Is your brand looking dated or tired? Is it still representing your business the way it needs to? One of our new clients came to us for a social strategy and execution. That is what they thought they needed. But, upon initial discovery, we altogether realized that would be shooting money into the wind. What they needed was really a brand refresh.
How Do You Know When You Need a Brand Refresh?
Examine your brand! This is what we did as a team with this new client. First, we did a deep dive discovery process that included several steps:
A brand audit laid out all the brand’s existing materials like their website, collateral and social, to see if their branding is still relevant and representative of their current business.
Internal and external stakeholder interviews uncovered brand insights and allowed everyone to see the business through other’s eyes
A competitive analysis was conducted of the industry that the brand operates in, and who their competitors are.
The Conclusion? The Brand Needed a Refresh.
There are specific and necessary steps to take in a brand refresh to be thorough. We like to follow this tried-and-true plan when we undertake a company’s very important branding!
Project timeline – Stick to it and hold each other accountable. This will keep moving things forward with all eyes on the prize.
Brand pillars – Define your vision plus three other very important things. Want to know what those things are? We are happy to share them with you! And our process as well. Just call us!
Solicit feedback beyond the leadership team – The more internal buy-in throughout the entire process the more successful an initiative and brand your company will become. Your greatest ambassadors are your employees, so make them part of your branding process.
Testing of concepts – Your refreshed brand should connect with both internal and external audiences. So testing the concepts is important to find the clear choice.
Roll out plan – A disciplined execution of the branding roll-out plan will make your new brand refresh a success. Whether it’s a new logo, tagline, website, collateral or PR, timing is everything and having a plan is key to making the big splash you want to make.
We look forward to sharing the results of three brand refreshes we are currently working on. Coming to you this fall, y’all.
Are you assessing your brand right how? Recently I was invited to sit in on a brainstorming meeting about marketing and growth. Here I was able to pick up some powerful marketing tools needed for growth. These tools may be applied both for personal and business growth.
Assessing Your Brand: Assets
In growth, we learn powerful information. So look at and determine your growth, and the path you took to get there. Assess the road your brand has taken – whether it’s a personal or business brand. Revisit where you have been and decide where you’re headed. Assess your brand’s strengths and weaknesses by asking yourself these questions.
Present your strengths and weakness so that you stand out, sell your brand.
What is new with you? Determine what you have learned and how it matters.
Why does your business exist?
Who are previous clients and why did they hire you?
Evaluate your goals: where do you see yourself long/short term?
Target Audience Evaluation
Your target audience are the people you want to work with, your customers and potential customers. The internet provides resources to reach your target via platforms such as blogs, newsletters, social media, and alumni groups. Use these resources to be present for your customers, and assess your brand’s voice on these platforms.
Who are you targeting? Who’s the decision maker that could benefit from your expertise?
What are the hot topics? What’s trending in your brand’s space?
Protip: Subscribe to platforms that your target audience subscribes to.
Listen to your customers. Assess what they are talking about, and their relevance to your brand.
Protip: Participate on sites that interest you, this is a great networking tool for finding like-minds.
Become like your target, interact with their “friends” socially to really get to know them.
The Social Media Impact
Social media is more than a picture sharing platform, it is great for networking. Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to learn about and follow clients to implement current trends.
Use social media to introduce your brand to your potential customers, potential employers, and to your peers.
Seek out and become a “friend” to past clients as well as their friends, and network with them, sharing your expertise.
Your LinkedIn page should mirror the career for which you are aiming. Find websites dedicated to that career and subscribe to them. This will allow you to network and stay on top of any current or future possibilities. Brag about yourself on your profile, be proud and loud.
Plan and Grow Your Brand
Planning is the most important step one can do to get to the next level. So, plan, plan and keep planning. Brainstorm with colleagues and staff about ways to grow your personal brand and/or your business’ brand. Gather, analyze and leverage data, creating a message map of the recurring themes that you see. Really think about: what is your end game – a job, a career, an entrepreneurship? Evaluate and understand what you will need to get there by assessing your brand. Update your skills, explore what’s new and current. Investing in yourself is important to your brand’s growth.
As your brand’s marketer, you have control over whether that voice builds your brand or not. A strong brand voice is the structure and tone of the copy and content that is created for a brand to speak from. You can hear this voice on its website, ads, social and in collateral. With consistency, a brand can feel like a person. And over time that person can become familiar and even recognizable. That’s when you know you’re doing it right.
Why does brand voice matter?
