Creating a brand from scratch can seem really overwhelming and I know a lot of business owners who just don’t know how to get started.
Without further ado, here’s a few things to consider when you’re just starting out or if you really don’t know where to start in creating a ‘brand’ for your business.
What is a ‘brand’ anyway?
A brand is essentially everything that makes up your business – your values, your mission, who you want to work with (ideal clients), your core message, your services, the vision you have for your future and how you want to be positioned within your marketplace.
Importance of creating a brand
I actually always recommend working on all the above elements first, BEFORE creating any visuals and this is something I do with my Elevate-a-Brand clients. It’s really important to get clarity on all these areas of your brand because that clarity is going to give you confidence and direction in where you want to take your business, but it’s also going to help you market your business in the future as well.
So, where should you start when creating a brand?
The first aspect of your brand I’d recommend you get really clear on is the vision for your brand. This is because you need to know where you’re going and you need to make sure you have a solid plan in place for the growth of your business too. A lot of previous clients have come to me, struggling on naming their business and this totally ties in with your vision. I always ask the same question – where do you see yourself in the future? Do you see it as just you in your business with maybe a VA? Or do you see yourself creating a team of people to support you and making a huge impact on the world? You could even still have a team, but they could be a virtual team including a social media manager, VA, graphic designer, online business manager, web designer etc. Knowing this determines how you should name your business, but also how you brand your business.
The way you brand a personal brand (one person, offering a core service like photography, life coaching, business coaching etc.) is going to be different to how you brand a business (such as a business network, beauty salon, construction company).
Who do you want to help?
Next up, you need to think about who you want to help. You could have a cleaning business, but it might be you want to just help pet owners, or people with autoimmune diseases, or business owners who work from home. Don’t be afraid to niche down into an area you are really passionate about, because it gives you more of a chance to become THE go-to expert for that specialism.
The more you know about your ideal client, the better because then you can tailor all your marketing to resonate with that person. You actually want to be repelling people who aren’t a good fit for you/your business because the whole reason who having an ideal client is they are ‘ideal’ for you. You love working with them and they will love working with you.
What’s your mission?
From here you want to figure out what your mission is. Gaining clarity around your vision and who you want to work with will help with this, along with the services you offer. Your mission can be very simple: who you want to help and how.
Here’s a couple of brand mission examples:
✨ Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.
✨ Nordstrom: To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.
✨ Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.
Once you decide what your brand mission is going to be, share it! Share your brand mission on your website, in your social media and in your bio.
Your values are the back bone of your brand
So you need to make sure you know what they are and why. Then, when you are feeling stuck, refer back to your brand values and mission. You can use your values when writing content for social media, for blogging, you can include them on your about page. You also want to make sure your services encompass your brand values too.
Do you know what your message is?
Some of the most successful brands in the world have a core message that they stick to, time and time again. All their content is focused around their core message. All their marketing is focused around their core message and if they’re not explicitly sharing their core message, then you can bet their social media post or recent blog is nodding towards their core message.
So if you’re not sure what your core message is – it’s time to spend some time on it and really get clear on what it is and how you can share it in more ways than one.
When it comes to creating a brand, it takes time and your brand will always be evolving over time.
Your ideal clients one year could be completely different the next year, so it’s always important to keep an eye on your brand, use your intuition and do what feels right too.
If you have any questions, please do let me know and if you’d like more help with this, just get in touch.
JOIN BRING A BRAND TO LIFE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE BRANDING ROADMAP!
