Why Strategy is a Hugely Vital Step in The Branding Process

Branding design has been my focus for over a year now. I recently underwent a bit of a revamp in regards to my services, though. I had one of those moments where I know what is right and can coach others, but hadn’t revisited the ideas for my business and myself. Here’s what kept happening: I’d work with a client who would need more than what we had originally talked about or was included in my package. It would be random tasks, not directly design related, and I was always unsure of how to tackle the awkward “well I don’t really…that wasn’t included…money…” conversation. I thought I had landed on the answer in developing a coaching package, because to me it made sense that most of the questions fell into the realm of starting a business, what to do, where to post, how to make opt-ins, etc. But that didn’t feel quite right either; I couldn’t find a way to organize the package enough to have a detailed end result but also leave it open enough to feel flexible and customizable.

I’m being transparent with this process because I think it’s good to point out that owning a business isn’t all hashtags and retweets and big launches, but instead there are moments of confusion, trial and error, and so on.

Moving forward, I kept thinking on it. Usually at 2am when I couldn’t sleep. How could I make sure that my time and energy were being compensated, my packages were clear cut and made sense, and my clients were getting everything they actually needed to be successful?

It dawned on me the way best ideas do: in the shower.

I was thinking through my design process. Thinking of ways to make it more efficient, more explainable, and more approachable. I was thinking through ways to differentiate myself from competition, but actually provide something useful and needed.

When it hit me, it hit me in a total “omg, duh” kind of way, because if I look back at the evolution of TheCrownFox, THIS is what I initially started out wanting to offer. I started out using a tagline that said something about “strategy and design” but then somehow along the way abandoned the strategy portion and lumped myself in with all the other designers out there. Oops.

I’ve mentioned this story in another blog post, but that’s not the point of today’s blog post. What I wanted to talk to you about is why having a branding strategy is important and why I now include three strategy sessions in my signature process. Edit: as of 2017 I no longer offer branding + strategy design. But this post would still be helpful to learn why strategy plays an extremely important role in design.

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DESIGN DOESN’T DO EVERYTHING

Let’s be real for a second – design isn’t the end all, be all in business. I obviously think design is very important and valuable and necessary for how you position your business, but it’s not going to solely grow your business.

Good design is important, but it won't grow your business by itself. [Tweet That!]

I hear you, as a designer what the heck am I talking about? Hey. I have a business online and I can tell you that there is more time put into social media, content, and client work than into actual design. There are tasks I do every day to grow my business that don’t require me opening Photoshop or Illustrator or anything like that. I know that design is important, but it’s not the focus.

You do need good design when it comes to having a memorable and impactful logo, having cohesive social media graphics, having a kick-butt website, and so on – but just having those things isn’t going to do enough. It’s not going to make people come to your website, subscribe to your list, buy your products, etc. It might help those causes, but you need more than design. You need strategy.

You need a strategy to get your blog content shared and accessible, a strategy to know what and when to post on social media, a strategy for your newsletter, for your list, and for growth. Having great design with no strategy is like me baking a cake: it might look really good on the outside, but when you cut into it there’s a weird sound and it deflates and looks both gooey and burnt at the same time (how!?). Maybe that’s a bad metaphor, but I think you see my point.

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BRANDING IS ONE HUGE UMBRELLA

Here’s where I get kind of mind-flippy – BRANDING is important. But branding does not equal design.

Branding is a big deal. First you figure out your groundwork – your foundation or base for your business, then you work on the visuals… but what next? That’s when we focus on strategy. In Set Up For Success there are three strategy calls throughout the entire process – they help inform the visual development and help clients get a vision for moving forward and answer the terrifying “what next?” question.

Strategy is kind of an intimidating word, right? Like it sounds like it might be manipulative, or skeezy – but it’s not. It’s just creating and having a plan for business growth. I want clients to end our time together knowing where their leads are coming from, what interactions they are going to have with these leads (through newsletters, funnels, etc.), and how they are going to get their business noticed and growing. If you don’t know the answers to this for your own business then you need to revisit your overall strategy.

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IT’S NOT: BUILD IT + THEY’LL COME

Something that basically sucked to learn in online business is that it’s not “build it and they’ll come” in regards to customers or leads. It’s more like “work, work, work, work, work” and then maybe pause for a snack and work some more. Creating content, interacting on social media, writing newsletters, hosting webinars, doing Facebook live… there is a ton to do.

Navigating that and having a plan of action to accomplish all of those tasks (and more) falls under strategy and falls under what I want to help clients do. My main goal is have people be successful after we work together and at this point, just designing isn’t enough.

So, all of that to say that strategy is essential for your business growth and figuring it all out on your own is tough. It took me nearly a year of perfecting my process and packaging to figure it all out and I don’t want it to take you that long. Even if you already have a killer website and beautiful logo, you can still work on your strategy moving forward and make sure your business is ready to blow the end of this year out of the water.

