So you’ve started your business – congrats! Now what? With so many steps to take in starting your creative business, where do you even begin? I would definitely say that establishing your branding style is a great – and important – first step. You need to nail your branding.
I talk about why branding is so important here. Branding is a vital business tool that keeps your communication and message on point. Ultimately, branding sets the pace of your tone and style of your business. So, I want to give you helpful steps on how to find your signature brand so that you start your business off on the strongest footing.
So, how do you find your unique signature brand?
Establish your values and your mission
Hone in on what makes your business unique. How do you do this? Ask yourself these questions:
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- What do you want to achieve with your business?
- What is at the heart of your brand?
Once you answer those questions, your brand will naturally form into your mission, your values, and ultimately, your own unique business style. Adhering (or sticking) to your unique branding style or signature brand will better enable you to reach, and more importantly, connect with your ideal audience. Knowing your values and mission puts you way ahead of the game.
Define your target audience
The next question to ask yourself is:
- Who do you want to help and why?
Knowing who you are talking to is a vital tactic to keeping your message clear and on point. Who do you want to help? Get really specific and niche down. Taking the time to do this now will save you so much time and energy in the future.
Do you want to help women? What age? What do they wear? What stage are they at in their life? Single, married? Is she a mom? What inspires her? The more specific you get, the better. This niching-down will help your brand focus on your target audience and better enable you to talk directly to them and answer their specific questions, needs, and desires.
Knowing who your audience is will help you stay focused on speaking directly to them instead of trying to speak to everyone. This an essential part of creating your signature brand.
Use Keywords
Assigning your business strong description words can be helpful in establishing your brand, too. Words like: Modern, Innovative, Classic, Feminine, Masculine, Liberal, Conservative Rebellious, Moderate will help you capture your mission and business values. These words help summarize the type of work, service, or product you offer, help you stay on track in your communication and keep your focus and your intention on point.
Use Pinterest
Pinterest can easily become your new best friend, if it’s not already! Not only can you find inspiration from there, but you can organize your ideas together and separate what you do and don’t like in terms of branding. This will be SO helpful in establishing the direction you want your signature brand to go to (or not to go).
Pinterest is a great tool to use in honing in your on your color, style, and overall brand feeling. And if you are more visual, Pinterest is perfect for you!
Stay consistent
So, now you’ve established your branding style. The most important step in this entire process is staying consistent with your message. Once your brand is established – this should be followed and implemented in every aspect of your business. Do not stray from it! Now, it’s a completely different matter if you think your business needs a rebrand, and you can decide if it’s time for one here.
Consistency allows your brand to become easily recognizable. Having this recognition and consistent message will prevent any miscommunication from you to your audience throughout your relationship. No one likes to be confused about a brand!
Conclusion
By implementing these steps, you will you better understand (and be more aware of) the direction your signature brand is going without losing the purpose of your business. Knowing what your brand’s style is will be important in creating clear communication both with your audience and (eventually) your employees. Making sure everyone knows what your message is from the beginning will make your business more memorable and helps build trust.
If you take anything away from this post, please remember to keep your message on point, stay consistent, understand exactly what your audience wants.
If you are creative and want to DIY your brand, read my post about it here so you don’t make these mistakes!
However, if this is starting to sound a little overwhelming, let me help! This is my specialty and I would love to help you find your signature brand. If you want some professional branding advice, I am here for you! Book a call with me here or check out my branding packages here.
