5 Steps To Building Your Brand

Branding has come a long way in the past decade. It’s no longer simply a tagline, a font choice, or a color scheme (much less a logo). These things are still important, yes, but building a brand is fundamentally a much bigger and more comprehensive process.

We might be outlining only ten steps to building your brand, but there is a good amount of detail within these steps. For example, you should know the market you’re entering- up, down and sideways. But you also have to be crystal clear about what your goals and values are as a business so that your brand can stand up to potential criticism and naysayers. Things like conviction, authenticity, and differentiation between you and your competitors will only serve to strengthen and solidify your brand. If these are questionable or weak, you won’t have a leg to stand on.

In the same vein, while all of these different pieces work together, each piece serves its own essential function in the process. There’s no doubt that an incredible website will help your business, but if your mission statement is weak or you don’t know who your target audience is, the most elegant, strategically-built website won’t save you.

Here are the absolute essential tools you’ll need before you begin brand-building. Just remember, it is all in the details.

Know Your Context

Before you build a house, you need to know what kind of ground you’re building on. The same goes for developing a business strategy. You have to get familiar with the kind of waters you’re jumping into — the proverbial ‘temperature’, if you will. Who else is swimming? What are they doing that’s keeping them afloat, and what’s causing them to sink? Do your due diligence, as it is the foundation of any branding process. The more research you do, the better prepared you are to chart the waters successfully. Being an expert will ensure that your skills and acumen will be sought out further down the line.

Identify and Understand Your Target Audience

If knowing the ins and outs of your market is the foundation of your branding strategy, then determining every aspect of your target audience is one of the building blocks. How do you go about doing this? It’s a bit like getting to know someone you’re interested in. Get curious: what are their interests? What is their background? What do they do during the day? How will they interact with your product and why do they need it? What is the targeted demographic and why? What are their general preferences? The more questions you can come up with and then answer, the more airtight the rest of your business strategy will be.

Develop a Mission Statement

Figure out what your USP (or unique selling proposition) is. A mission statement is not a tagline. It doesn’t need to be wickedly clever or cutesy. In fact, it should be reasonable and specific. Answer questions like, ‘What are you selling?’ ‘What will it do for the target audience?’ Perhaps most importantly, ‘What makes it different (and better) than the competition?’ Don’t be afraid to get very specific. Spend a lot of time drafting, writing, and rewriting: it will pay off.

Cultivate and Perfect Your Online Presence

If identifying your target audience is a major building block, cultivating your online presence so that it’s both effective and consistent is another. As far as social media goes, make sure you have professional photos, that you include pertinent information for potential clients, and that your posts are thoughtful and impactful. In this case, cast a wide net (over different platforms), but pay attention to quality over quantity. Be an active participant content-wise. Share and interact with others regularly. Obviously, your website should look professional and communicate everything you’d like it to. Ease of use and functionality are essential; the last thing you need is a slow-loading website or an unresponsive one. Craft your online presence with care, and you’ll see results.

Determine Your Brand Voice and Personality

It’s like creating a character. Consider every aspect of your brand. How does it look? How does it feel? How does it sound? What sorts of things does it say? What’s its defining tone or characteristic? Get a good sense of who your brand is. Is your brand voice conversational? Empathetic? Technical? Friendly? Authoritative? Take this voice and overarching personality and be consistent with it. Use it when designing your website or coming up with AI language and site content. Keep it in mind when designing your storefront or office space. Figure out what its lingo is and integrate it into your customer service style. Again, it’s not just about design consistency anymore- it’s an entire way of life for your business.

And you’re never really ‘done’ perpetuating your brand, either. Your brand should be reflected in everything you do as an entrepreneur, from public speaking and webinars, to customer experience and the day-to-day workings of your company. Keeping your brand at the forefront of your mind is like strengthening a muscle: it’s an eternally living, evolving thing that needs constant attention and care.