Where’s the You in Your Brand
What we’re going to talk about today in branding and design is what makes you be you. Now what I mean by that is what’s your story? What’s your narrative? What’s the way that your customers, consumers, or clients can really connect with you as a person because we all know it’s all about connection. We’re all inundated and we use jargon like “360 campaigns” and “take things to the next level” and “making something world-class” or “surprising and delighting our customers.” All these phrases make us sound professional, but by the same token they kind of make us sound like a branding bot and less human, and what we really need to do is create a pathway for people to connect with us.
I was talking with an entrepreneur friend of mine the other day and she is developing some personal branding for her website, some communication, and she’s been thinking about using the term unbridled passion to describe her business. Now she’s an avid horseback rider, so unbridled, makes a lot of sense to her, and she’s been asking some of her friends if they agree to use that term in her branding. And a lot of them have been saying, “No, it makes you sound like you have an equestrian business or you just deal with horses.” My opinion was that I really think that she should go with it. She should actually expand upon it and really talk about her love of horses and how that translates to her unbridled passion for her business and helping other people with their businesses. It creates a level of story and connection that really gives her clients and prospective customers a way to understand her and to connect with her.
And so I ask you, what is it that makes you human? Do you have a… Do you collect something? Are you a chef? Are you a musician? Do you have a hobby? Do you like to travel? Develop a sense of a personal narrative about yourself and weave that into your brand story on your website, in your communications newsletter, blogs, on your social media. It gives customers and clients and prospective business partners a way to connect with you as a human being.
I really think that this is one of the reasons why Snapchat is really blowing up right now, because people are using it to show parts of their daily lives, their personal lives, and it gives their customers and clients and people who are watching their Snaps, a way to really connect with them as an individual, as another human being. And people love to do business with people that they like and that they know. So being a little vulnerable and telling a little bit of that story about yourself can really help your brand.
