BRAND STRATEGY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
As entrepreneurs, we’re busy. There are a lot of moving pieces that go into keeping a business running smoothly. And we’re constantly learning and growing, and I believe that your brand grows with you.
It’s helpful to take a step back every so often and have a look at your branding from an outside perspective to not only make sure it’s consistent but to also make sure it’s growing along with you.
Customers, potential clients, and fans now look for more in a brand and business. Yes, of course, they’re looking for a good product or service, but they’re also going deeper and trying to connect with the business values and the person behind the brand.
Below are a few eye-opening branding statistics from SmallBizGenius:
- It takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand.
- Color improves brand recognition by up to 80%
- 73% of consumers love a brand because of its helpful customer service.
- Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%.
- 72% of the best brand names contain words or acronyms.
- Over 70% of brand managers consider building an audience more important than converting sales.
- 89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values.
- Brands that blog generate 67% more leads.
- 82% of consumers feel more positive about a brand after reading customized content.
- 94% of customers are likely to show loyalty to a brand that offers complete transparency.
In order to be transparent and consistent and create unique content, you have to know who YOU are, first and foremost and have a complete understanding of who you’re here to serve.
BRAND EXPERIENCE
Building a brand starts with YOU. I believe wholeheartedly that your brand is a reflection of YOU. And so, creating an aligned brand identity begins with self-awareness. The more honest you are with yourself, the more aligned your brand and business will be.
Why is this important? There are so many reasons, but it boils down to energy. You only have so much energy to give daily, and when you’re spread thin doing tasks you don’t enjoy and working with clients who are out of alignment, it will deplete you of all of your energy and will lead to burnout, resentment, and feelings of disconnection.
When you’re doing tasks that you enjoy and you’re working with ideal clients who resonate with your message, you’ll experience a cyclical flow of energy. There will be an equal give and take—mutual respect. You will feel expanded.
You and your clients will activate each other. Communication will be easier. You will better serve them, and they will be happier.
I’m sure you’ve heard the ‘gurus’ referring to creating with ease and flow; this is what they’re talking about. Aligning your skills, knowledge, and values with what a person is struggling with or needs help with.
The following exercises will help you build the foundation for your business. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take the time to go through and answer each one of these questions in detail.
Your business will thrive when built on a stable foundation with clarity around who you serve, what you do, why you do it, and where you’re going.
The answers to these questions will be your true north—your guiding light. This is what will help you to stand out in a crowded market.
SELF-ALIGNMENT
Before you get started, put your phone away, shut down your computer, take out a piece of paper (you’ll experience a deeper connection when you put pen to paper), and get to know yourself again.
Building a brand starts with YOU. I believe wholeheartedly that your brand is a reflection of YOU. And so, creating an aligned brand identity begins with self-awareness. The more honest you are with yourself, the more aligned your brand and business will be.
Your business will thrive when built on a stable foundation with clarity around who you serve, what you do, why you do it, and where you’re going.
The answers to these questions will be your true north—your guiding light. This is what will help you to stand out in a crowded market.
- Why do you want to own a business and be an entrepreneur?
- What does success look like to you?
- What are your core values?
Click HERE for an in-depth Self-Alignment guidebook.
Click to read Getting to the Core of Your Brand
DREAM CLIENT
Creating a client avatar is the core of your brand strategy. These are the people you want to attract.
Why is this important?
There are so many reasons, but it boils down to energy. You only have so much energy to give on a daily basis, and when you’re spread thin doing tasks you don’t enjoy and working with clients who are out of alignment, it will deplete you of all of your energy and will lead to burnout, resentment, and feelingS of disconnection.
When you’re doing tasks that you enjoy and you’re working with ideal clients who resonate with your message, you’ll experience a cyclical flow of energy. There will be an equal give and take—mutual respect. You will feel expanded.
You and your clients will activate each other. Communication will be easier. You will better serve them, and they will be happier.
- Give your ICA (ideal client avatar) a name, gender, age, and location.
- What are their core values?
- What are their biggest pet peeves?
- What matters most to them?
- What inspires them?
- What are their biggest frustrations?
- What’s their biggest pain point as it relates to your niche?
- What problem can you solve for your ideal client?
- What is their primary reason for wanting to buy from you and not someone else?
Click HERE for an in-depth Ideal Client Avatar guidebook.
Click to read How to Figure Out Who the Heck Your Ideal Client Is
MESSAGE CLARITY
Message clarity is the key to ‘showing up consistently.’ When you hear people tell you to be consistent on social media, they’re not only referring to posting daily/weekly; they’re also advising you to use consistent messaging.
