Tag Archives: Improve your brand

Get a better brand identity

Aethera Apothecary brand board with color palette, logos, typography, and product mockups

What Is Your Brand Identity? It’s More Than Your Logo

We all want our businesses to stand out from the crowd. But when you hear the words “brand identity”, what do you think of?

  • Your logo?
  • Your colours?
  • Your fonts?
  • Your tagline?

All those things are part of your brand identity…but your brand is so much more than the things people can see. Your brand identity is the deliberate impression you create about your business. It helps people understand who you are, what you stand for, who you’re for and what they can expect from you. And when it’s done well, it makes your business recognisable without you having to shout about it.

This is particularly important for small businesses. You might not have the advertising budget of a huge brand, but you can still create a business that people recognise, remember and want to buy from.

Start with who you are

Before you choose colours, fonts or even design a logo, there are some more important questions to answer.

  • What does your business stand for?
  • Why does it exist?
  • Who do you want to attract?
  • What do you want people to remember about you?

And perhaps most importantly…What makes your business feel like YOUR business?

This is where your brand identity really begins. You don’t need a grand corporate mission statement. In fact, for a small business, something simple and meaningful is often much more useful.

Think about what you want your business to do for your customers. Perhaps you create colourful jewellery because you want people to feel confident and individual. Maybe you make sustainable homeware because you want people to have beautiful things without compromising their values. Or perhaps you create artwork because you want to bring a little joy and personality into people’s homes. That purpose becomes part of your brand.

What do you want to be known for?

How would you answer this question?

“If someone recommended your business to a friend, what would you want them to say?”

Maybe:

  • Her jewellery is so unusual — I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
  • Everything she makes is beautifully finished.
  • I love how colourful and joyful her products are.
  • She really understands what her customers want.

Those descriptions give you clues about your brand identity. They tell you the qualities you want people to associate with your business. And this connects directly with my previous post about ‘What people say about you when you’re not in the room.’

Your reputation is ultimately created by other people, but your brand identity is something you can deliberately shape.

You can’t completely control what people think about your business, but you can control what you put out there!

Who is your brand for?

Your brand identity also needs to make sense to the people you want to attract. This doesn’t mean you have to change who you are to please your ideal customer. Quite the opposite. The strongest brands usually have a clear sense of who they are, which naturally attracts some people more than others.

Think about your ideal customer.

  • What do they value?
  • What sort of things do they love?
  • What would make them look at your business and think: ‘Oh, I love this. This is SO me.’

Your brand should help create that reaction.

For example, a handmade jewellery business aimed at someone who loves minimalist, timeless pieces will probably look and sound very different from one aimed at someone who loves bold, colourful and quirky jewellery. Neither is right or wrong. They’re simply different brands.

Your values matter too

Your values are the principles that guide how you run your business.

They might include:

  • Creativity
  • Sustainability
  • Quality
  • Individuality
  • Honesty
  • Simplicity
  • Inclusivity
  • Personal service
  • Supporting other small businesses

Don’t just choose words because they sound good. Think about what they mean in your business.

If you say quality is important, what does that look like?

If you say personal service matters, what does your customer experience look like?

If you say sustainability is one of your values, how does that influence your materials, packaging or processes?

Your values become meaningful when people can see them in action.

Your brand identity is the whole picture

So, before you start playing around in Canva choosing colours and fonts, take a step back.

Think about:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you stand for?
  • Who are you trying to attract?
  • What makes you different?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • How do you want people to feel when they come across your business?

These answers form the foundations of your brand identity. Once you have those foundations, the fun part begins because now you can start translating all of this into something people can see, hear and experience. That’s where your name, logo, colours, fonts, imagery, tagline, tone of voice and brand personality come in.

And as it would be too much to add this into this week’s post, that’s what I’ll be looking at next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, here’s a little brand identity exercise for you…

Brand identity exercise

Grab a piece of paper and complete this sentence:

I want my business to be known for __________.

Then choose three words you’d like people to associate with your brand. As you all know my three words are ‘Marketing made simple’.  

