BRANDING FUNDAMENTALS
Why this brand? A clear mission will keep your business going and allow you to stay focused as to why you started the brand in the first place.
Don't try and do what everyone else is doing; be authentic.
What is the purpose behind your brand? What purpose do you want it to serve? Share your journey in ways that allows the consumer to connect with your brand.
Determine what you believe as a business. Setting core values will communicate what you believe as a business and how your company works together toward your shared vision.
Always stay true to the values of your business, and be really clear on what you stand for as a business and brand.
Identify your core meaning for your brand. With the right brand messaging you can inspire, persuade, motivate, and ultimately turn visitors into genuine customers or clients.
Your brand message is your tagline (or slogan).
List your brand keywords for SEO. Make a list of keywords that you can use throughout your copy, file names, headings, descriptions, etc. This will take your Google Ranking to the next level. These words are what your brand identifies with the most and how your audience will ultimately discover you.
BRAND STRATEGY
Specify your industry. Narrow down your business to one specific niche that will help you stay ahead of the game in your industry, giving you a clear focus when researching, creating products, and marketing your target audience.
Identify your ideal customer or client. Getting a clear understanding of who your target audience is and what they need from you will allow you to better serve them. Find out which audience will connect with your brand authentically.
Connect and engage with a community that inspires you. Engaging with your audience and building genuine relationships is crucial for your brand’s success. Take time to respond to comments on social media and blog posts. Join groups and comment on threads where you can offer a little bit of value. Make friends with complete strangers on the Internet and in person to build connections.
Identify and differentiate yourself from your competitors. Identify the competitors in your industry and identify what makes you different. Learning from your competitors is also a great way to stay ahead of the game, but don’t compare yourself to another' and get discouraged. Everyone starts at the bottom to build a foundation.
BRAND DESIGN
Take time to create the name for your brand. This is the start of what is to come and what your audience will see first.
Design your logo and/or hire JRR Creative to bring it to life digitally. Keep your logo clean and concise using no more than 3 fonts and 3 color. Simplicity is always best for others to represent your brand.
Purchase your font licenses. It's important to select fonts that stay true to your brand. Choose two or three fonts and use them consistently throughout your website, social media graphics and other branding materials.
Choose your color palette. Colors have an effect on how you make your audience feel. Your brand should reflect a specific style and captivate your audience. Choose a color palette that plays to the emotions and supports the personality you want to portray for your brand.
Select your specific HEX codes to easily design products, website and marketing material.
Invest in a web designer; preferably JRR Creative (haha). Having a professional platform that will help turn leads into genuine customers or clients will build the success of your brand.
Your website is one of your biggest assets and can either make or break a business.
Style your email signature. Update your email signature with your logo and a call to action. Sending regular emails will be much more effective in establishing trust and driving traffic to your website or recent post.
BRAND ASSETS
Purchase and set up your hosting plan and custom domain. Secure the URL for your business website. Owning your own branded domain will establish credibility for your business. A domain and hosting plan is mandatory to get your website up and running.
Set up your business inbox. Create a business email to keep track of all your business-related messages. Organize a separate inbox for special inquiries, support requests or team members.
Design and order your business cards. Handing out your business card is a great form of marketing. An effective business card design always has a clear call to action.
Digital Business Cards are also an option.
Choose your color palette. Colors have an effect on how you make your audience feel. Your brand should reflect a specific style and captivate your audience. Choose a color palette that plays to the emotions and supports the personality you want to portray for your brand.
Select your specific HEX codes to easily design products, website and marketing material.
Curate a photo collection. Hire a professional photographer (preferably JRR Creative) to take brand photos or search for commercial-free stock photos online. Having a collection of photos that relate to your branding will help you stay consistent as you expand your brand.
This is perfect for establishing an Instagram theme, adding photos to your website or using them in your marketing graphic. Great photography will help take your brand to the next level.
Use a professional headshot to identify the face behind your brand. This photo is virtually anywhere you have an account online. On social media, this is what people look at to see if you’re a real person. Photos of yourself will humanize your brand.
BRAND CONTENT
Outline your pages and write your content. Your website content should include your product and/or services. It should be designed professionally with a clear menu for the customer or client to navigate easily. Always connect purchasing product and/or services to your website as this is the most common and safest way for visitors to shop.
Choose your social media platform(s). Social media is an effective tool for your brand strategy. Lock in your social media profiles and work on growing a following of genuine people for your business. Your platforms of choice should be where your audience appears the most. The more you show up, the more likely you’ll get noticed. Be consistent.
Create an email list and discount offer. Choose a newsletter provider to start collecting email addresses for your blog or business. An email list is a direct channel to your audience where you have full permission to promote your business and stay connected. Create a a newsletter template that fits your brand and be consistent in sending one weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
Strategize your post content and create a blogging schedule. Determine what types of posts you’ll write and how often you will publish new posts. A blog strategy sets the pace for your brand letting your audience know when they can expect to see new content from you.