5 Steps to creating a Brand Image
Step 1: Prepare and produce content
The first step to creating a brand is to gather the content that you have and package them into resources that you can use.
Even if you just started, you can still gather content that will help your business get started on the right foot.
Get clear images of high quality resolution
There's no surprise that a poor quality image is simply not acceptable as it significantly detracts from the visual appeal of whatever it is you are attaching the images to.
Even if it means retaking the photos using the front camera, or switching to a simple digital camera, will do wonders to all your content.
When you are displaying images in a big size, a poor image quality will instantly look more pixelated than what’s ideal.
Film videos of when you just started
You just started your business!
Have fun and enjoy the process!
Filming your journey can serve as important keepsakes later on when you build your company history.
You won't need a fancy camera (unless you're a photographer by trade), just take some standard photos of:
- yourself
- your equipment
- your shop front
- your happy customers/friends/mentors
- your printed logo/business card
- your vehicle
- your area of service
- your product
- your product's materials
- etc
Have concise text material
Simple is good, short is better.
All of your text communication should sound the same, so that people can familiarise themselves with how you communicate. It is very helpful to establish some guidelines of what can be included in text material and what just does not make the cut.
Get your brand value and slogan hammered out
- What do you stand for?
- Why choose your business over others?
- Is there a problem that you are solving for customers?
- A pain point you help customers avoid?
Perhaps your unique proposition can stand out with a catchy slogan to get the word out!
Step 2: Tell your full brand story
You and your brand have a story to tell your customers. It can be about:
- How you started
- What your big plans are
- What made you offer your services
- Why choose you over other providers
- The challenges that you overcame by setting up this business
- The wonderful things you learnt
The point of creating a story is so that when someone asks you "what do you do?" you won't just answer it in a simplistic or boring way. Instead, you will have already created a story about your journey and your impact, that will captivate your audience and make them want to do business with you.
Story has been a way humans process information since the beginning of time.
Your story will most likely have a:
- Beginning/Plot - where you were before you started
- Conflict/Drama - what challenges you faced and overcame
- Resolution - where you are now
- Why - why people should care and work with you
To keep this engaging, try to have a story that you can tell your friends and acquaintances in 5 - 10 min.
Step 3: Create your unique value proposition
Products and services
If a customer needs to get a job done, do you have the resources to complete it within their definition of the problem?
If so, how much will you offer your services for? What prices will you charge?
Gain creators
- What do customers care about?
- Are you helping people save money?
- Are you helping people live a better life?
Think about all the positive outcomes a customer can achieve after using your product and service and why they should even tune in.
Pain relievers
Are you helping people to recycle their material?
Are you providing faster service so that people won’t need to wait weeks?
Pain aversion and avoidance is often the number one reason why consumers purchase a product.
Step 4: Align yourself to industry best practices
Talk to established business owners about what to look out for as a newcomer in this industry. Chances are there are services and resources in place to help you get started with your business idea.
You can seek help from business owners that are within the same field, online forums, and government resources.
There are plenty of resources related to:
- Marketing
- Hiring employees
- Tax
- Accounting
- Licensing and permits
- Grants
Step 5: Create shareable content
Creating content that will engage customers and users across platforms and marketing channels early on means that you will be able to build a rich resource of content that you can use over and over in different formats.
Tell a story
Similar to creating a story brand, you also want to tell a story about 'Why should people work with you or purchase your product?'.
You can highlight on your target market, and tell a story about how a particular group of people can benefit from your product and service.
For example, if you run a Chiropractic Practice.
- Target market: elder people aged 60 and above
- Problem: people don't go to a chiropractor until it's too late
- Storyline: how an elderly woman went to the chiropractor and cured her neck pain problem of 7 years
See how easy it is for customers to start spreading the story such as the one above, and it instantly creates an environment where you'll be the hottest Chiropractic Practice in town?
Validate your audiences opinions and values
Based on your audience, what messages will they resonate with the most?
Finding the voice of your audience can help you reach and move people within your community. As a new brand, your main customers will be early adopters of your service.
You will need to focus on them so that you have a deliverable product or service that will later on get adopted by the mainstream customers.
Helpful resources
Is your content actually useful information for your customers?
Will they tell their friends about it?
If you are a Photographer, some potential helpful resources you can create are:
- Tips on posing for family photos
- Pre-shoot consultation and introduction
- Photography equipment recommendations
- Photography sets that can be pre-purchased
- Complementary video editing
- etc.
Creating resources is all about creating value for your customers so that there is a value exchange.
One of the biggest road blocks new businesses face is that people think they have 'nothing to offer'. However this is simply not true. There will be something that you know that others don't.
When you produce and provide resources, you are creating a invitation for customers to interact with your business through multiple channels and on a higher frequently.
Keeping customers engaged after they purchase, will make them come back!
Include different formats
Print, text, images, videos, podcasts etc.
Pick a medium that you are familiar with and start there.
Once you are confident, then you can spend some more time and energy to get professionals to help you out in areas which you lack. It's okay to ask for help!
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