your logo and colour palette, while also allowing for flexibility in messaging and adaptation to different channels and audiences.
Overall, consistency and flexibility are both essential for creating a strong and effective branding strategy. By creating a consistent and recognizable brand identity while also being flexible and adaptable, you can build a strong brand that resonates with your target audience and helps you stand out from the competition.
4. Bring your brand to life by using videos.
People want to know, like, and trust you. What better or quicker way to do that than to use video to reach the masses? Video brings you into their homes and allows you to share the provocative thoughts and daily tips and encouragement they are seeking. Video is proof positive that you are a real person, and they will know fairly early on if your personality/brand jives with their own.
Videos should also incorporate some of your online elements so viewers will recognize your logo or colour scheme when they visit your website or view a different video.
Video is an increasingly important component of branding and marketing strategies, as it can be an effective way to communicate your brand’s personality and values to your audience. Video content can be used to showcase your products or services, tell your brand’s story, and engage with your audience on a more personal level.
Video can be shared on a variety of channels, including social media, your website, and video hosting platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. By creating engaging and informative video content, you can increase brand awareness and build a stronger connection with your audience.
Here are four ways to develop your brand to connect with more people:
- Product videos: Creating videos that showcase your products or services can be a great way to provide your audience with a better understanding of what your brand has to offer.
- Brand story videos: Telling your brand’s story through video can be an effective way to connect with your audience on an emotional level and build brand loyalty.
- Social media videos: Short, snackable videos can be shared on social media platforms to engage with your audience and promote your brand.
- Live videos: Hosting live videos on platforms like Facebook or Instagram can be a great way to engage with your audience in real-time and showcase your brand’s personality.
When incorporating video into your branding strategy, it’s important to consider your audience and the message you want to convey. Your videos should be aligned with your brand’s values and personality and provide value to your audience. By using video as a tool to build brand awareness and connect with your audience, you can strengthen your brand and differentiate yourself from the competition.
Building brand awareness is about getting your brand in front of your target audience and making it memorable. It involves creating a consistent and recognizable brand identity, as well as implementing marketing strategies that help promote your brand.
There are several ways to build brand awareness, including:
- Social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are great for building brand awareness. By sharing content that reflects your brand’s personality and values, you can engage with your audience and build a following.
- Content marketing: Creating valuable content like blog posts, videos, and infographics can help position your brand as an expert in your industry. By providing helpful information to your audience, you can build trust and credibility and increase brand awareness.
- Influencer marketing: Partnering with influencers who have a large following in your target audience can help expose your brand to a wider audience. By working with influencers who align with your brand’s values and personality, you can create authentic and effective marketing campaigns.
- Paid advertising: Paid advertising channels like Google Ads and Facebook Ads can help increase brand awareness by reaching a larger audience. By targeting your ads to specific demographics and interests, you can ensure that your ads are seen by the right people.
- Public relations: Public relations activities like press releases, media interviews, and event sponsorships can help increase brand awareness and build credibility. By positioning your brand as a thought leader in your industry, you can build trust and credibility with your target audience.
When building brand awareness, it’s important to keep your target audience in mind. Your marketing efforts should be tailored to resonate with your audience and reflect your brand’s personality and values. By creating consistent and memorable branding and implementing effective marketing strategies, you can build a strong and recognizable brand that resonates with your target audience.
What Does Branding Have to Do with Networking?
Quite simply, if your online persona is quite different from your offline image, expect to have an awkward moment (or two). Even if your interaction is completely online, if you conduct yourself differently than you show in your videos, you’ll invite more unwanted questions and cause your prospects to be hesitant around you, wondering if you’re “faking it till you make it” or not being authentic. In either situation, your audience won’t trust you, they may not give you a second chance to prove yourself and may start telling people what a fake you are via social media.
Business relationships should be built on honesty and integrity, and all of your branding elements should be in line. When people trust you are who you say you are, they will begin to trust you and a relationship has begun.
Meeting the expectations of your target audience is critical to the success of your business. By understanding your target audience’s needs and adapting your brand to meet them, you can grow your business and create loyal customers who will support you for years to come.
