Captivating Branding 101
There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to branding. I’m sure you know it’s more than a logo but what about the colors? Do you need to follow your niche? Should you aim to look professional?
Quick answer: no. But there’s a lot more to it. So let’s dive into the long answer.
Hi! New here?
I'm Laís
You love what you do and want to attract clients that love it as much as you do. My job is to help you to captivate your ideal clients through your brand and website so that they feel connected to you and trust you.
Branding is like trying to guide the course of a river
Picture it. You can’t make a river go backwards. It just doesn’t work like that. If you try to constrain it, all it’s power will eventually have to go somewhere, and it might not be pretty. But it’s banks, on the other hand, will guide it to the right path so that it can keep going consistently and strong.
Branding is like the banks of the river guiding the power of your brand to the path you envisioned for yourself and your business. A big misconception is trying to use branding as a constrain. I believe this analogy painted the picture for you.
Your brand will exist anyway
Your brand is how you and your business are perceived by your audience. In other words, how you make them feel. People will have an image of it even if you don’t do any branding.
Branding doesn’t exists to make your business look like something it’s not, nor to fit a niche. None of this work in the long run.
Branding exists to give you a bit of control over how your brand is perceived. To cocreate your image by making conscious choices.
You are creating this image with every manifestation of your brand. Every picture, video, phrase, graphic, post, customer service, email, every detail on your website and every interaction someone has with you.
Branding isn’t a thing, but your intentional choices to make your vision come across in every message.
Your brand can have many facets and still be cohesive
In fact, details and a bit of variety makes your brand more interesting. But the key is intention. You want to know what flavors make your brand more tasty and choose your ingredients wisely.
You see, I’m a fan of chutneys. There are many ingredients and spices in it but they’re delicious together.
Brazilian barbecue, on the other hand, works best with meat and salt only (and the smoke from the wood burning).
Completely different dishes just like there are completely different brands. Some beautifully vibrant, others beautifully simple and everything in between.
Branding is making your business look, taste and feel more like you at your best, so that your ideal client’s can feel connected to you and know what you’re all about.
When I work with clients on their brand, my goal is to get people to see them the same way I see: as the one of a kind beautiful human being that they are with something incredible to share.
It’s not just visual identity
Although I love helping my clients with every detail of their visuals, this is only part of creating a meaningful message.
A story without meaning is just a fact. A product without meaning is just an option.
It’s the meaning that deepens the connection to a level your brand becomes unique and irreplaceable to your ideal client.
So here’s the action step to you if you. Answering this questions will help you figure out your river banks.
What makes you excited about what you do and the way your do it? How you want people feel? What can make them connect to you (anything that you share as people, not as customer and business)? Why you believe in what you do? What’s the meaning of your offer in their lives?
Think about how the process is for the clients from the moment they hear about you to the moment they get captivated by your offer and decide intentionally how you’re guiding your business to your vision and what can help you with that.
Now you’re branding.