1. Define Your Niche
Although we may like to think our brand is appealing to everyone, this is too broad of a spectrum and unrealistic. It’s important to identify your target audience and laser focus on that audience. This can be tricky., First try to identify a specific demographic. It’s helpful to imagine what your customer is like. You can create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) or even make up an imaginary customer: “Mary is a busy mom who makes $80K a year, and she struggles with finding a healthy work-life balance.” By defining your niche, you can get in the head of your ideal customer.
2. Think About Your Voice
First, ask yourself three questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Why does it matter?
Branding isn’t about your logo; it’s about your message. What story are you trying to tell? Does your wording, website, and social profiles all match up with your values? Make sure your voice is consistent and your own; your audience will notice!
3. Be True To You
Authenticity is important and imperative to brand success. No matter what pressure you may feel to conform to what other brands are doing or what’s popular, you will be most successful if you stick to what you know and what you excel at. Isn’t it easier to talk about what you know, anyway?
4. Leverage Your Tools
In this day and age, we can put things out into the world in a matter of seconds. We have control of how our brand is portrayed, whatever we want to be known for we can get the message out there quickly – thanks to social networks and the Internet. You can live stream from many social platforms, do a podcast, short video, interview, etc. You have control to influence your audience and jump into the driver’s seat of your brand.
Building a brand can be tricky. Here are some helpful tips for differentiating your brand and staying relevant. Click To Tweet5. Network And Give Back
Sometimes networking is not fun, but it is a beneficial way to get out and talk to people about your brand. After making a connection send a ‘thank you’ message and include something of value (e.g. a blog you wrote on tips for building a bigger social network.) Now you’ve created a two-way conversation; it’s likely that when this person meets someone else who would benefit from knowing you, they will pass along your information.
6. It’s About Help, Not Hype
People like to be treated like people, not dollar signs. When communicating with people through social media, focus on formulating well-researched responses rather than just driving traffic. Build a relationship with customers. Doing so can create loyalty and gives your brand an edge while building trust.
7. Go To Your Audience
If you want to stand out and be unique, go to where your audience hangs out with the message they expect to hear through mediums they prefer, like customizing a geo-filter on SnapChat targeting your audience at an event or popular hangout. This practice is a simple formula that many people overlook. Your brand is your identity. Once you have that established, you can get creative with the rest.
So if you are stumped with your brand direction, don’t give up, remember to stay true to yourself and keep these tips in mind. If you need advice on how to enhance your branding or take it to the next level shoot me a tweet or an email, I’m always happy to help.