More than anything, your brand should create a feeling. Whether it’s a sense of whimsy or lightness, bold confidence, trust and wisdom, your brand should make you, and your audience, feel something. That feeling is what makes your audience want what you have to offer.
When you’re rebranding or building a new brand, make sure the feeling you’re creating is the feeling you want your audience to have! If the feeling you’re creating doesn’t line up with what you’re offering, your audience likely won’t “get” it, and they’ll move on to something else.
For instance: if you want your brand to be very high-end, then you won’t want to use goofy handwriting fonts or cartoony artwork in your branding–that won’t create the rich, expensive, super-luxe feeling that your ideal clients are looking for. You need to create the feeling that connects with what you’re offering, AND with who you’re offering it to.
This does not mean that you should hide yourself.
If you’re a Giver or a Guide, you basically ARE the brand! People are choosing to work with you because they like the unique way that you do things. Let the client see that you are doing something you’re passionate about–they’ll see that you can put that passion to work for them, and you’ll earn their trust.
For Makers, it’s a little different–when you’re creating a product, the brand can be more about the product than about you. You might be great at making a product for moms, even though you don’t have children of your own, so your personal self isn’t quite as important to that brand.
Still, you can gain from letting parts of you shine through in your brand. Have you ever felt that extra bit of joy when you learn that the musician or actor you’ve had a crush on is also a totally wonderful human being in real life? The same principle works for your business: a client will buy a product they need, but they’ll LOVE buying it if it also supports someone that they like and can relate to!
It may take a lot of time and thought for you to drill down to the feeling you actually want to create. Still, no matter what your message ends up being: be memorable, trustworthy, and genuine. Create a feeling that comes from a genuine place, and the rest will fall together.
