It's time to set your brand up for success!
I know that creating a clear vision of your brand seems hard and overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be! I want to help you with that! 🤍
Written by T.
Welcome! 🤍 Today's topic is a tricky one! It's a topic that I see a lot of people struggling with, which is how to get some clarity about your brand!
“ On which platforms should I be? What visual identity should I have?! What do I really like in my brand?”
I think being clear about what you do and who you are is something it's needed for life, honestly! Not just for jobs or for your brand strategy! It's above and beyond that! It's also for our own self-expression, to leave our mark wherever we go! Regardless if it's on your business, at your job, college, etc!
I often see people asking how to be big on instagram, youtube, and even pinterest. And sometimes the advice doesn't quite work for us or we don't even like what we are doing. Because for our positioning to be effective, we need to be convicted of it. IT NEEDS TO BE CLEAR! We need to learn about what we like and what truly works for us! Because each case is a case. What works for me might not work for you and vice-versa!
One of the biggest scams I've ever seen is when people replicate the “secret formula” from other people and expect the same for them. One thing or other might work but not the overall story. When we know who we are, how we function, and what truly speaks to us saying yes or no to things becomes easier, that's how you know you are going to the right place.
We created a post about that on our pinterest acc! ( @Authenticfeline If you want to check it out !🤍 )
Once clarity comes it's much easier to position ourselves and our brands towards the path that it's for us! It helps you to win the game or to at least make you become aware of the type of game that exists! So you can either master it, pivot or make it your own with new rules that benefit you.
“But how do I do that?”
Doing a SWOT ( Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis? Well, it's a good idea, and our answer is quite based on that. These are some questions I thought about for you to use to help you craft your own strategy. You don't necessarily need to do the stages in the order I put them, because you might find yourself at stages 2 or 3 already. Regardless if you are at stage 1, 2, or 3 or if you start by 3, 2, or 1, these can help you to start over, start fresh, or to get back on track. Take your time to answer them, ok?! It doesn't need to be perfect and you don't need to get everything all at once! It's just to give you a northern star. A good strategy is unique and made by:
Knowing yourself!
Knowing your surroundings.
Knowing the core of your business.
Resuming, being connected with yourself, aware of what already exists and fully understanding what you do and why! By knowing these things, then you are ready to decide on what you want to partake or not.
*While you are writing your answers, if you want to highlight the ones that truly speak to you feel free to do so!
KNOWING YOURSELF.
Stage N°1
Focus on who you are first! Even though our businesses are important, we are the ones who make that come forward. It needs to be aligned with us, something that comes from our heart! That's where REAL authenticity and true success comes from!
• What do you TRULY love? ( A certain color, songs, painting, writing, dancing, fashion, etc )
• What comes to you NATURALLY?
( What gives you that good sensation in your gut. What feels easy for you to do! Standing up for myself, teaching, creating, etc. )
• What do you feel uncomfortable with?
( What gives you that uneasy feeling! )
• What are your personal values?
( Sustainability, comfort, luxury, quality, joy. )
• What do you truly want? ( In the present but also in the future! )
ANALYSING YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
Stage N°2
For me, this part feels like when we are house/apartment hunting! We need the houses for our brands! We need to find them to acomodate our world physically and digitally! And also to acomodate our people! When we are job hunting and house hunting, we need to know what we are looking for and what will help us move forward! You are finding the house for your business!
• What types of media do I feel comfortable making with what I have today? ( Audio, images, shorter videos, longer videos, writing, videos? )
• Which platforms are friendly to me? ( Blog, podcast, Insta, youtube, pinterest, etc. Know that each platform has their own personalities! For example, a blog user isn't the same person who would be interested in tik toks. Since tik tok is way faster than reading a blog post. Pinterest isn't like instagram. Pinterest, even if you posted something a while ago, it can still reach a new level of numbers if it has a good SEO. So observe which platforms feel more comfortable for you! Study each platform and the overall type of users each one has or the ones you are interested in! )
• Am I going to have a website? A newsletter? My own domain? (Deciding your host, layout, and also when you can have a domain for your brand. It doesn't matter if you are working on this with someone or doing it by yourself! + the part of customizing the website with your brand colors, fonts etc is in the next stage! Now is just to decide if a website/newsletter is needed or not! )
• Am I going to have a physical place? ( Store, studio, etc. ) If yes, Is this an area that transmits what I want and my dream clients can find me easily? (Here is the same as the previous question! First we are seeing what we need and after we add our touch! )
• What's lacking in my industry or around me that I can help with? ( Take your time to answer this one! )
• How are the people who do the same as me doing? What do I find interesting about them or what differs from my brand?
