As a self-employed professional, you want your brand to be a positive representation of who you are. But developing a brand image can be a long, arduous process, particularly for those who lack a marketing or design background.
Building a brand image frequently requires extensive time, resources, and energy. Regardless, self-employed professionals must prioritize branding. By doing so, you can launch an authentic and professional brand that distinguishes your company from its rivals. At the same time, your brand can drive your company's revenues and sales.
How to Build an Authentic and Professional Brand
There are many strategies that self-employed professionals can use to build a brand from the ground up. These strategies can help you develop an authentic and professional brand that resonates with your target audience. Plus, you can use these strategies to maintain and optimize your branding long into the future.
Now, let's look at five things you can do to create an authentic and professional brand.
1. Perform a Brand Audit
Analyze your business and what you want to accomplish. In addition, assess your company's objectives and value proposition. From here, you can determine what makes your brand unique.
During a brand audit, collect plenty of data. To do so, perform market research, so you can learn about your industry rivals. Also, get insights into your target audience. This requires you to conduct surveys and questionnaires from members of myriad demographics. Next, you can capture insights you can use to create target personas. Furthermore, you can develop marketing content and other branded materials to promote your business to the right audience.
2. Host Brainstorming Sessions
Engage industry peers or coworkers in brainstorming sessions. That way, you can present business branding ideas to these individuals and get objective feedback from them. You can use this feedback to fine-tune your branding.
When you host brainstorming sessions, plan ahead. Each brainstorming session should have a clear-cut agenda and allow every participant to share their feedback. It should include multiple stakeholders as well.
It can be beneficial to conduct periodic brainstorming sessions. Typically, monthly or bi-monthly brainstorming sessions can be helpful, since they allow you to review your business’s results and find ways to drive continuous improvement. Meanwhile, each brainstorming session should last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.
Learn as much as possible from every brainstorming session. Take every idea or topic discussed in these sessions seriously, especially those that relate to your branding. Ultimately, your brainstorming sessions can help you find the best ways to enhance your business and verify your branding remains authentic and professional.
3. Utilize Creative Elements
Establish a distinct look, feel, and voice for your brand. To get started, you need the right name for your company. Then, develop a logo and other creative materials to showcase your brand. The style and tone of these materials should remain consistent. This allows you to create a brand that appears authentic and professional across various media.
Incorporate creative branding elements in your business's products, too. For instance, your products can include cool-spectrum colors like blue and lavender; these colors reflect competence and simplicity. Or, you can avoid wordy clutter with any text printed on your products. This simultaneously lets you use your products to promote your brand and give them a professional appearance.
4. Promote Your Brand on the Right Channels
Utilize social media to showcase your brand. Social media tools let you promote your brand for free. They are simple to set up and allow you to engage with audience members from around the world.
Utilize social media in conjunction with a PR strategy, business website, and other brand awareness tools. You can collect data and insights as you connect with audience members via different channels. This enables you to determine what channels deliver the optimal ROI for promoting your brand.
5. Review and Revamp Your Brand Regularly
Remain diligent in your efforts to bolster your brand. Track your business' performance and the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. You can next use data and insights to uncover opportunities to bolster your brand.
Do not hesitate to revise your brand messaging, either. The global marketplace is constantly evolving, and your business must keep pace. Thus, if you feel your brand no longer meets your expectations, make changes.
If you revamp your branding, it helps to take a gradual approach. This allows you to see how minor changes impact your company and its ability to engage with its target audience. And each change lets you learn how to best connect with this audience now and in the future.
Develop and Maintain an Authentic and Professional Brand for Your Business
You want an authentic and professional brand. To achieve your goal, you need to be true to yourself, your business, and your stakeholders.
Establish an authentic and professional brand and refine it over time. An authentic and professional brand highlights what you and your business are all about. It enables you to connect with your target audience and foster meaningful relationships with audience members. As a result, your authentic and professional brand can help your company grow and sustain its success.