When was the last time you stepped back and really looked at your brand? Branding is one of your strongest assets, but with the increasing notion to produce, we often find ourselves head down, pumping out blogs, Instagram posts, and working to reach the masses with a menagerie of digital assets. Ideas can go from concept to completion so quickly we often forget to vet the final design for brand consistency.
It’s nice to believe that once you’ve established branding, you can move on and put your focus elsewhere. But unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Nurturing your brand can be a powerful tool to assure your business is performing at its peak. Additionally, regularly taking the time to step back and address where your branding is currently can help you gauge what’s working, what’s not, and more importantly, why.
Internal Review
Clarify Your Brand
In order to understand how your brand is performing, you first need to understand what you’re measuring. What’s your mission, vision, and goals for your brand? If you haven’t established these already, get them down on paper. Solidify them.
Know Your Brand Values
One of the most important (and often overlooked) elements are the values that drive your brand. From your client’s point of view, they represent how your business will conduct itself. Having a clear understanding of what you stand for plays into your ability to attract your ideal clients. By demonstrating your values through your branding and marketing efforts, you’ll naturally attract clients who appreciate and value similar things. Focus on the work you do and how your brand upholds these values in the process.
Identify Your Ideal Client
When it comes to the creative needs of your brand—copywriting, visuals, and website—knowing your audience makes it easier to market and speak to a specific clientele. Who is it you want to attract? Your brand should be catered around your target audience, so get very specific. Knowing the ins and outs of your ideal client makes it easier to identify their pain points, understand how they make decisions, and provide the right solutions to their needs.
External Review
Now that you’ve refined and gotten a better grasp on the core components of your brand, you can measure the performance of your outward facing visuals and verbiage.
Target Your Message
Your brand messaging is the language and phrasing you use to describe and market your business. It’s what appears on everything from your website and marketing materials to how you speak about your services. Take a look at how you’ve been talking about your business. Are you speaking to the pain points, emotions, and needs of your target audience? Does your language and tone reflect the core values of your brand? Establishing framework for your messaging makes it easier and clearer for both you and your clientele to know exactly who you’re speaking to. Make sure your tone is appropriate and consistent.
Analyze Your Visuals
Customers make judgements of your business based on what they experience, both on and offline. Make sure your visual branding is uniform at every touch point with current and potential clients. This means you’re using the correct logo, colors, typography, and images across all aspects of your business. A strong and consistent visual identity helps establish loyalty and shows you’re committed to your brand values and delivering what’s expected. Consistency will make it clear to your audience that they’re interacting with your brand—not anyone else’s.
Be Consistent
As you continue to grow and evolve, so will your brand. It’s important to make sure your brand’s message and purpose continues to be strong and clearly communicated. If you consistently make the time to evaluate your brand, you’ll be more aware of how effective its reach is and better prepared when the time has come to level up.
You work hard for brand, your brand should work hard for you too.
Want to see more from Alfa Charlie? Check out their website alfacharlie.co
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