“5 Ways you are unintentionally hurting your brand as a business owner.”
As business owners, it is our job to be clear and concise with who we want our clients to see and understand as a brand. When confusion and uncertainty enter the picture, it can easily create unforeseen miscommunication between you and your followers. Metaphorically, It is like having an unmade puzzle and giving it to someone saying, “This is me!” What are they going to do with it? Absolutely Nothing… Why do you think? They don’t know what there are looking for. Only you know the truth of who you are and what services you provide them. Why not make it fun and easy for clients to get to know you and what you stand for. My goal is to share with you 5 ways you are unintentionally hurting your brand and why you need to reevaluate what you are investing your time and money into. Doing this will truly help you expand into the thriving business you want to become.
Muddled Messaging
Poor Imagery
Website Neglect
Lack of Social Media Presence
Absences of Promotional Materials
#1 Muddled Messaging
Not having the ability to express yourself with clarity is one of the top reasons people are unable to connect and respond to you and the vision you have for your company. This goes back to the building blocks of creating a strong foundation for your brand. You need to discover and express WHO YOU ARE and WHY you do what you do. Everyone has their own story. No one can determine these two answers except you. If you have never taken the time to contemplate these two questions, I encourage you to write them down, keep them safe and build off of what they incite in you. Use this statement as your inspiration and passion for those days you don’t think you can keep moving forward. When completed and worded correctly, these answers begin to support your brand as the backbone does for your body. I also encourage you to become comfortable with communicating your reasons out loud with friends and family. As you gain the practice, it will become easier to explain and translate your desires and dreams to others in your social reach. This entails and is not limited to Social media, website, person to person communication, blogs post, and promotional materials. People want to know who you are. Make it easy. Keep it concise. Be you!
#2 Poor Imagery
As a photographer, many of you might be thinking that I am biased about this particular topic and frankly I would have to agree with you. Even though my job title is a photographer, I also need to keep reminding myself to invest and consider imagery an important role in expanding my reach on the internet. With social media being as important and prominent in today’s culture, your first connection and introduction might be strictly on these platforms. If the photographs on your website and social media pages do not represent you and your personality properly then you can begin detracting and repelling clients without even realizing it. While thinking about showing who you are through a photograph, it is important to remember you are not just a headshot. Many companies require a typical pose in front of the plain backdrop. What about this makes you different. It’s about thinking outside of the box. These images could incorporate your interests, animals, influences, etc. People need to get to know you. The more you show your authentic self to your followers and clients the more they will connect and relate to who you are not only as a business owner but as a person. When it comes to branding photography, it is thought that any person with a fancy camera or the newest phone can create these for them. This is possible, but unfortunately many times you receive what you invest in. Investing very little in this area is like playing a high stakes poker game. Professionals are professionals for a reason. They have the experience, creativity, and the ability to understand you and your vision for your company in a short period of time. They know your time is worth something and understand how to deliver quality work that speaks to who you are. Do not take it for granted.
#3 Website Neglect
Many of us in the business world has a website and unless it has been created for you, it can be hard sometimes to look at it and say “YOU LOOK GOOD”. Website neglect is something you need to be extremely careful about because just like photography it is easy to put on the back burner. It happens like this. First, you might be thinking “I will get to it later today”, this proceeds to “This week is to busy for me” and the majority of the time it results in “I just don’t know what I want it to look like”. This is not out of lack of desire to do it, but lack of knowledge of HOW to do it. Trust me when I say this. DO NOT LOOK OVER THIS! Your website is the front door to your business. You want people to knock at it. If you have a business card, guess what’s on it? Yes, your website. Guess where people go first when they try to search for you? Yes, your website. Guess what you need to make a priority? Yes, your website. Is my point starting to sink in? If this platform is not clean, eye-catching and represents you as brand fully (i.e. photographs, messaging, offers, font, personality, colors, blogs post) people will move onto someone else who does. A website is an investment. If you’re not willing to devote your time to it the hours it takes to build your own website, I recommend finding a professional who can. I caution you. Just because your neighbor down the street knows how to build one for $300 dollars does not mean they have created a website that promotes you and your business to the fullest. So please take time to vet those you desire to work with, with care. Find someone you relate to and genuinely like their portfolio. You should always find a return in what you put your money towards.
#4 Lack of Social Media Presence
Oh, social media… This might seem like one of the most ominous and time-consuming of the five points. Why might you ask? Because no matter if you say you will only be on it for five minutes, You always end up being on it all day. It is also very easy to let social media overwhelm, stress and discourage you to the point of avoiding it completely. I recommend before signing up for every single platform out there to truly consider what company is going to promote you and engage the most clients for your business. You might be thinking, “That is a funny thing to say, I am on all of the social media platforms already. Then you will agree with me that all are not created equal and that each platform has its own restrictions and challenges when it comes to being a business owner. Be educated in your decisions and take time to learn how to use each one to its fullest. Whether that means hiring someone to help you or even watching Youtube videos over and over again until you understand, make it a priority. I also recommend to not promoting a social media platform that you are not actually apart of. This becomes highly confusing and also misleading to your followers. Social media is all about building trust with those online.Consistency is also a major key to social media. You want to make sure that you are regular with your posts and hashtags. As you begin to gain followers and page likes, it is your job to create a structure for your audience to follow and expect. Have a plan on what you’re going to post for the week or even for the month. Learn how to streamline your workflow, because we all know you have better things to be doing than sitting at the computer today. Create healthy and realistic goals for each of your sites and remember to stay true to your brand! Always BE YOU!
#5 Absences of Promotional Materials
Do you feel like business cards, flyers and postcards are a waste of time or even outdated? Oddly enough, they aren’t. With the boom of the internet, you would think people have lost the concept and inherent need for tangible materials, but they have not. Think of these additions to your brand as portable resumes. My husband has always told me, “When you give out your resume make sure to give two just in case they lose one!” By following his suggestion, I have gotten many a job from people stumbled upon my information later down the road. Business cards, postcards, flyers, etc. do the exact same thing as a resume would. You need to be able to spark people’s interest enough to venture to your amazing website. Plus, people tend to remember you more when you personally give them something after a conversation.Like the other 4 points above, please follow the same brand theme throughout everything you create. It should have your work on it, you name on it, your website on it, stay true to your color scheme. The overall point of what I am trying to make is, whoever and whenever they look at it they should know it’s yours. There are many different sites and resources out there to help and make custom building your materials a breeze. Some companies out there, have already created design templates, all you have to do is fill in the information and purchase. I might also add that if you not sure in the direction to go or you don’t feel graphically inclined, make time to find a local graphic designer who could. Remember it’s all about investing in your future.
The Year of YOU!
You made it to the end of this thought-provoking blog post, Well done! Although it might seem overwhelming at first, I encourage you to start making these changes to your brand. whether slow or fast, forward progress is a must. I fully believe that doing these five steps will help improve your company greatly. Why might you ask? Because this is the year of you! What are you going to do to make it count? Don’t forget, we are all in this together! I would love to hear your thoughts about the ideas above. So make sure to comment below. Thanks so much for reading and remember STAY BEAUTIFUL!
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