CREATING YOUR WORLD!
Stage N°3
When creating your world, one problem might appear! One thing I dealt with and made me feel very restricted. The problem of "brand stereotypes!" For example, a brand that is in the fitness industry, a famous stereotype is that everything related to fitness needs to be tough, high energy and "No pain, no gain!" mentality. For someone who wants to create a business in a more softer, nurturing side might feel scared to do it. Or think that's not it! When in reality, if this person does a research, there might be people who identify themselves with it. Also, when it comes to a luxury brand some people might think that they just need to use black and white. Some brands and people genuinely like that, ( me, for example! ) but all not of them. We have an idea of what a fitness business, or a spa, a luxury brand, a tech business has to look like. We feel that we need to be like that 100%. Sure, we can follow some parts of the guideline but ALWAYS adding our own touch! One tip I give to you is to focus on the details! You can transmit luxury sometimes through a font or in a specific color or shade! Even in a voice tone! You don't need to make everything about it if you don't want to! We might have a chat just about that in the future! Always focus on the details. That's the secret for creating a strong world. And if it's looking that niche, don't worry! It’s a good sign! The more unique it looks and feels, the better! Because the combination of your ideals + the brand's ideals + the visuals + the roots + the mindset + the sounds + the content + the essence and message = your world! And also because Differentiation is a power move!
• What do I do?
( Do you have a clothing line? Own a café? Do you own a spa? Do you give Pilates classes? Are you a writer? A painter? )
• The name and meaning of it.
• What do I want to transmit with my brand?
( Your brand values! )
• What does my brand stand for? ( The message it wants to spread! What's the problem your brand solves? )
• How does my brand feel like? ( PAY ATTENTION TO THIS QUESTION! Like a warm hug? Refreshing? Classic? Rebellious? Carefree? )
• How can I transmit these feelings visually?
( Moodboards, pinterest boards, etc. Use colors, textures, fonts, and different things that speak to you to make your vision clear. Search about color psychology and the feelings different fonts can transmit. )
• How does my brand sound like?
( For the babes who are more into songs and sounds, like me! What are the types of sounds or songs that set the mood of your brand?)
• How is the tone of my brand's voice like?
( Posh? Friendly? Sarcastic? Soothing? Energetic? Pay attention to when you are writing something! Read the things you write and feel what it sounds like. )
• Who is my brand for?
( Don't be scared to be niche with that! Create brand personas if you need to! )
• What's the frequency that supports the quality and the longevity of my work? ( Bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, once I have something important to say? How many products do I feel comfortable launching each collection? )
• What are the prices of your services/products?
• What are the boundaries I have with my work?
( Not working till late, not working on Sundays or Saturdays, not being on every social media! )
After answering the questions you get clarity on what you do or want to do! By doing this you can finally act on what you have to, change what's necessary or have it as a confirmation that you are on the right path. This is your own guideline and you can change it whenever you need to!
I know this post is way longer than I thought it would be, but I think it would be good to show an example. ( A fictional one! ) But if it's too long for you, thanks for reading untill here! Take care of yourself and I see you soon!
Now, if you are still here, here we go to apply these questions in an example!
“WHO IS OUR PERSON? “
Stage N°1
Let's create a persona called Ariella. Ariella is a person who loves dancing, singing, writing poetry, the ocean, the beach, sunsets, mocktails, journaling on the beach, exercising, and doing upcyclings. The Things that speak to her are, turning especially fashion into something sustainable and fluid. A healthy lifestyle and speaking up for marine life. She hates overconsumerism and being waaaay too talkative. She prefers something soothing! And doesn't like rudeness since she is VERY connected to her feelings. Peacefulness, creativity, connection to nature, sustainability, craftsmanship, quality, and joy are things she values deeply. She truly wants freedom, creativity, to be an entrepreneur in her own terms and to inspire other girls who are also like her. To increase her financial income while doing something she loves! Also, to spread awareness about marine life!