Don’t overthink it. Those three words could become the starting point for building a much stronger and more consistent brand identity. Your brand isn’t simply what you put on your packaging, it’s the story you’re telling about your business every time someone encounters it.

If you need help with your brand identity or branding in general, contact me and we can arrange a coaching session.

Feature image generated by AI.

Your Brand is what people say when you’re not in the room!

Young woman painting an abstract landscape on canvas in an art studio

Many years ago, before all the current technology, a small business lived or died by word of mouth.

If Mrs Smith told her neighbour that your handmade candles were amazing, you gained a customer.

If she said they’d arrived broken…well, you probably heard about it quickly and had the chance to put things right.

What about today? Word of mouth hasn’t disappeared.

It’s just moved online.

Every review, Facebook recommendation, Instagram comment, Google search result, and customer photo is telling part of your story.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, your brand is quietly introducing you to people every single day.

And here’s the important bit…

Your brand isn’t your logo..I’m sure that most of you know this…

  • It isn’t your colours.
  • It isn’t your font.

Your brand is the feeling people get when they come across your business.

That’s why managing your online reputation matters so much.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes

Imagine you’ve heard about a lovely handmade business.

What’s the first thing you do?

Most of us will:

  • Google the business.
  • Look at their website.
  • Check their Facebook or Instagram.
  • Read a few reviews.
  • Decide within minutes whether they feel trustworthy.

Your customers do exactly the same.

So, it’s a really good idea to become your own customer every couple of months! What do I mean by this? Have you every searched your business name online – or searched your actual name online? Give it a go – you’ll be surprised how much information there is out there about you and your business. I do this about once every two months – it also helps me see if any particular blog post has been searched.  

Search for your business name online

What appears?

Is the information accurate?

Are your contact details correct?

Does your website still work?

Are your latest social media posts recent enough to show you’re still in business?

Would you buy from you?

Keep an eye on your reputation!

You don’t have to obsess over every mention of your business, but it is worth knowing what’s being said.

Setting up Google Alerts for your business name is still a useful way to spot mentions online, especially if you’ve been featured in blogs or local news.

More importantly, keep an eye on your reviews and comments across the platforms where you spend most of your time.

People don’t expect perfection.

They do expect a response.

Don’t panic about negative reviews

No one enjoys receiving criticism.

But here’s something that might surprise you…

A business with hundreds of perfect five-star reviews can actually look less believable than one with the occasional four-star review and a thoughtful, helpful reply.

When someone leaves genuine feedback:

  • reply politely
  • acknowledge their experience
  • offer to put things right where appropriate
  • never argue publicly

Future customers are often reading your response just as much as the original review.

Every post builds your Brand

Every post, photo, email, and comment is another tiny piece of your reputation.

Ask yourself:

If someone saw only this one post, what impression would they get of my business?

  • Would they think you’re helpful?
  • Friendly?
  • Creative?
  • Professional?
  • Reliable?

Your brand isn’t built in one big launch.

It’s built in hundreds of small moments.

I’ve got a little challenge for you …

This week, spend ten minutes becoming your own customer.

  • Search for your business.
  • Visit your website.
  • Read your latest posts.
  • Look at your reviews.

Then ask yourself one simple question…

Does this feel like the business I want people to remember?

Because your reputation isn’t just what people think about you.

It’s one of the strongest parts of your brand.

I hope you found this helpful – it definitely makes you think – I’ve changed quite a few things over the past year because I’ve not liked certain aspects of my website or social media after pretending to be my own customer.

Give it a whirl and let me know how you get on!  

Feature image generated by WordPress AI.

Brand Storytelling – how to tell yours!

Storytelling is nothing new, and something most of us do every single day without realising it. When you talk to your partner about your day, you’re telling a story – you read stories to your kids or tell them about what life was like when you were young (or as mine used to say ‘in the olden days’) …cheeky little beggars! So, it makes sense to tell stories about your business, so people get to know you and your brand. Stories help you capture your audience’s attention, build loyalty, and get sales. 

What’s different about Brand Storytelling – is it the same as your Brand?

The simple answer is ‘no,’

Your brand is an essential part of your business strategy.  Branding is the broader marketing and communications plan, such as content, your mission and vision and all the things that make your business ‘you.’ Branding includes the image you want to portray as well as your reputation.