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5 Super Easy Strategies To Skyrocket Your Followers on Instagram

Hey y'all! This week the lovely Amber Dee is sharing 5 SUPER EASY strategies to really grow your Instagram in no time at all. This post has some seriously great information! Be sure to follow Amber Dee on social media using the links at the bottom of the post!

There are a lot of people that complain about no growth on Instagram but they never understand exactly why. Some people think that they have to follow a ton of people to get followers while others think that you must be on Instagram for years to grow your following. Well, my friend, neither of these are actually true. What’s key is content when it comes to building your following. As soon as I implemented my content strategy, I immediately seen growth in my account and tripled my following. Here’s how you can do it too.

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BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

This is one of the major things that people tend to overlook when starting a business. Though there may be an ideal target audience in mind, such as women, you have to be more specific. Think about what type of women you want to target. Are you looking to sell to stay-at-home wives, full-time mothers, first time college students, or women making below $30,000 working a 9-5? Be clear about your ideal audience so that it’s easier to target them.

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KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE

Once you understand who you are targeting, then it’s easier for you to understand what they like. For example, you can pretty much guarantee that a 17-year old high school student will not like the same thing as a 45-year old full-time working mother. Once again, this is why it’s important to know and understand your audience. Say for example, you have a product you are trying to sell to stay-at-home moms. You can imagine that a stay-at-home mother is working a full-time shift with cleaning the house, caring for the children, cooking, etc and would love a break. You can attract your ideal audience by posting things that spark their interest like “everyone needs a break” or “moms need quiet time too.” Knowing your audience and their pain points will make it easier to attract them as followers and future customers.

Knowing your audience will make it easier to attract them as future customers. [Tweet That!]

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POST A VARIETY OF THINGS

Instagram is a platform for you to show your creativity. Though quotes are a great way to relate to your followers, every post should not be a quote. Posting the same thing everyday gets boring and eventually you will start losing follower rather than gaining them. Give your followers something to look forward to by using the element of surprise.

Get your content calendar here that takes out the guesswork out of what to post. Here are some examples of what to post.

• BEHIND THE SCENES: Take your followers behind the scene of your work place. Show your audience how you do what you do. You can showcase your office, your workspace, your laptop, your camera or set up of your video recording. Let them feel as if they are apart of your process. Even showing that your life isn’t perfect is a great way to build a connect by relating to you.

• QUOTES: Hands down the easiest, most useful posts that you can use to gain followers. Quotes are the most used method to create content for followers. Find things that relate to your audience to get the most impact. Are your followers trying to lose weight? Post motivational quotes about stick with it. Are your followers trying to start a business? Post inspirational quotes about how someone made it through though odds were against them.

• FAQS: Posting frequently asked questions is a good way to overcome any uncertainty your followers may have about your product or service. Review some questions that you have received previously about what you are selling or ask yourself some questions about your product or service. If you’re still not sure, get a friend or a family member to give you some questions that they may ask. Use those questions as a post and answer them in the comments. It’s a great way to show your audience transparency and build trust.

• TIPS: Regardless if you have coaching business, a fitness business, a make-up business, or a graphic design business, you can always give your audience tips on certain things that they wouldn’t know. If you’re a makeup artist, you can recommend certain products or how to best apply your favorite lipstick or mascara. This not only is helpful for your audience but sets yourself as the expert in this field which only increases your authority.

• FILL IN THE BLANK: Questions such as fill-in-the-blank are great ways to increase your engagement with your followers and simply gain more followers by intriguing them with you question. Make sure to relate it to your business. For example, if you’re focused on weight lost then posting something such as “When I lost 10 lbs. I will_____”, to get your audience to engage and make it entertaining. If you’re not sure how to incorporate this in your feed, grab the FREE content calendar that tells you want to post each day of the week and make your life a lot easier.

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BE CONSISTENT

This single-handedly is a major reason people will stop following you. Once you start a pattern, your audience begins to expect you to post around the same time each day. When you don’t adhere to that schedule, people tend to forget about you and you quickly become removed. Anyone in business as a solopreneur understands the multitude of things that has to be done to keep the business running so make it easy on yourself and plan your content in advance with the FREE content calendar. Once you know what you want to post use a scheduling program to keep you on track. I recommend Buffer, Hootsuite, or Later for posting.

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HAVE FUN

Lastly understand that your post should be fun. When you have fun with your posts, your followers will as well. Enjoy your time on social media and be social. The more social you are, the more people will view you as a human instead of some random person behind the screen. Remember, humans like to connect so leave comments on some of your ideal follower’s accounts and engagement in conversation when your followers leave a comment on your post.

By implementing these simple steps, your account with be shining in no time, my friend. Happy planning!

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Amber Dee is a business coach and consultant for hustling creatives, bloggers, and online entrepreneurs. She is the author of the book Girl, Get It Together and runs her own blog over at The Amber Dee where she shares the secrets to turning your passion into your profit. She also shares tips on growing your audience and how to effectively turn your audience into loyal customers.

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