What really is branding?
If you want to “make money while doing what you love,” isn’t branding the only way?
Branding, a buzzword being used without understanding what it truly means.
To me, it’s a process.
To some, it’s a logo, it’s only for big companies, it’s solely about self-promotion.
They’re not wrong, they just don’t have the full picture or understand it fully and, in this story, I’m telling you why branding is a process.
I’m going to break this down into three separate parts. These are the reasons I consider branding to be a process.
So branding is a process because it consists of:
Defining your brand identity.
Connecting with your audience happens here.
It encompasses both the tangible and intangible elements that set a brand apart and influence its perception among customers.
The tangible elements of brand identity are the visual components of this identity. Consider a person, a brand identity is how they look.
The intangible elements of a brand identity are what make up a brand. It is what is inside a person (values, character)
Most start off caring about the tangible elements before they start putting the other elements in place, that’s why they don’t know what they’re doing!
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Approaching a brand identity from one angle will not work as much as should it when it is complete.
While you can’t create a brand identity on your own, I have outlined how to get started with building your brand here.
Finding your message
You can craft a wonderful brand.
An irresistible one at that, but if you don’t talk to the right people, about the right things.
When you do craft your brand message, it’s important that you carry it everywhere.
Your brand message should be consistently conveyed not only the website but also in comment sections and interactions made by brand representatives (if any).
Every interaction, whether it’s through social media, customer support channels, or public forums, is an opportunity to reinforce your voice, and personality.
Being consistent across all touch points of your brand helps to build trust and credibility with the audience, as they perceive a unified and genuine brand.
This isn’t a constant thing.
As you evolve, it should evolve too.
Continuous Improvement
Brands aren’t static.
Your identity isn’t static.
Just like emotions make us feel like different people, brands too change when necessary.
The key to growth is continuous improvement. Branding is not some static thing, but changes should be made only when necessary because refining your logo every now and then makes your brand look unprofessional.
It’s like you do not know what you are doing.
That’s not something you’d want your audience to think.
This is why branding is a process.
I could go into examples, but I want you to think about it.
Look at the brands you admire and how they’ve been doing things, and you’ll notice something.
With that, I’ll leave you to your thoughts.
See you later!
