What Does Your Brand (or Lack Thereof) Say About You?

What Does Your Brand (or Lack Thereof) Say About You?:




As a freelancer, you have a lot of issues to juggle – branding yourself being one of the least of your concerns most days. But your brand is a critical piece to your long-term success. You don’t have to engage in a massive marketing overhaul or develop a full-tilt brand management plan to take advantage of the power of branding.
The key is to approach your personal brand from the perspective of your clients and customers. How do you want them to perceive you? This article focuses on techniques and concepts to consider as you develop your own brand that you can leverage for long-term success.

Know Your Services

You do not want to be misleading in your branding process, so being honest up front about the true value of your services is important.

Honesty is the best policy. Knowing how your services benefit the consumer is key. This may sound logical, but there are many companies that do not take an honest look at this and then wonder why they aren’t making sales. Really understanding the reason clients need your services will direct your freelance business more efficiently in developing your brand.
What is at the core of your freelance business? You do not want to be misleading in your branding process, so being honest up front about the true value of your services is important.
As a freelancer, your products and services have a specific market and value for your clients. Your brand should be focused on the specific value you bring to the table. Avoid overly broad branding or over-selling what you do.

Longevity…

One of the freelance brand rules is that a timeless brand look is an important part of making sure that your brand can last through the ages. While you can incorporate some latest trends, you will need to make sure you can keep key brand recognizers when you have to update your look. You may want to check out some big brand redesigns to see how they were able to develop key brand elements that remained throughout the years.
Another important aspect of longevity to consider is that when developing a great brand, it is important to look frankly at the demographic that you will be selling to. Good brands last for decades. Why? Because they remind the consumer why they bought the product in the first place.
Even if a product is a necessity, most likely it was originally purchased and repurchased because the product name stuck out in the consumer’s mind. You need to be able to connect a name to a moment that is memorable. A name that is memorable is recalled and re-bought.

Get Personal!

People love brands that they feel personally attached to. If a cup of coffee brings a smile to their face, they will want to repeat that good feeling and will likely attempt this by purchasing more coffee. This idea may seem ridiculous, but it is true with almost any type of product or service.

Think of the products that you buy and you will realize it is often because of certain positive feelings that they generate in you.

Think of the products that you buy and you will realize it is often because of certain positive feelings that they generate in you. Despite not knowing any person who plays a role in producing a product, a person will feel like the company is family because it has played an intricate part in some positive moment in their life.
Come up with a story with which clients can connect and make sure your entire brand design reflects this "story." Of course, it doesn’t have to be a literal story, but it does need to be a vision of what you want customers to feel when they purchase your services.
The most successful brands are those that have been able to convince consumers that their product or services will enable them to live the lifestyle they dream of having. Therefore, think about what lifestyle your ideal customers desire and create your story/experience around this concept.

How Quality is Your Brand?

One of the most common mistakes that freelancers make when developing their logo and other branding features is to go with what is cheapest. While you do need to take into consideration your budget, keep in mind that your brand look says a lot about you.
If you pay for a cheap logo design, more than likely you will get a logo that looks, well, cheap. If you need to stay on budget, your safest bet may be to hire a middle-of-the-road brand developer – one who’s prices fall somewhere between the least and most expensive options. Just keep in mind that the quality of your brand reflects on the quality of your freelance business, so always go with the best that you can afford.

Connect

Yes, your freelance business might be your baby, but you want the consumer to feel the same way. Get your target audience excited about your freelance business brand by going to them, by finding out the locations they spend most of their time. Connections can come from many different places.
You can use social media, email marketing, forums, and comments on popular blogs in your industry…or start your own blog. Host events or contests online. Get your brand out in the public for your prospective clients to see and recognize. Just be sure that every interaction relates to your brand look and feel so that your target audience has a consistent memory of your business branding.

Consumer’s Mind

At first glance, a brand name or color scheme may seem insignificant; however, that small concept is sending a very big message. The consumer’s mind is processing more than they realize. A catchy brand design will be recalled with little effort.
Whatever brand design you choose, make sure that it encompasses the company’s idea and the consumer’s contribution to the big picture. If a customer feels that they have a relationship with your freelance business, they are more likely to work with you well into the future.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by olechowski.

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