When was the last time you took a cold, hard look at your brand? As your business grows and evolves, so should your brand identity. If you haven’t assessed your branding in six months or more, there are likely a few things you can do to improve your brand.
Don’t worry, if you’ve invested in professional branding previously, you won’t likely need to do so again. In this post, I’m sharing 4 easy ways that you can up-level your brand for free.
Revisit your mission statement
Remember your brand’s mission statement? It’s likely one of the very first things you defined as part of the initial branding process. If you don’t remember what your mission statement is, or if you never created one to begin with, this is a great place to start in improving your brand.
Your mission statement is the driving force behind your brand. In just 2-3 sentences, it clarifies what your brand does, who it serves, and most importantly, why. As a business owner, you should have your brand’s mission statement memorized and refer to it every time you make a decision about the direction your business will take.
Niche down
It’s common for new business owners to struggle when it comes to defining their niche. When I first started my web design business (and before I got into branding), I thought I could serve anyone and everyone. I soon realized that trying to attract everyone to my services meant attracting no one because my brand messaging was too vague. Sound familiar?
A great way to improve your branding is to simply assess your brand’s niche and ideal clients. How targeted is your audience? Does your branding speak directly to your ideal clients? If you’re still not sure who your ideal client is, try the following tactic:
Make a list of all your past and current clients and take note of their industry, business size, and years of experience. Which clients did you enjoy working with the most? Which projects are you most proud of? You may start to notice some trends.
Improve brand consistency
Making sure your brand is consistent is probably the easiest way to up-level your brand. So how can you do this? Take a look at your brand’s website, social media channels, and any brand collateral (i.e. letterheads, business cards, slide deck templates), and check for the following:
- Are you using a consistent color palette?
- Are you using consistent fonts (3 fonts max)?
- Do you have at least 2 logo variations for brand versatility?
- Are your brand voice and personality consistent?
- Is your messaging consistent? Do you use the same language and terms across all platforms?
If you can’t answer YES to all of the above, you know what to work on to improve your brand.
Focus on authenticity
Last but not least, an excellent way to improve your brand and bring it up to speed with the current times is to focus on authenticity. It no longer suffices to have pixel-perfect images and a curated Instagram feed. According to Stackla’s 2017 Consumer Report, 86% of consumers say that authenticity is important when deciding which brands to like and support.
There are many ways to infuse more authenticity into your branding. Do you sell products? Be transparent about how they’re made and what materials or ingredients are involved. If you’re a personal brand, share some behind-the-scenes moments of your day-to-day life. If you’re an influencer, promote products that you genuinely love and are relevant for your audience.
Want to take your brand even further?
Enlist a pro to improve your brand for you. I specialize in crafting strategic brand identities for growing small businesses. Reach out here to learn more about how I can help bring your vision to life.