So how do you get clarity around your brand message?
What You Believe to be Absolutely True + Client Outcome = Your Message
For example, my message is, BE YOU BUILD A BRAND.
I believe wholeheartedly that your brand is a reflection of YOU.
My Belief = BE YOU
Client Outcome = BUILD A BRAND
All of your content, blog posts, social media posts, and website copy should come from your messaging.
MARKETING
What does your online footprint look like? Do you have consistent messaging across all platforms? Are you using colors and imagery consistently? Are your social media bios clear and concise?
- Google yourself to see what comes up.
- Note anything you’d like to share on your own social media platforms.
- Set up a Google My Business account.
- Update bios across all social media platforms and on your website.
CLIENT EXPERIENCE
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
SETH GODIN
- What are your goals for your company?
- What is your brand story?
- What is your unique value proposition? How is your approach different than your competitors?
- What does your brand do?
BRANDING IDENTITY
Your branding identity includes logo, fonts, colors, design, and voice. According to 8ways, you have a mere .05 seconds to make a good first impression. If your photos and design look unprofessional, people will move on to the next option.
- What do you see as your brand’s style/personality? (cool, funky, sophisticated)
- What three words describe your brand? (fresh, dynamic, editorial, etc.)
- List five websites that stand out to you. Use this as a guide for the look and feel that you’re drawn to.
LOGO
Keep it simple. Make sure it’s original, and make sure it represents your brand. You’ll need three versions: your main logo, an alt logo (inline), and a submarket.
Logo Design Resources: Canva, 99Designs, Fiverr
Of course, there are amazing graphic designers out there for a fully customized, one-of-a-kind design. This can range in price from $100 – thousands. Stay within your budget. And if you’re just starting out, you may want to wait a year or two before investing a large amount in design, as your logo may change.
Click HERE for a free Canva Mood Board
FONTS
Select two fonts and use only those throughout all of your platforms for consistency.
A serif and sans serif go really well together.
For example, my main fonts are Playfair Display and Oswald. I use Forestea Script here and there for fun embellishment.
Handwritten fonts with sans serif are also a beautiful pairing. Be careful with some of the handwritten fonts, as they can be hard to read. Usually, it’s best to use those here and there for a fun embellishment.
Type ‘font pairing’ into the Pinterest search bar for many examples.
COLORS
Select four to eight colors. Pinterest and Canva are excellent resources for color palettes. Click HERE to read about why brand colors are important and how customers respond to colors.
Your colors play an important role in how your brand feels to your customers.
Once you have your color palette selected, make a note of the hex codes and use those colors interchangeably in all platforms and materials: website, marketing, social media posts, business cards, stationery, etc.
Canva Pro includes a brand kit where you can enter your custom colors, logo, and fonts keeping it super simple to quickly create designs for all platforms.
Check out Concerting Colors website for a really fun way to play with colors.
DESIGN STYLE
IMAGERY, ILLUSTRATIONS, GRAPHICS
Personal Brand Photography
Work with a photographer who has specific experience with brand photography. This will save you a ton of time and money. He, she, or they will have a good understanding of how to frame the photos for specific applications and can guide you on what to wear and help you select locations that align with your brand.
Click HERE to read Five Things to Look for in a Branding Photographer
Match your outfits to your brand colors. Style your outfits to coordinate with your brand style as noted above; cool, sophisticated, casual, etc. Solid colors are best. Form-fitting clothing looks best in photos vs. loose clothing.
Plan ahead and have your outfits cleaned, ironed, and ready to go the day before. Bring layers so you can get several looks out of one outfit—for example, a nice blouse under a jacket. You can take photos with and without the jacket.
Make sure to pack proper undergarments and bring any props such as a laptop, products, etc.
Make sure to get a variety of close-up shots and wide shots. You’ll need to be able to crop your photos for various uses; website, social media, marketing, etc.
Click HERE to read Five Tips for Personal Branding Outfits
Click HERE to read How to Prep for a Headshot Session
When using graphics and illustrations on your website or in your marketing material, make sure they coordinate with your brand style.
Resources: Creative Market, Pexels, Adobe, Canva, Envato, Gumroad, Shutterstock, Styled Stock Society, Design Cuts
CONSISTENT VOICE
- Character: List adjectives describing who you are.
- Voice: List adjectives describing your voice.
- Emotion/Feeling: Adjectives describing how you want your brand to feel.
- Results/Impact: Sentence describing how your clients will feel while working with you.
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” —Oscar Wilde
