Good question! One I had for a while when I was newly self employed too, some 10 years ago now!
Like many of us do, I hired a graphic designer straight away (don't think I'd actually even made a sale yet at that point) and asked him to design a logo for me, based on nothing more than colours and a style I liked. Boom. That was my branding sorted, or so I thought.
Turns out there's a wee bit more to it and it's actually quite a fun task to dive into!
So, what is branding? Your brand is your business identity, it's personality. It's the message it delivers across all of it's channels. Are you a formal, straight talking business or a fun, informal one? Whichever path you're on, it's important that the colours you use to promote your business, the fonts and the tone of voice all align with your brand.
I'm currently working through my own branding for Shot by Amanda and am loving the process! It was fun to involve you guys too by asking your favourite colour combo on an Instagram poll.
Drum rollllll pleeeease...
This combo came out top and here it is, first look at my new logo, exclusively for my blog readers!
I'm hoping this evokes feelings of positivity, fun and friendliness with an foundation of trust and reliability. (If it doesn't then please don't tell me because I've spent ages on it and couldn't bear to go back to the drawing board lol!)
Where do I start?
Right, deep down at the foundations of your business, some questions need to be answered and answered honestly for it to properly work.
Questions like:
Who/What/Why?
How would you describe your business, jot it all down. Who are you, what is your business and what problems does it solve for your clients? What's your why? That's a biggie and is generally a personal story as to how you got to this point, one that your ideal customer can relate to. That brings us onto the next question...
Who is your ideal customer?
You really need to know this and once you do, aim ALL of your marketing at them.
Brand tone and voice?
How do you want to speak to your clients? Fun and friendly like a coffee shop chat or more formal? Whichever one is best for you, make sure that all of your communications align with this tone from social media posts to email replies.
Visual identity?
Once you've figured out the answers above, it will make it much easier to narrow down colours and fonts for your brands visual identity. What will your ideal customer relate to most? Do they need to see you as fun and friendly or serious and trustworthy? Look into colours and their meanings, it's super interesting stuff especially if you're a branding geek like me!
This isn't an exhaustive list of course, just something to get you started if you hear the word "branding" getting fired around a lot and aren't really sure what it is or where to start.
When I fully launch at the end of 2023 I'll have much more to add to this conversation, I may even have a wee online course for you to work through to help answer these questions and put the answers into practice!
Speak soon,
Amanda xx
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