What’s up, guys, we’re back with another episode of The Boujee Boss Up Podcast! Today we are talking about one of my favorite topics and that’s branding! This is something that has kept me motivated throughout my entrepreneurial journey, because as many of you know, building a business is extremely hard at times. I love the creative process and the clarity that good branding provides, so I’m super excited to do a deep dive on this.

Now for those that have been tuning into The Boujee Boss Up Podcast previously, you already know we don’t do all the fluff over here, but for any of my new listeners, I want you to know that we don’t do that fluff over here.

That means you won’t have to hear stupid, generic tips like “be confident” or “be authentic.” Listen, that kumbaya is nice and all, and there is a place for it, but this ain’t that. You’re getting some real deal business advice that you can start implementing immediately and see results.

And I’m not just saying this as a content creator. I actually have a bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor in mass media, so the technical credentials are there right along with the real-world experience.

With that being said, get your pen and paper ready, and let’s jump right in!

The first element of the big three of branding is, of course, your brand identity! There are six factors to consider when establishing your brand identity:

1. Market (competitors)
2. Target Audience
3. Positioning
4. Message
5. Visuals
6. Website

Market: This is your industry; this is where you need to do a deep dive on your competitors. Who are the top 3 brands in your field? What are the common trends? What are the industry rates? What is a commonality you see in the different target markets? These are the types of questions you need to be asking. You need to see that there is a demand for your offer.

Target Audience: This is where most entrepreneurs get too generic; usually when you ask someone what their target audience/market is, they’ll give you age and gender metrics. There are far more demographics to consider (location, education, income level, marital status, etc.). And what about psychographics (interest/hobbies)? These things affect buyer habits. It can be very tedious, but it makes marketing a breeze.

Positioning: How you show up in the minds of your consumers/target audience; what sets you apart from your competitors?

Message: Mission Statement, vision, core values; My self-development brand, The Melanin Perspective’s mission is to enhance self-development of the Black Girl through mental health, emotional intelligence, and physical well-being. Our core values are authenticity, openness, boldness, and impact. Our vision is to create a global safe space for Women of Color to re-write their narrative and ignite progressive change.

Visuals: This would include themes, logo, colors, fonts, graphics, etc.

Website: This is the home of your business. Respectable businesses don’t solely run on social media in the DMs. What happens when those apps crash? How will your business run then?

The second element of the big three of branding is your marketing! There are four factors to consider here:

1. Campaign Planning
2. Consumer Journey
3. Social Media
4. Content

Campaign planning: What is the ultimate end-goal you have for your brand (vision)? What is the end-goal of the current year? The current month? The current week? What is the end-goal for today? Allow the responses to these questions set your tasks.

Consumer Journey: What type of experience do you want your target audience to have that prompts them to take action? This is always where your audience insight research we talked about earlier comes into play. Do you want to tease them? Do you want to do a surprise drop?

Sidenote: I don’t recommend doing any surprise drops if you’re not established already because people won’t care.

I look at marketing like dating. More often than not, you’re not going to get in a relationship with a random just because they ask you to. You’d probably run the other way, telling the world how creepy they are.

They’ve got to court you first. Take you out on a few dates. They’ve got to show consistency and prove they’re really there for you as a person and not just what you can provide. Marketing is the exact same way. Take your audience on a journey. Give them free content, don’t just engage when you’re trying to sell an offer. You want to provide an experience so seamless, that they’re asking to buy before you even make a pitch.

Social Media: This is everybody’s favorite part of the entire branding process. I don’t need to go into specifics about the different platforms, you all already know what they are and how they work for the most part. People always think of the artistic aspect when they think of social media marketing, but rarely do they consider the scientific side of it. This is where the social media insights shine. They tell you what posts people respond best to, what days of the week prompt the most engagement, where your followers are located, etc.) If you don’t have a business page on your social media, you need to create one or switch your personal page to a business page because this is the only way to access insights. Let’s say I want to host a live event during my marketing campaign. I currently live in South Carolina, but according to our Instagram page (my most populated social media platform), most of my followers live in New York. So, guess where I’m hosting that event? This is how you need to utilize social media.

Content: I mentioned free content earlier. You need to be providing some sort of free content to aid/boost your paid offer. That could be a blog, podcast, some form of video, etc. It needs to center around your paid offer topic to get your audience prepped to buy. Remember, we’re courting them.

The final element of the big three of branding is your free content! The five factors to consider in this instance are:

1. Blog
2. Podcast
3. Video
4. Copywriting
5. Digital Graphics

I actually did a breakdown of blogs, podcasts, and YouTube/video in last week’s episode, so check that one out to know which one would work best for you. I will reiterate that you don’t have to be on all the platforms, just pick one that resonates with your style and your audience.

Copywriting: This could include sales pages, ads, post text, emails, essentially any verbiage tied to your brand is a form of copy. Emails are the most important here though, because any true entrepreneur knows the money is in the email list. You need to set that up and have at least one email going out every week. Even if you don’t have a paid offer yet, you can just start with newsletters highlighting your free content (blog posts, podcast episodes, etc.). And you could incentivize people to join your list with lead magnets (discounts, free guides, etc.)

Digital graphics: This could include lead magnets, social media carousels, content teasers, etc.

Now that you’ve received a breakdown of the big three of branding, I have a special announcement to make…

I’ve started a brand consulting company!!

That’s right, I will be offering all the services listed above to 1-on-1 clients, and I couldn’t be more excited. For more information about how we can work together, visit https://khalasimmons.com/workwithme.

I’ve also got a free resource I created a while back to help get you started with your brand building in 5 simple steps. You can access that at http://themelaninperspective.com/brandbuilding.

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I can’t wait to connect with you!