Read ‘Get a better brand identity,’ one of my other blog posts, for more in-depth information. 

Brand Storytelling is a part of your brand strategy. It shows your human side and builds that engagement between you and your customers. It’s about sharing stories that your audience can identify with, weaving in the core messages of your business. It’s emotion-evoking, creates empathy, holds their attention so your audience feels the experience, and so helps build trust and loyalty, compelling them to take action.   

Seth Godin, an American author, and marketing strategist, (with a great sense of the humour by the way!), once said,

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”

Seth Godin

You may not recognise his name, but I’m sure you will have seen this quote before. In today’s climate, where competition is stiff, you have unlimited choice on everything you buy, and you’re constantly being bombarded with ads, not just on TV, but on social media, you need to find a way to make your business stand out from the rest. 

Storytelling is the answer.

The power of storytelling – what people want!

If I could use just one word to describe the power of storytelling, that word would be EMPATHY. People want to feel like they belong, they’re tired of being ‘talked at’ and being inundated with ads to sell to them. I know that I get fed up with it – it’s constant if you work online like I do.

What people want, what I want and I’m sure you do, is to feel a connection with a particular business – have that feeling that ‘they’re just like me.’ Telling stories is what makes your brand more human, you can communicate exactly who you are, what your values are, what you do and how you can help people. The more you do this, the more you will stand out.

When you have a small business, your main focus will be selling your products or services, and I see a lot of businesses churning out post after post just selling their products/services – using the quantity over quality mindset. And whilst, of course, if you bombard people with loads of content with what you sell, something may catch their eye, it doesn’t really connect with them on a personal level.   

Think about the big well-known brands. L’Oréal is a great example. Their tagline that we all know is ‘because you’re worth it.’ Originally this was ‘we’re worth it,’ talking specifically to women. It’s not just their tagline, it’s their brand mission, telling women that taking their beauty into their own hands is empowering and believing that it’s something no one else can control. When you hear that tagline, what do you think? Most of us would probably agree, that of course we’re worth it, we never doubted that!  Its aim is to resonate with women everywhere, no matter what age, colour, race, religion, sexual orientation – it’s just about inspiring us to have confidence in ourselves. 

A quote from their website reads,

“The inspirational and culturally diverse women who front the brand worldwide make the phrase relevant not just for their generation and their mother’s generation, but for generations to come.
Since its inception, “Because You’re Worth It” has been translated into 40 languages and has become the militant tagline uniting women around the world, encouraging them to fearlessly embrace their ambitions and believe in their self-worth every day.”

The point I’m making is that they are telling a story. So, how can you incorporate this kind of storytelling into your brand?

How to tell your brand story

  • Who are you? What is your story – who you are, what you do, what you care about and why it matters. Know what your brand mission and vision are for your business. As a small business, you are not a huge faceless organisation, you can show who you are etc with posts showing your workspace, talk about your hobbies, what you like to do outside of work, your family – show your personality – this is what helps give you your brand story.
  • What do you want people to associate with you? What do you want your customers to think of you? If you were going to buy your products/services, what would you look for?
  • Your natural style – this is about how you portray yourself. Are you enthusiastic about what you do? Do you show your passion for your product or services? Research other businesses who offer the same or similar products or services as you – how do they put their personal style across to their potential customers? I’m not saying you should copy someone else’s style, but it will give you ideas.
  • Be an expert at what you do. Show potential customers that you’re good at what you do. When you do a good job for your current customers, ask them for feedback and recommendations. This helps you have social proof – I always look at reviews when I buy something for example. You could use those reviews to build case studies – the story behind why they bought that product, or if they commissioned a particular product or service, (with their permission of course!)
  • Who do you do it for? This is an important one. Think about the people you want to help or whose custom you’re trying to win. You need to know who your target market or ideal customer is. Show them how you can help them, solve a problem, and let them know why you care. How does what you do improve their day-to-day life? What’s in it for them?
  • 80/20 rule – this is something I often bang on about, but it is relevant to your brand storytelling. Don’t make all your posts about selling. 80% should be content that educates your audience, entertains them, inspires them, and engages them with what you do. Only 20% should be about selling.
  • Don’t forget your call to action – at the end of every story should be a call to action. Tell your audience what you want them to do next. It might be ‘Check out my website/shop,’ it might be ‘sign up to my newsletter’ or something as simple as ‘follow me for more inspiration.’    

