5 Branding Strategies To Grow Your Business
As a personal branding photographer in San Diego, California, I’ve been able to compile a useful list of 5 branding strategies to grow your business after having worked very closely with small business owners who struggle with getting noticed and growing their business. Having beautiful images on your website, social media or marketing materials is very important, but unfortunately it’s not enough if you don’t know how to use them.
I often come across very talented people with so much greatness to share with the world but they lack guidance when it comes to branding themselves. That leads to frustration and sometimes even defeat because they feel they don’t have what it takes to be successful.
Table of Contents
What is Branding For Small Local Businesses?
Share Your Story With Your Personal Branding
5 Branding Strategies To Grow Your Business
How To Use Tools That Help Develop Your Personal Brand Identity
Maintaining a Consistent Branding Aesthetic Across All Platforms & Projects
Grow Your Local Business With These Branding Ideas
Social Media, Local Networking, Partnering With Influencers, & Affiliate Marketing
So today I’m sharing with you 5 simple but useful branding strategies that will give you a friendly push in the right direction so you can take back your power and have the business and life you’ve always wanted.
What is Branding For Small Local Businesses?
If your local business is ready to establish and promote a unique identity for your products, services, and overall business image, then you are ready to develop your personal branding for your small local business.
Through personal branding we tell a story to communicate what you and your services are about.
Share Your Story With Your Personal Branding
Using a brand photographer with experience to guide you through the process you will be able to bring to life elements that determine who you are and help define your brand identity.
Your story is a way to communicate with your target customers on a deeper level by sharing more about your why and personally what is important to you. This helps build trust with your potential customers and also establish a deeper connection with them as you both resonate on a similar point of view or stance on something important.
5 Branding Strategies To Grow Your Business
Now grab your notebook and a pen! Each strategy is followed by a question and I encourage you to write down your answers as you read and reflect upon them.
Are you ready?
Be real. Be authentic. Be you.
Good news! You don’t have to pretend to be someone else or be overly formal to be considered professional and have a successful business. Let your personality shine through and you’ll attract people who are more likely to do business with you and support your journey.
How can you show more of your authentic self in your business?
Show up consistently
Think about your mission, your “why”, and show up for your audience even when you’re not in the mood. Even if you feel like no one is listening. But remember to make sure your content aligns with the look, voice and feel of your brand. There are tons of useful tools to help you get organized and social media management platforms to help you create a cohesive feed.
How can you prepare to show up for your audience?
Be transparent to build trust
We like to do business with people we know, like and trust. Show your audience the “behind the scenes”, how you run your business, and be honest about your mistakes and flaws.
Is there anything in your business that your clients would appreciate knowing more about?
Listen to your audience
Pay attention to your customers and create products and services in response to their needs. It doesn’t matter how awesome you think your product is if people feel they can live without it, or that it doesn’t add value to their lives or solve their problems.
What is your audience telling you?
Sell like your business depends on it (because it does!)
I’m assuming you believe in your business, you’re proud of it and you know it serves people. Am I right? If you hold back because you’re afraid to sell, you’re actually doing a disservice to those who need your product. Plus, if you don’t make sales, you don’t have a business...you have a hobby. You don’t have to be pushy or aggressive, but please know your value, add tax and make the sale!
What can you do to overcome the fear of selling?
How To Use Tools That Help Develop Your Personal Brand Identity
You always want to have a great standard headshot for your business branding, even if you have to DIY, before considering a full on professional photo shoot.
There are many key design elements that help establish a brand’s identity and create a cohesive aesthetic throughout your website, marketing content, social media, etc.
Many of these design elements come together to give your business access to uniform content on brand with your business.
Consider creating a simple logo that stands out or represents who you are
Choose a color palette or overall color scheme to go across your branding for uniformity
The fonts, weights, and spacings of your typography can keep your viewer’s attention on you
Be intentional with the messaging in your overall marketing material such as videos, images, and graphics
If you sell goods and products having consistent marketing labels adds to your brand identity
Maintaining a Consistent Branding Aesthetic Across All Platforms & Projects
It’s important to get to know what your branding is. Yes, what is your story, message, and your voice when developing your professional business branding? These are questions a great branding photographer can help you with to get an authentic photoshoot that will give your story justice.
Using the key design elements mentioned above you will be able to maintain a consistent branding aesthetic throughout your work, promotions, marketing material, and more.
Any time your audience visits a different platform to learn more about you, the consistency across your branding phots and design elements will really stand out to your potential clients as professionals.
Consider including your branding every time you share tips or create educational content to stand out as a professional and an authority in your field.
Social Media, Local Networking, Partnering With Influencers, & Affiliate Marketing
Establishing the branding elements for your small business can help you grow and collaborate on a different scale.
Sharing content across your social media with a consistent branding aesthetic comes off as professional and elevated to your potential clients,
But this also stands out to your potential partnerships and future collaborators.
Going out to local networking events and meeting new people who will see your branding elements right after getting to know you in person can be a powerful way to continue building professional relationships to help your business keep growing. This could be the beginning of new collaborations or affiliations to market and launch new products, services, and collaborations.
There you go! By working on these strategies you can avoid some of the most common branding-related issues business owners run into.
I hope you find value in this post and that you begin implementing these strategies right away.
Which of these strategies do you find most difficult to put into practice? I’d love to know your opinion.