“KNOWING YOUR SURROUNDINGS”
Stage N°2.
Ariella loves photography! ( It was her previous job! ) + She also loves to film. And like we saw before she also loves to write. The platforms she feels more familiar with are: pinterest, instagram, blogging and she would try youtube! ( Especially asmr videos! ) Ariella would like to have a newsletter, her own website with her own domain. She wouldn't have a physical store yet but she would show her work at local fairs, and especially On-line. Ariella wants to have a jewerly brand and the gap she can fill in her field is that a lot of people are buying jewerly especially in fast fashion sites, that sometimes steals creations from smaller artists! She wants to provide quality, intentional, and original designs. She sees that some jewerly creators are doing fine and have a pretty stable following! She finds their creativity, their aesthetics, and their autonomy really nice. What differentiates her from others is that she truly wants to go into a “marine artistic vibe” as if the jewerly came from another world under the sea to the earth as a gift. Since some brands only reach out to marine, oceanic themes when summer is around the corner. She wants to encapsulate summer into her designs!
One general tip! Always have a newsletter! It's not a guarantee that these apps will be available in your country forever. So, having a newsletter or your own website ( even better! ) to host all of your contacts and work is so important.
“ CREATING HER WORLD! “
Stage N°3.
Ariella, for a while, was thinking about creating a jewerly business! Now, it's time for her to do that. Initially, it was decided that her brand's name was going to be " Oriella " made by the names " ocean + Ariella!" Together, but after a while, just "Ori" was perfect! Later, it was decided that the new name would be "Ori's designs" since the jewelries she is going to sell are handmade by Ariella herself. Ori’s designs values quality, simplicity, sustainability, creativity, joy, and self-expression. She wants the brand to feel refreshing, summery, calm, and optimistic. She wants the costumers to feel cared for and special, as if the jewelries are a personal gift from her to them. Her brand stands for self-expression and being intentional about fashion, the world, and ourselves.
For sounds, she definitely said it's the sound of the waves crashing and people laughing at the beach having fun. The tone of her brand's voice is soothing, calm, joyful, and reassuring! The brand is for people who love handmade jewerly but also love delicate and unique pieces. For people who support small businesses and an intentional way of living. She thinks about posting content during the mornings on mondays, fridays and saturdays. She wants to create asmr videos packing the jewelries, cutting these videos into shorter ones to reuse them on the brand's instagram reels and pinterest. And the pictures will be posted on instagram and pinterest! She will have her own website with a blog/newsletter where will be uploaded updates about the brand and also about marine life awareness! For the first collection, she wants to name it "Oceanic kiss." with 4 pieces made by 2 different types of earrings, 1 type of bracelet, and 1 type of necklace. The prices are respectively: $36, $35, $25, $40. The color palette is made by mainly blue and white. And since Ariella writes poems, she is going to create four different poems based on the collection's theme that will come alongside the pieces!
P.S: The Jewelries are already existing ones I found on pinterest! They are not mine!
( And here’s when you can get really creative. The Brazillian clothing line called "Patê" for their newest collection “Portraits” made a Spotify Playlist made up by songs that set up the collection's mood, and I thought that was a great idea. )
The boundaries for her work are that she won't be excessively creating new collections, won't be excessively posting on social media, and on Sundays she is going to rest. She won't push herself to create just for the sake of creating.
So, this is her initial blueprint! Overtime, she will start adjusting and seeing what works for her or not! Because here's the thing, we learn a lot by DOING! The secret of good positioning is learning and relearning what works for you or not. What time is better to post or which platform feels better is a question that only you can answer based on the type of business you have or want to have! And this takes time! Please, don't expect to have all of that figured it out in one day! Well, after all of this ( Sorry for the long post, but I really wanted to explain as best as I could for you! I really want this to be as clear as possible, so you can apply it effectively if you want to! ) I hope you can at least take the first step into the direction you want, and the other steps may unfold as you go! Thank you so much for coming today, lovely! I see you soon! Lots of love! 🤍