Conclusion

Brand storytelling is about getting into the minds of your audience. Humans are naturally programmed to create and listen to stories. They can affect us both physically and mentally, make us feel an empathy to a certain person or a certain business. Something resonates in our brains.

When you watch a film or read a book, how many times do you feel embroiled in the story, so that you see and feel what the characters do? Your brand story will have this effect on your audience when they really engage with your content- and if they feel engaged they will remember you.

Storytelling should be at the centre of all marketing in one way or another. And they will help you stand out from the crowd. Great stories will help your audience understand who you are, what you do and why you do it. 

Share this blog post or tag someone if you think this content will benefit them. And don’t forget, I’m only an email or message away if you’d like to find out more or have some 1:1 coaching on your brand story.

How to reach your target audience

Once you have identified who your target audience is, the next thing to do is to find them! How do you do that?

Hopefully this article will answer those questions and fulfil the main goal of marketing…get the right message to the right audience, at the right time!

Here are a few ways that will help you decide how you can best connect with your target audience.

  • Any marketing you do needs to speak directly to that audience you have defined. This does sound pretty obvious, but so many people think that their products are universally appealing so are targeting everybody. It’s nice to think that is possible, but it is seldom true and that mind-set can get in the way of talking to the right people.
  • The next thing to do is to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. It is most likely that they won’t know much about your brand, products or services as well as you do, so by seeing what you offer through different eyes, you can look for potential weaknesses or misunderstanding. Then the right messaging can be crafted.
  • Now you need to identify the best channels that will speak to your target audience. Now, there is not just one answer here, it will all depend on who your target audience are. So, when you did the research into your target market, what do they turn to for information?

    Do they read local magazines or newspapers? If they do, a local ad might do the trick.
    Do they listen to local radio? Could you get an ad on the radio or get in touch with the radio station and ask to be interviewed?
    Do they use social media and if so, what sites do they use? It’s no good putting everything on Twitter and Instagram, if they mainly use Facebook, for example.     

Building a communication/PR strategy  

Once you know who your audience are and where they like to get their information, now you need to get that information out to them. This does mean having some kind of strategy…I don’t mean another long and arduous document that you’ll do and never look at again, but a more pointed plan. So, let’s look at the strategies you could use…

Social Media

This pretty much goes without saying – most target audiences these days are on social media in one form or another. Social Media is a great way to engage people in conversations with your business. You can encourage people to follow your page by creating ‘follow’ buttons on your website that link to your social media pages. If you send out a regular email to your customers, add a follow button on that to get them engaged with your social media pages. You can also use ads on social media to attract followers.

Post content that you know will interest them and they’ll find value in. Ask questions in your posts and remember the 80/20 rule. 80% engagement and building a following and only 20% actually selling a particular product. If you only ever post details of your products and cost, people will lose interest. They like to get to know the person behind the brand, so engage with video content, podcasts, inspirational quotes, funny quotes, ask questions that may be related loosely to your product or service, do a ‘this or that’ – do you prefer coffee or tea for example.

Get into publications they read

If you know that your target audience like reading hard copy material, like magazines, trade publications or newspapers, you could put a small ad in it. You could also contact the publication direct and ask if your business could be featured. If it’s a newspaper, pitch a story idea to a journalist who writes for the newspaper, or ask if you can be interviewed. Alternatively, you could write an article and then submit it with a pitch to the relevant publication. This isn’t easy, but there are a few free courses and articles online about how to pitch to this type of media.

If you know that your audience read certain blogs, contact the blog owner and ask if you could write a guest blog article. Make sure that your SEO is on point with this, and also check the SEO on your website. It needs to be good to appear high in search engines, so take a look at your website and make sure it hits the mark, so it will be seen by your target audience.