First, a part of your initial branding exercise, your brand might have completed something similar to what we call The Brand Elaborative. This branding document outlines the personality of the brand. This helps writers write in that voice when creating copy for digital and traditional marketing and advertising. One of the most important parts of The Brand Elaborative are the three personality words that describe the brand as if it were a person. For instance: honest, kind, quirky. So why does having a distinctive brand voice matter to your brand?
Brand voice drives consistency.
Our B2B client Agile Sourcing Partners specializes in helping gas and electric utilities and utility infrastructure companies improve operational efficiencies and performance. So, they speak in an authoritative voice with above average complexity of language. Given that their audience are decision-makers in engineering and other technical industries, it makes sense for them to speak the language of their peers. Thus, using this consistent voice in content sets them apart as insiders: educated and in-the-know.
Brand voice helps you discern what copy hits the mark – and what misses.
Our restaurant client Chocolate Angel Café & Bakery is a local favorite for cross-generational high teas, exquisite baked good and charming family recipes. They believe in serving one another and understand that relationships matter. Thus, their brand voice is connective, celebratory and conjures up memories of childhood. They express gratitude often, and make every day feel like a special occasion. So it’s no wonder they’re a favorite for bridal showers and family celebrations. If it sounds like your great aunt reminiscing about a casserole, then we’ve hit the mark.
Brand voice creates fans.
Our education client Faith Family Academy, a charter school in DFW believes in pushing public education beyond just the classroom. They speak in servant leader’s voice. FFA makes students the center of attention, celebrating wins and putting every effort possible into their individual and collective success. The social media channels for Faith Family Academy are a testament to this brand voice in creating fans. In both English and Spanish their fans celebrate right along with the students, staff and parents. The FFA community adds congratulatory comments and a plethora of emojis on a daily basis. So who wouldn’t want to be part of this kind of enthusiasm, joy and experience of being lifted up by your community?
Brand voice can make your brand the authority on subject matter.
Our real estate client The Slay Diaz Group is a woman-owned residential real estate team who regularly wins “best-in-class” awards for their work. As a result, their voice is very real, straightforward, easy-to-understand and ready to give helpful advice on everything home-related, even sharing their coveted list of service providers. This is who you ask when you don’t know if remodeling your bathroom is a good idea or not. And, this is who can tell you if now is a good time to sell your house, put in a pool or move to a new neighborhood. Their consistent brand voice has grown their business, their reach and their authority on the subject of residential real estate.
Some of the brand voices from Front Porch Marketing.
Brand voice lets people know what you stand for.
Our own brand voice here at Front Porch Marketing tells you that we will go the extra mile to help. That we share what we know without reservation. And that we will be your biggest cheerleader. We stand for lifting you up, making you laugh and creating opportunities for others to do the work they love while taking care of the people they love. If your brand has a mission, shouldn’t all of your content reflect that mission? We think that your brand voice can show your potential customers that you are like them – kind, helpful, positive – and they will want to hang around with people like that.
Need to define or redefine your brand voice for better consistency and stronger connections with your audience? Then get started with a branding exercise which results in the guidance documents you need to hone your tone and define your voice. Consumers actually prefer brands with strong, defined and unique personalities. And having a unique personality definitely helps in creating spot-on social content, email storytelling and website visuals for your brand – which results in stronger brand loyalty and repeat customers.
You can visit some of our Front Porch client brands to see different types of brand voice in action.
“Branding gives you an exceptionally effective way to broadcast who you are to your target market quickly and efficiently.”– Rick Haskins, MultiChannel News.
Therefore, start by determining who you are and who you aspire to be as a company. What is your vision? “A brand’s strength is built upon its determination to promote its own distinctive values and mission,” Jean-Noel Kapferer wrote in (Re)Inventing the Brand (2001).
Who you are should be based in part by what target customers want. What / who do your customers or clients need you to be? Therein lies the power of the branding exercise. With the right guidance and strategic partnerships, in working through the branding exercise you can determine what your brand should be, what makes the brand relevant to your target, and how to best describe its personality.
Branding Exercise Defines Key Brand Pillars
Great brands have three key attributes:
Conviction
Belief by everyone within your company that the brand is important and that the brand stands for a specific and important promise to the consumer.
Connection
Your brand must connect (through conviction and consistency) with target consumers to be effective. After all, as Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”
Whether your company is established or new to the market, large or small, retail, direct buy, online or MLM, one of the most important things you can do to achieve growth is to create a strong brand. It is a critical component of any business.
Take the time to define your brand architecture. The exercise is valuable. We’d love to help define your company’s foundation.
