>>HOLLIE: Let's do episode two! [claps]
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Okay, hi! Welcome back. Last week I was talking to you about what branding is, and
today I wanna talk to you a little bit about why it's so important to focus on your branding
or to take your branding into consideration, spend some time working on your branding.
Why does it matter? What is the point? What is it going to do for you as a creative entrepreneur
if you spend some time working on your brand, developing your brand and evolving your brand
so that you can grow your business?
Why should you do that? There are 10 reasons that I think that branding is important for
you as a creative entrepreneur, so let's dive in.
Number one is that branding represents you in the best way possible. As a creative I
know that you are super passionate about what you do, and you have an incredible talent,
but if you don't have a great brand that goes along with that, then people are missing out
on the best version of you. Because if you have a crappy brand that people don't connect
with, that’s confusing, that's all over the show, it’s gonna take away from how
great your work is, and you're missing out on the opportunity to reach more people. Having
a brand that represents you in the best way possible puts you out there in a way that
people can connect with you and they are seeing the best side of you, as a professional badass
creative. And so this is why we wanna focus on branding, we wanna put your best foot forward,
give you the best opportunity to grow your business and grow your audience, and so we
want to represent you in the best way possible.
Number two is that branding tells people what to expect. So, if they see a really fun and
vibrant and engaging brand when they encounter you on social media, or online somewhere else,
or in-person then they know that when they buy your product, or engage in your services,
that's what they’re gonna expect too. They're gonna expect a fun experience; they’re gonna
expect something really vibrant, probably, when they order your product, they're gonna
expect that when they engage with your services that it’s gonna be a fun experience, that
you're gonna be really excitable and bubbly to work with, and so having a brand that sets
clear expectations tells people what working with you or buying your products is gonna
be like. And if you don't have a brand that does that, then those expectations are gonna
be confused. They might be expecting a really like fun and vibrant and bubbly experience, but
then they work with you, and you're a lot more serious and focussed and soulful and
deep, and so the expectations don't match. So having a brand set up that really represents
you really well and is clear on those expectations is gonna be a way better experience for your
customers, because they're gonna go from experiencing you online or somewhere else having that bubbly,
bright experience and then going to meet with you and having the same bright, bubbly experience.
It’s gonna be really smooth, really cohesive and match what you or your product are like
in real life.
Number three is that branding captures people’s attention. When you have a really beautiful,
thoughtful, intentional brand that's done really well, man do you stand out! Because
there are a lot of really average - some quite bad [laughs] - brands out there. When yours
is done really well and really intentionally, you are steps-leaps and bounds above other
people. If you have a product - let’s say you're selling prints in a market - and your
stall is so beautiful, intentional, and thought out, people are gonna flock to you because
you're gonna stand out. Or if you're selling your services online and people are scrolling
through social media and they see your beautiful, intentional, thoughtful, captivating, eye-catching
post then they're gonna pause on your content, hit like, maybe comment and start engaging
with you. You're gonna capture people’s attention.
Number four is that branding increases recognition; this is really important. You want people
to recognise your brand, and it actually takes up to seven times for someone to recognise
your brand. So having a brand that's really consistent and cohesive and well thought through
means that all of the seven times that they engage with your brand they're gonna spot
your face, spot your logo somewhere and know “That is Hollie. I know that that's her,
I recognise her, I've seen her before”, and that's gonna stick in people’s minds;
this is what we want. Is for people to recognise and remember who we are, and people should
be able to do that without even seeing a logo; they should just know from the feel, colours
and the vibe of what you're putting out there that it’s yours. I don't really use my logo
at all on social media, but I get people talking to me all the time and saying "I saw that
post and I knew it was you because of how it felt and how you spoke in the captions
and the colours that you used". Usually, my bright orange is what captures peoples' attention;
they know that it's me, and they can spot that from a mile away, and that's what branding
does. It sets you apart and makes sure that people know this is a YOU thing.
Number five is that branding establishes trust. There's a well-known phrase or quote in the
marketing kind of industry that in order for people to purchase from you or engage in your
services they need to know, like, and trust you. They need to go through this process
of knowing you, then liking you, and then trusting you. And branding is a great way
to establish trust. If they know exactly who you are they can depend on you for what it
is that you provide, they know that you're gonna show up in a certain way, they come
to trust you and your products and your services and who you are as a person because they connect
with you and your brand. Trust is exactly what you need to get people to engage with
you more, to get people to buy your products or engage in your services. So setting up
your branding, establishing one that's really consistent and cohesive, is gonna help you
grow trust and build trust with your audience.
Number six is something that I'm so passionate about and that is that it gives you clarity
and confidence. We often hear about the fact that branding is all about the customer, about
making them happy, the clients or whoever you're engaging with, it's all about them. But actually,
I think that branding has a lot to do with you and how you feel and how you run your
business. Because when you have a brand that's really representative of you and your vision
and everything that you're passionate about, and it feels like you, you are gonna feel
so confident. You're gonna have so much clarity about what you're doing and where you're going
and who you're talking to, because you've got an awesome brand strategy, hopefully.
But then with a visual identity and everything else that comes with creating your brand, you are gonna
feel on top of the world. And this is what you need to feel to create an awesome brand
and an awesome business. If you're worried about handing out your business card, or sending
people to your website because it doesn't feel right and you're kind of ashamed of it,
and it doesn't represent you or say what you want it to say, then that's gonna hold you
back and that is the worst thing that we could have for your business, we don't want you to
feel held back at all. That you're gonna shout about your business from the frickin' rooftop
because it’s so good, and it looks so good, and you can’t wait to share it with people;
this is what we want to feel. And when you work on your brand, and you take the time,
and you spend that time getting clarity, turning that into things that people can engage with and
connect with, then you are gonna feel that confidence and that is so powerful and so important.
