Starting your own business is exhausting. Most people would prefer working for someone as compared to beginning their own business. As an entrepreneur, you need to refine your products, build the number of clients, ensure your business meets legal requirements and many more. You will hardly have time for adequate sleep as an entrepreneur let alone building your own brand identity.
The activities of an entrepreneur can be likened to having a new born baby. As a parent, you need to make sure that the child has grown up well to become the adult that you want them to be. You need them to become responsible adults in the society. But at the same time, you also need to take care of yourself as a parent and make sure that you are working to get funds to bring up the children and meet your daily needs. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure that you have grown the brand identity of yourself and that of your business.
So, the question is which are some of the ways that you can build this brand identity of yourself and that of your business while making sure that your business is running? Here are tips that you can use to build a brand identity for yourself and that of your business.
Begin with Your Personal Brand
Building a business brand begins with your personal brand. As an entrepreneur, your personal brand should be part of your business brand. The business is a manifestation of what you believe in which are the goals, values and the bigger dream for your company.
The leadership style is part of your personal brand and it should be reflected in your business through the team that you will create. The team will need to understand the culture of your company and they will follow the culture when they come to your company.
Begin by Creating a Value Proposition
Before creating your business brand, make sure that you have a value preposition that you can be identified with. Each of the decisions that you will make in your business will lie in the aspect of value proposition.
The value proposition should be concise and detailed. It should be detailed in that you should avoid ignoring anything that you think is important for your business brand and make sure that it is concise by making sure all the information fits in few sentences.
According to Bill Barnet of Harvard Business Review, personal value proposition (PVP) should form the heart of your career strategy. Most of the company executives will set the value propositions that they are offering to the customers.
Here are the guidelines of creating a powerful PVP;
- Begin by setting a clear target to ensure it is effective
- Begin by identifying the things that you are good at or your strengths.
- Connect your strengths to your target position
- Provide strengths and some of the successes
You should spend more time in this stage since it consumes more time. If you follow the above steps keenly, you will be at a good position of building a strong personal and business brand.
Maximize on the Use of Social Media
Social media is one of the ways through which you can reach more people. There are also various online tools that you can use to build your brand. Most of the entrepreneurs fail to realize the benefits associated with the use of social media in brand building and insist on using traditional means such as radio and television. One of the important aspects of social media is that you can target a particular group of people depending on the service that you are providing. Demographic factors such as the age, gender, sex and income can be used to target a particular audience.
The key to building a strong brand identity on social media is through developing a game plan as early as possible. If you design your goals early enough, you will be on the better position of building a consistent brand for your business on social media.
If you were off from social media, begin by auditing and making your online presence felt. Your online platforms should reflect what you are exactly offering to your audience. The images that you post and the words that you share should reflect your value proposition.
If you do have a website, consult a brand expert of web designer so that they can help you in the appropriate colors that you will use on your website that reflects the value proposition. Without necessarily having to read anything on your website, the visitor should know the services that you are offering.
Generate Emotions
A successful brand will always arouse the emotions of the audience. Even though it appears controversial, emotions are important since it is through this that you will build your brand. Most of the brand strategists know the importance of using emotions when you are building your brand. Justine Foster, a brand strategist points out that if you do not generate emotions then you are not building a brand.
Passionate, Differentiation and Authenticity
According to Eric Wagner, a contributing author on branding at Forbes, branding is due to three great factors which are uniqueness, talent and authenticity. Talent is defined as the fusion of passion and skill. Each of the businesses or entrepreneurs is unique in their own way and there is something that you are great at. As an entrepreneur, you should tap into the talents that you have and produce something authentic for your brand. This will help you build your brand for your business.
Passion will fuel the purpose and the willingness to be authentic. People such as Muhammad Ali, passed away on June 3, 2016, succeeded in their career since they sought to understand the best fashions of themselves each day. Embrace what you think makes you different and make it to be your brand.
Create a Relationship with Other Established Brands
One of the mistakes that entrepreneurs make is competing with the established brands when they are just starting out. If you are starting out and you are providing a similar product or service that is provided by another company that is already established, the best thing you can do is to learn from them.
If you have worked with other established brands big clients, then inform your target audience that you have worked with them. This is because people know the businesses that are already established and by associating with them, you will make yourself more popular.
Utilize the Offline Methods of Branding too
The fact that digital branding is one of the effective methods of branding does not mean that you fail to work on your offline brand. Offline branding is appropriate if you are targeting a specific category of people in a particular location.
If in your value proposition you stated that you will be serving others, then go ahead and prove it. Go around your community and identify the challenges that are taking place and look for ways of resolving the challenges.
Avoid Pleasing Everyone as an Entrepreneur
Justine Foster, author of Oatmeal vs. Bacon: How to Differentiate in a Generic World, points out that one of the greatest mistakes that brands make in business and personal branding is trying to please everyone.
A lot of entrepreneurs do believe that you need to serve everyone. However, this should not be the case. You should stay away from people who are not in line with your objectives. Trying to please everyone when you are building your brand will not only waste your time but also deny you the time to grow your brand. You cannot be unique and authentic if you are trying to please everyone. Focus on growing your brand by finding a specific niche that you believe is right and true for your business.
Inconsistency Will Kill Your Brand as an Entrepreneur
Most of the brands of entrepreneurs that have died lacked consistency. According to Syed Balkhi of The Entrepreneur, most of the entrepreneurs fail in branding since they fail to be consistent on their platforms.
If you are not consistent, your brand will appear to be unprofessional and make you lose your identity. People will not trust your brand and they will avoid following you.
How to Maintain Consistency in Branding
- Begin by analyzing your brand
- Know Your Audience
- Establish the brand guidelines
- Ensure you have a strong internal communication
- Allow for a brand evolution
One of the things that you need to know is that personal branding is not easy. This is regardless of your personality and ambitions. It will take time and hard work for you to build a brand for your business or personal brand that will be trusted. If you reach a certain point, you will realize that customers or your audience will respond positively to your business. This is one of the ways through which you can recognize that you are building your brand. Insist on consistency to ensure that the brand stands out for a long period of time.