Networking events

Join local networking events, as this is a great way to meet your target audience and talk about your business. Even better, if you can get a speaking spot to talk about a particular area of your expertise. You’ll not only be speaking about something that is relevant to your business and your target audience, you’ll also get the chance to mingle with your target audience afterwards. If you get a spot as a speaker, the event will be advertised with your name and subject, so you know that people interested in what you have to say will be in the audience.

Creative Content

OK, so now you know where and how to connect with your audience and how, let’s look at the content you share in more detail. This can be written content, video or podcast. It’s good to try out all the different forms of communication.

Appeal to emotions

People in general, are more easily moved to take action by their emotions than by anything else. Sometimes even good old logic goes out the window when emotions are involved.

For example, some of the big cat food manufacturers advertise on TV. Although the ads do focus on ingredients and how good it is, the product is mainly sold by the cute kitten talking to itself, or running around playing…or just sat there looking cute. There’s one brand of cat food that is described as ‘gourmet’ food. The cat in that ad is a pampered, long haired pedigree that looks a cut above the rest. This kind of advertising, using the right kind of images or video is what helps sell that product.

Solve a problem

If you have done your research on your ideal customer, you will know what problems they have…and how you can solve them. You just need to let them know that you can fulfil their needs and solve their problems. And, whilst it’s important to give the features of your product or service, all your customers really want to know is ‘what is in it for me?’ So, solve a problem they have and you are more than halfway there.

The time factor

Time, or the lack of it, is also a great marketing ploy. If you can communicate that your product or service saves people time, whilst also giving them what they want, for a price they can afford, you’ll be onto a winner. It’s a very busy world and people are constantly looking for ways to save time, so they are happy to listen to anyone who can help them save some of that precious time…and solve a problem for them at the same time!

DON’T push the sales angle

As I said earlier, use the 80/20 rule. I absolutely hate it when I sign up for something online – it might be a freebie, it might be something I pay for and in order to get it, I give my email address. I’ve not got a problem with that, but if I then get bombarded with emails in my inbox, I not only find it irritating, it’s usually about selling the same thing, something better, something bigger. OK, I get it, I’m happy to be asked once or twice, but some people send several emails a day over several weeks. In my mind, that’s just unprofessional and pushy. So I’ll unsubscribe…and might actually miss out on something I would have liked a few weeks down the line. I just can’t stand the hard sell. So it’s definitely about the getting the right balance on pitching products/services and engagement and building a loyal audience.

Ask questions

In order to connect fully with your target audience, you need to really know them. Ask existing customers and potential customers for feedback, so you can gain more information about their needs and wants. This could be via a poll on social media, or a survey to their inbox. There is no better way to get information about your audience than to ask that audience itself. You will gain great insight into what makes them tick and find out what they need, or what problems they might have. Then you can work to provide that need or solve that problem.  

Share and improve your Brand

Talk about your brand values in your content. This will engage people with the same values as you and will help you identify with your audience and to connect with them on a deeper level.  

Stand back and take a good, long look at your brand image. Read your website and social media pages through the eyes of your target audience. Does it speak to them in the way you thought it did? What could you do differently to improve it? Is your brand warm and inviting, or cool and aloof? Does it connect with your target audience? The way people perceive your brand goes a long way to deciding whether or not they will become a paying customer.   

Publish a case study

Whether you provide a product or a service, you will have a case study to share…a happy customer, someone whose life you made easier, or whose problem your product or service solved for them. What better way to advertise your business, than to interview a happy customer and ask them how your business helped them and why it is so good. This makes your business more real to your audience. It also gives your target audience the reasons why buying from you is such a great idea.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s crucial to have a connection or a two-way conversation between your business and your target audience. It’s also really important to realise that, just because you have identified your target audience and identified how to get to them, that your job is done. Far from it I’m afraid. Every post you make, every campaign you run will show you how to do a better job next time around. And if you continue to ask for feedback and are willing to take criticism and ideas on board, tweaking what you do, you will get more and more effective results.

If you need help in identifying your target audience, there is a workbook on my online shop which takes you through the process step-by-step. Alternatively, you can contact me for a chat as I also offer coaching in this area.