Number seven is that branding helps to elevate you beyond whatever product or services that
you’re selling. Branding is kind of less about what you sell - that's really important
- but it's also more about why you sell it, and how you sell it, who you're selling it
to and that takes you to the next level. For example, instead of people saying "Oh that
person makes and sells earrings" what branding does is takes you above that, and beyond that
and people recognise you for the things that are important to you, and they might say "Oh
I love that brand so much because they make the earrings out of recycled materials, and
they're really passionate about sustainability, and that's important to me, and so I connect
with their vision. And they give back to charity when they - they help with environmental issues
with that money that they raise through the earrings - and I really connect with that.
I really respect that, and that's what brings me back" this is what branding does; it helps
people to see beyond just what product that you sell. You could start selling earrings, and
then you start also selling necklaces, jewellery stands - it doesn't matter actually, what
you sell - but when you build a brand, it helps you to be able to go beyond that. So that even when
you do add different products, or you change what products you sell, people connect with
you and your brand. And so you can keep them as clients, keep them on as your audience even
as you keep adding different things because they connect with you and your vision, your
brand that is bigger than what you sell.
Number eight is that branding helps you to stand out. Let's keep going with the earring
analogy, but you might be one in a million people who are creating earrings. I don't
know what it's like where you live, but in New Zealand, lately, we've just had an influx of
people creating handmade earrings selling them at markets, people are frothing over
handmade earrings; it’s like the new thing. These are handmade earrings [Hollie points
to earrings she is wearing] from someone in Wellington that I've worn because I was like
they were cool and it’s the trendy thing right now, but what branding does is helps
you to stand out. So among the thousands of earring makers in New Zealand, I could have
chosen any earring brand, but I chose this one because I loved the brand and I was all
about it, and plus they were orange, so... The point is that branding helps you to stand
out. I was a graphic designer and can I tell you, there are millions of us [laughs]. I had to figure
out a way to stand out and how I did that was defining my niche and the audience that
I was talking to, the colours that I use. I've talked a lot about my brand orange, but
that is a way that makes me stand out; people recognise me from the orange that I use because
not a lot of people do that. Thinking about this and being intentional about it helps
you to stand out.
Number nine is that branding increases loyalty. As people start to know, like and trust you,
the next step after that is that they become loyal to you and your brand, this is how you
get repeat customers, referrals. And so having a really thoughtful, consistent, cohesive
brand that people can connect with on a regular basis and know that every time they come back,
it's gonna be the same experience, just as good, and know that they can come back time
and time again and send people your way and know that it's gonna be the same for them,
this is so important and helps you to build that loyalty. If you have a brand that's all
over the place, that hasn't been thought about at all; people are not gonna come back. You
probably have a mission where other businesses don't, and so people are gonna connect with
your mission, what you're passionate about and come back to you.
and lastly, branding really helps you to take your business to the next level. I know that
as a creative often we start these things as hobbies because we love to do them. I’m
a hand-lettering artist outside of all this stuff, and I just started doing it because
I loved it, it was something that I enjoyed doing, that I'm passionate about. I'm seriously
obsessed with letters, and I just started doing it because I loved it. Over time, it
grew and I wanted to keep growing it, but I didn't have the brand to keep going. It's
something that I'm working on now because I'm gonna be getting back into doing that
lettering stuff. When you wanna take your business to the next level, you really need
a professional, cohesive, and consistent brand that's gonna allow you to do that. I had a
past client who was a writer, she had a newsletter series, a blog post series that she was doing
where she interviewed other creatives, and she was also writing a book. And all of these
things were kind of separate brands that have grown and evolved, again out of just starting
things that she loved to do, being passionate about something and making it happen. But
then she reached a point where she realised “Okay, I wanna pitch my book, and pitch myself
as an author and a writer and a storyteller and so I need to have a professional brand
that's actually thought through for once. That makes me feel professional and confident
and like I can play in those big leagues where I can pitch my book to publishers, and I can
get them to invest in me, and my future and my writing”. And so that might be you; you might
be someone who has started hand-lettering for example and it's just been your hobby,
and something that you love, and it’s grown. Now you want to start selling your prints
in shops in your city or get your art into galleries. You want to start pitching to companies
to sponsor you or send you materials to use. Whatever it is that you're wanting to do to
take your business to the next level, a brand is really gonna help you do that because it's
gonna elevate you, show that you're serious about what you're doing, that you are a recognisable
and trusted expert, someone who is known for what they do, and so having a brand is really
important for helping you take things to the next level.
Okay, so those are the ten, I'm gonna recap quickly for you:
Branding represents you in the best way possible.
Branding helps to set expectations about what people will experience with you and your
business and your products and your services. Branding captures peoples' attention.
Branding establishes trust. Branding gives YOU clarity and confidence,
super important. Branding takes you beyond just the products
and services that you sell. Branding helps you to stand out.
Branding increases loyalty. And, branding helps you take your
business to the next level.
I hope that that was really helpful for you to understand why this is so important for
you to think about and to take into consideration and to start working on.
I would love to know which of these ten that you feel like is gonna be the most important
or transformative for you and what you're doing. Please leave it in the comments below or send
me a DM on Instagram, I would love to chat about which one you are really excited about.
Let’s talk about it.
Thank you so much for watching this video, if you have liked it please leave a like,
subscribe if you haven't already and I will see you next time!
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