As more and more businesses market and sell their offers online, this means increased competition to get your business and your offers in front of your ideal clients.
Your ideal buyers have endless options – so how do you stand out online when it feels like there are a million other [insert what you do here]s?
The secret spell to making consistent sales in your business in a competitive online space – comes down to building a standout brand – one that’s memorable and bold.
Today’s guest on the How I Do Content Podcast is here to help you with building a standout brand!
Listen to the full episode now, or scroll down for the highlights in the too-long;didn’t-listen (TL;DL) version below.
Let me officially introduce you to Suz Chadwick
Suz is a BOLD Business & Mindset Coach and Speaker supporting entrepreneurs to go from business confusion to clarity, courage, and CEOing at the next level.
If you want to be the go-to person in your industry or you want clients clambering for your brand of awesome sauce – then you’re in luck!
With over 15 years as a brand consultant working with global brands and entrepreneurs, leaders, and teams, Suz knows what works when it comes to creating a business, mindset, and brand that helps you stand out.
Building a standout brand is Suz’s jam.
So let’s dive in!
Things You’ll Learn in This Episode of How I Do Content
- The steps you need to take when building a standout brand in 2023
- How you can create an authentic and bold personal brand that stands out online and calls in those dream clients and customers
- How introverts can stand out online without being the loudest person in the room
TL;DL version:
A lot of people in small business assume bold branding = colourful, extroverted and loud. In reality building a bold brand doesn’t actually need to mean any of these things.
The definition of bold is going against the grain, breaking the mould and doing things differently.
So, in order for your small business branding to really stand out, you have to be different. This means embracing boldness and not being afraid to truly be yourself.
You can still be beige and be bold. For example, think of Chanel – a muted, pared-back brand that is both incredibly recognisable and leading the way in their industry. Bold AF with nary a bright colour or loud person in sight.
6 strategies for stand-out branding:
1. Identify your personal brand assets
Think about the things you really love and how you can use these as part of your branding to elevate your brand and be memorable to your audience. When it comes to the strength of small business branding, it’s all about recognition and recall.
For example, Suz has built a brand identity that incorporates some of her favourite things: bright colours, specific clothing styles/labels and lychee martinis. And as many of you know, I’ve built my brand around being a dog mum to Ned, Harry Potter, and being introverted. None of these things are particularly unique but they are all things specific to us that we love.
How to uncover your signature assets:
When identifying things that you would like to make assets of your brand, think of the things that will both be memorable to your audience and they will associate with you, even when you’re not there.
Having these anchor points to your brand means that when your audience comes across one of your brand assets, you’ll be front of mind for them, which is a powerful marketing tool.
What if I don’t have anything interesting to share?
We’ve all got interesting things about us, even if we can’t see them. Remember, the stuff that sets you apart from others doesn’t have to be earth-shattering or life-changing in nature, it just needs to be YOU.
Personal brand asset examples:
- Favourite foods
- TV shows or films (i.e. Harry Potter)
- Hobbies
- Life experiences
- Personality traits (i.e. introverted)
- Pets (i.e. Ned)
Don’t forget: people buy from people!
As solopreneurs, it’s our personalities that people buy into, along with our skills and offerings. In the online business world, personal branding is now the norm. The saying ‘people buy from people‘ has its roots in the small business space. Customers are choosing to work specifically with you over anyone else.
For many of us, we gravitate towards working with other businesses that we feel we resonate with. We may share common values, interests or we just dig their vibe.
At the same time, if someone doesn’t resonate with the things you love and share, they probably aren’t your ideal client. This is a good thing.
Personal branding can help us capture the right audience and find our dream clients. It also makes business just so much more enjoyable when we can be ourselves and share the things we love.
2. Don’t be afraid to share personal content on your business account
We’re living in a personal branding economy with a strong focus on content creation. If you’re sharing business-only content, it gets pretty dry, pretty quickly for your consumers. When we get personal and share elements of ourselves outside of business-only content, it helps create points of connection with our audience. It generates ‘stickiness’ – you’ll have people come back to know more about you, because it’s interesting to them.
Business-only talk is boring. In the online space, there are stacks of people doing the same work as you. In order to elevate your brand and stand out, you have to do what you do best – be your authentic self.
3. Be consistent with your messaging
Building a strong personal brand takes time and consistency. Marty Neumeier, a.k.a the Godfather of branding, explains how your brand is the emotional connection you make with your audience. It’s also the collective experiences they have when they come into contact with you.
This is why consistency in your branding is so important. Your audience will often consume your content across multiple platforms.
In order to build trust, having consistent messaging across these marketing channels helps to collectively build the perception of you and your brand.
Using multiple touch points in your customer journey to infuse your own personality and branding helps to reinforce memorable branding.
4. Have strong brand foundations
If you want to build a bold brand that stands out from the rest, you need strong brand foundations to set you up for success.
These are the branding basics that should be established from the beginning…
Visual Branding
Whatever stage you’re at in your business, the way your branding physically presents itself, is important. You want your brand to reflect who you are and what you’re about but also reflect who you’re targeting and where you want to position yourself in the market.
Brand Messaging
A strong brand message makes it easier to communicate our point of difference. Ensure you know how to connect with your audience, that you understand where they’re at, can speak to their pain points and ultimately, solve them.
Customer Journey & Experience
Be strategic and maximise the touch points customers have with your brand. Be really clear about what it is you do, who you can help and what they can buy from you/how they can work with you.
Remember; if you’re not excited about your brand, it’s going to be really hard to get your customers excited about your brand, too.
5. Create and share content in a way that feels aligned
Building a brand that stands out doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest in the room. If you are an introvert, choose ways to communicate and connect with your clients in a way that energetically aligns with you. You don’t have to produce the same content in the same way as everyone else is doing it (a.k.a dancing on an Instagram reel).
Don’t be afraid to try new things, you often won’t know if you like something until you try it. Find what works for you and consistently do more of that.
6. Repurpose your core content
Work smarter, not harder and get more out of the content you create by repurposing longer content to use across multiple channels. For example, Suz is currently dabbling in YouTube for creating long-form videos. Her VA then repurposes this into other content like blog articles, short-form videos, social media posts and podcasts.
Check-in with your analytics and make informed decisions about the kinds of content you are creating. Be strategic and intentional by doubling down on the content that is giving you better results. Analytics show that Suz sees 30% of her clients come from her podcasts, so she focused on increasing her listenership with extra podcast content to maximise conversions.
Connect with Suz Chadwick
- Follow Suz on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/suzchadwick/
- Listen to the Brand Builder’s Lab Podcast at https://suzchadwick.com/podcast/
- Find out more at https://suzchadwick.com/
Want More?
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