You Are The Brand

As you build your site, your content and your audience, you are also be building your brand. Your brand is what keeps your audience returning weekly. Your brand is what really sells your products, services and content. Without a brand, your site is just another bland site in a sea of a billion other sites. So… how do you build and shape your brand to be a lighthouse in that sea? Let’s find out!

Know Your Target Audience

Your target audience is the who. Who will benefit from what you offer? Who are you writing for? To discover your who, you can utilize sites like Quora to find out what people are asking about your topic’s niche and subtopics. Use keywords and start reading to find out what people need and what questions they have that you can answer. You can join FaceBook groups specific to your niche to learn more about the people you are catering your services to. Frequent forums and discussion boards or Discord servers to learn more about who could be your potential audience.

Define Your Focus

Defining your focus means knowing that you can’t be everything for everyone. Figure out who what your brand statement is. You can use a template to get you started:

I offer (product/service) to (target audience) to (value proposition). Unlike (the competition), I (what sets you apart and above the alternative).

This brand statement won’t be going on your promotional materials, but it can be the driving force of the content or services you create. When you figure out what sets you apart from the competition, you can use that as one of your selling points. Your brand statement can be written as your mission statement, what you want to bring to those you serve. Spend some time on thesaurus.com and find the adjectives that define your brand. Use those adjectives in the creation of your content and design.

Continuity Is Key

Keep those adjectives in mind and keep it consistent across all of your content. If you chose simple, eloquent and efficient, your site design should match those words. You wouldn’t want bright flash animation on your banners and Comic Sans as your font. Bring that same continuity into your social media accounts that are linked to your site. Use those words as inspiration for the tone and presentation of your content, services and bring that energy into every interaction you have with your audience.

By building a strong brand, you can build trust with your audience. Your brand will grow with you. Make changes and updates as your business grows and changes.