4 Actionable Steps for Building a Strong Brand.
It's no surprise that building a strong brand helps you stick out amongst your competitors. But more than that, it fuels the connection between you and your client. Strong brands emulate the desires of their audience through strategic formulas and planning.
A branding blueprint reinforces the important aspects of your business & personality, and intertwines them in to a visual strategy that is cohesive with the feelings of your audience.
You may be asking yourself, "what are the phases of a branding blueprint and how do they make up a strong brand?" The answer: Transparency, Identity and Association.
Let's dive in to each category below:
1. Transparency. Meaning to be easily seen through. Clear. Not hiding anything.
This phase of the blueprint is most important. It is the strategy behind your entire brand. Here you want to focus on the core of your business; why you exist and what your goals are. In this stage, you want to define your business':
+ Purpose
+ Vision
+ Mission
+ Values
+ Ideal client(s)
+ Goals
2. Identity. Defined as a set of qualities that make a person different.
This phase of the blueprint focuses on your visual identity. What makes you different? What makes you stand out? This is what most people think of when they think of a 'brand'. It is the parts of your branding that people can see and hear: This stage of the blueprint includes defining and creating your business':
+ Brand voice
+ Main logo
+ Submark
+ Elements
+ Patterns
+ Color palette
+ Brand photography
And last, but certainly not least ...
3. Association. Meaning to have shared interests, particularly in social or business situations. This phase of the blueprint focuses on the shared interests between you & your business and your ideal client(s). This stage includes defining your business':
+ Brand messaging
+ Customer journey
(including your website design, social media presence, inquiry process etc.)
So how do we take this information and turn it into actionable steps that help you build a strong brand?
1. Sit down with yourself and really take the time to dive deep into your business. Get out a notebook and pen and just start writing down what comes to mind - anything from what you have to offer to how you want your brand to be perceived. No judgement here, just let it flow.
2. This is where we want to get into the nitty gritty of what you wrote above. Get crystal clear on your defining your brand. Ask yourself these questions and then write down the answers:
+ Why does your business exist?
+ What does the future look like for your business?
+ What are you here to do?
+ What are 3-5 values that support your mission/vision/values?
3. Identify what makes you stand out (as a person and as a business). From there, you will want to create your visual identity from all of the information you've gathered above. I recommend investing in a professional brand designer and a brand photographer at this point, to ensure your visual identity is cohesive and a true reflection of you. (Oh, and is legally legit; aka - don't use Canva to design your logo and brand assets! That's a whole other blog post for another day.)
4. And lastly, start focusing on your client journey. All of those brand assets you just received in the last step? Start using them on your website, social media, in your emails, and on the guides you provide your clients when they inquire, etc. Start using your mission/values/what makes you stand out to connect with your audience. Once you've gotten to this point, you will know exactly what service/product you provide, who it's for, what your values are, and so on. You'll be able to create content and talk about your business without batting an eye. And those ideal clients? They'll be listening!
Still overwhelmed? Don't be! Together we can walk through each of these steps and effortlessly transform your business. If this sounds like the right nextstep for you, click here to inquire!