dscienceinc
Is your brand transparent and approachable?
It has a name but does it have a face? Showcase your personality, values, ideals and learn how to bring your audience to you. Use these 6 tips to attract your perfect audience.
The word branding often gets muddled and confused for the startup business.
It’s seen as something which is beyond most people, that only major companies like Coca-Cola, Nike, and Apple can completely achieve. This isn’t the case. You can have a powerful brand too!
Here are numerous tips to help you with your branding, to teach you how to make a stronger and more trustful brand for your customers.
I’m going to be giving you actionable advice which you can implement your business today. Give your brand a face and be as transparent as possible.
Reaching Out And Giving Your Brand A Face
Before starting my businesses, I thought my audience would come to me.
But oh boy, was I wrong! I originally thought that if I did the hard work and made a cracking website that showcased my products, I could sit back and wait for my audience to form.
Unfortunately, even though I would love this to be the case, this wasn’t the correct solution. I learnt over time that for me to gain an audience, I had to get myself out there and work to bring my audience to me.
In order for you to achieve this, you need to reach out to as many people as possible and give your brand a face.
What do I mean by this?
For a brand to be completely successful, you need to show personality, character and show why you are unique. For me, it’s all about helping others by showcasing tips, advice, and knowledge for my audience that is creative in content, approach, and look.
Customers look towards companies that have personality and character; a person cannot connect with a company who is corporate and ‘faceless’.
How do you want your brand to be communicated towards your audience?
In a friendly, helpful, and engaging manner? Maybe a humorous, down to earth approach? Or perhaps a combination of all of these!
Competition is very high in almost every business adventure, so in order for your business to be seen you must be unique. There are a number of ways to achieve this.
How to Attract Your Perfect Audience
#1 Describe Your Passions, Hobbies, and Interests for Your Audience
You are unique. You have different interests, passions, and hobbies than anyone else on the planet. So make use of it. Describe what you like doing away from business to make yourself stand out.
Do you have any special hobbies? What makes you, as an individual, stand out?
For example, Seth Godin concentrates on his bald head on his blog, so it could be almost anything that makes you unique.
#2 Showcase a Portrait of Yourself on Every Social Media Account
If you show your portrait on Twitter, I always get an impression that I’m talking to a fellow person and not a corporation with no personality.
This may be a challenge for companies who are not individuals, but if you can, always think about uploading your own portrait as your profile picture.
Another fantastic way to give your brand a face is by showcasing a few pictures of yourself on the ‘About’ page of your website.
#3 Reach Out to Others in the Form of Networking Events
There’s nothing like meeting someone in person. You get to see how they react to certain things, see what they look like, see their facial expressions, and see their personality.
If your approach online is friendly and warm, try to communicate this in person. Combining both online and offline approaches is the best way to effectively form a relationship with someone else.
After meeting various individuals, you can then connect with them on social media, which can increase your brand awareness and keep the relationship going.
#4 Conduct a Skype Call with Fellow Entrepreneurs
I understand it isn’t always possible to meet other professionals in person. But you can still meet face to face!
I actually had a Skype call with the CEO of d.science, Emelina! We had only spoken on Twitter previously, but Skype allows you to virtually meet someone in the flesh. It’s not as good as meeting someone in person, but it’s definitely more personal than email.
I literally gave my brand a face, which is extremely important in business. Skype is a fluid form of communication where you can quickly discuss ideas, concepts, and ways to improve each other’s businesses.
With all these tips, make sure to get the most out of technology—it’s so easy to talk to someone across the world!
#5 Craft Your Business Story
A big challenge that businesses seem to encounter is showing their side of the story. They seem to want to hide behind their website, and not show who’s actually behind the business.
I can relate to this, as I was the same. I was scared of the dark side of the online world, and how someone could judge me for putting myself out there. I was nervous to be judged by the odd ‘hater’ or ‘spammer’, and risk the destruction of my self-confidence.
Unfortunately, this is the worst part of any online business, which I’ve learned to accept.
The thing you’ve got to always remember – is that you can’t please everyone. Someone isn’t going to like what you talk about, the products you sell, or the service you provide.
But amongst all of this, you’ll find a customer who loves you, comes back for more, and credits you wherever and whenever they can.
You should live for this and try to dismiss the negative as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to promote yourself, the online world is mainly composed of decent folks – like yourself!
You will receive great feedback, warmth, and recognition for the things you do online, so don’t let negativity put you off.
The main thing is not to ignore yourself here. It’s crucial that you show your business story, for your audience to connect with you and see you for who you really are!
How to Build Your Story in 3 Steps:
- How and when did you form your company?
- What’s your company’s ethos? What is your character?
- Why did you step up your business? How are you different?
People love stories, and if you can express these attributes within your website, marketing material, and social media accounts your audience will crave for more.
Revealing who you are as a person is a great step to attract your perfect audience!
#6 Be As Transparent As Possible
When you think about those who you trust, what attributes do they hold?
They’re loyal, honest, reliable, and good natured. They always want the best for you.
Express these sentiments through your brand, without exception. Take these attributes and use this throughout your brand.
If you think of every follower of your brand as a close friend, you’re always going to treat them excellently.
Be that brand that is 100% trustworthy, admit to your mistakes whenever they come about, and treat your audience like a piece of treasured gold.
Your audience can always tell when you’re trying to pull something over on them, so avoid this at all costs. If you respect your audience, they’ll respect you.
Work Towards A Strong Brand
A strong brand doesn’t appear overnight.
It takes hard work, confidence, dedication, consistency, and time for trust to develop.
People buy from brands because of the experience that the company has created, the people who served them, their ethos, and the service they provide.
If you manage to ace all of these cards, you’ll create a brand that your audience cannot stay away from. It’s magnetic!
Let’s review what we’ve learned:
- Reach out to as many people as possible, by giving your brand a face. Go to networking events, talk to people on Skype, and chat with them on social media
- Show your business story; how and when you formed, and reveal your interests as people
- Be as transparent as possible, admit mistakes, and tell your audience as much as you can
- Trusted brands don’t develop overnight, as it takes time, patience, and hard work
Now that you have the know how, get out there and attract your perfect audience!
What’s your brand story? Let us know in the comments!
