Brand strategy that brings people together.

Brand strategy that brings people together.

Brand strategy that brings people together.
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Bilbrey Lee

Brand Strategy

How to Align your Brand Strategy with your Business Goals

by Bilbrey Lee
written by Bilbrey Lee

A brand strategy is a critical component of a successful business plan. It is the blueprint that outlines how you position yourself  in the market and differentiate from your competitors. A brand strategy encompasses everything from your mission statement and values to your visual identity and messaging. The ultimate goal of a brand strategy is to create a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with your ideal clients and drives business growth. However, to achieve this goal, it is essential to align your brand strategy with your business goals.

In this blog post, we will explore how to align your brand strategy with your business goals and why it is essential for long-term success.

Blog Post Graphic: How to Align your Brand Strategy with your Business Goals


Understand Your Business Goals     

The first step in aligning your brand strategy with your business goals is to have a clear understanding of what those goals are. Business goals can be broken down into three main categories: revenue, market share, and brand equity.

Revenue goals are focused on increasing sales and profits. They may include increasing the number of clients, boosting sales of existing products and services, or introducing new products and/or services.

Market share goals are focused on capturing a larger percentage of the market. They may include expanding into new territories, targeting new customer segments, or increasing brand awareness.

Brand equity goals are focused on creating a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with consumers. They may include building brand loyalty, improving brand reputation, or creating a unique brand identity.

Take some time to think about what you want to achieve with your business. Are you looking to increase sales? Do you want to expand into new markets? Are you trying to improve customer satisfaction? Whatever your goals may be, make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Once you have a clear understanding of your business goals, you can begin to develop a brand strategy that supports them.

Conduct a Brand Audit

Once you have a clear understanding of your business goals, the next step is to conduct a brand audit. A brand audit is a comprehensive review of your current brand identity, including your brand messaging, visual elements, and overall brand perception. This audit will help you identify any gaps between your current brand and your desired brand.

Start by reviewing your brand messaging. Is your current messaging aligned with your business goals? Does it accurately reflect your brand values and personality? If not, you may need to adjust your messaging to better align with your business goals.

Next, review your visual brand elements, such as your logo, color palette, and typography. Do these elements accurately represent your brand? Are they consistent across all of your marketing channels? If not, you may need to update your visual identity to better align with your business goals.

Finally, review your overall brand perception. How do customers perceive your brand? Are they aware of your brand values and personality? Do they understand what sets your brand apart from competitors? If not, you may need to improve your brand perception through targeted marketing campaigns and other initiatives.

Check out this blog post to learn more about conducting a brand audit.

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Develop Your Brand Strategy

With a clear understanding of your business goals and a comprehensive brand audit in hand, the next step is to develop a brand strategy that aligns with your business goals. A brand strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how you will build and maintain your brand identity over time.

Your brand strategy should be informed by your business goals and should focus on how your brand can help you achieve those goals. There are several key components of a brand strategy that you should consider:

  1. Mission and Values: Your mission and values should be at the core of your brand strategy. They define the purpose and beliefs of your company and provide a foundation for all of your brand activities.

  2. Target Audience: You should have a clear understanding of who your target audience is and what motivates them. This will help you develop messaging and positioning that resonates with them.

  3. Brand Personality: Your brand personality is the set of human characteristics that are associated with your brand. It should reflect your company’s values and be consistent across all brand touchpoints.

  4. Visual Identity: Your visual identity includes your logo, colors, typography, and other design elements. It should be visually appealing and consistent with your brand personality.

  5. Messaging: Your messaging should be clear, concise, and consistent across all brand touchpoints. It should convey your brand personality and resonate with your target audience.

Once you have developed your brand strategy, you can begin to align it with your business goals.

Align Your Brand Strategy with Your Business Goals

To align your brand strategy with your business goals, you should consider the following:

  1. Focus on your target audience: Your brand strategy should be focused on your target audience and their needs. By understanding your target audience, you can develop messaging and positioning that resonates with them and drives business growth.

  2. Develop a unique value proposition: Your value proposition should be unique and differentiated from your competitors. It should communicate what makes your brand different and why customers should choose you over your competitors.

  3. Develop a consistent visual identity: Your visual identity should be consistent across all brand touchpoints. This includes your website, social media, advertising, and packaging. Consistency helps build brand recognition and loyalty.

  4. Use data to inform your brand strategy: Use data to track the success of your brand strategy and make adjustments as needed. This includes monitoring brand awareness, customer sentiment, and sales performance.

  5. Stay true to your mission and values: Your brand strategy should be consistent with your mission and values. This will help build trust with customers and ensure that your brand is

Aligning your brand strategy with your business goals is essential for long-term success. Your brand is more than just a logo or a set of colors; it is the personality and essence of your business. When your brand strategy is aligned with your business goals, you can create a brand that resonates with your ideal clients, builds trust, and drives growth.

Blog Post Graphic: How to Align your Brand Strategy with your Business Goals

Conclusion

It’s essential to remember that aligning your brand strategy with your business goals is an ongoing process. You need to regularly review and adjust your brand strategy to ensure that it continues to support your business goals and resonates with your target audience.

Aligning your brand strategy with your business goals is critical for building a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with your ideal clients and drives business growth. By focusing on your target audience, developing a unique value proposition, and staying true to your mission and values, you can create a brand that is aligned with your business goals and sets you apart from your competitors.

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Brand Strategy

The Ultimate Guide to Gain Clarity on your Ideal Client

by Bilbrey Lee
written by Bilbrey Lee

As a business owner, gaining clarity on your ideal client is vital to the success of your business. Understanding who your ideal client is, what they need, and how you can best serve them will help you create a targeted marketing strategy, increase your sales, and build long-lasting relationships with your clients.

So, how do you gain clarity on your ideal client? What information do you really need to know? In this blog post, we’ll explore these questions and provide some tips on how to gain a deeper understanding of your ideal client.

 

Get to Know your Ideal Client

To gain clarity on your ideal client, you need to gather information about their needs, desires, behaviors, and preferences. Here are some essential pieces of information that you need to know to gain clarity on your ideal client:

Demographics

Knowing the demographics of your ideal client is the first step to understanding their needs. Demographic information includes age, gender, location, education level, income, and occupation. This information will help you create marketing messages that resonate with your target audience and help you identify the best channels to reach them.

For example, if you sell high-end luxury products, you may find that your ideal client is someone who is between the ages of 35-55, has a high income, and lives in an affluent neighborhood. Armed with this information, you can tailor your marketing campaigns to this demographic, using language, images, and content that speaks to their interests and values.

Psychographics

Psychographics refers to the personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of your ideal client. This information will help you understand their motivations and behaviors, and how you can best serve them. Understanding your ideal client’s psychographics will help you create marketing messages that speak to their emotions and connect with them on a deeper level.

For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, you may find that your ideal client is someone who is passionate about environmental sustainability, values natural and organic products, and prioritizes health and wellness. Armed with this information, you can create content that speaks to their values and positions your products as a solution to their needs.

Pain Points and Challenges

Knowing the challenges that your ideal client faces is crucial to understanding their needs and how you can help them. By understanding their challenges, you can tailor your products and services to meet their needs and provide solutions that address their pain points.

For example, if you sell software products for small businesses, you may find that your ideal client struggles with time management, maintaining accurate financial records, and managing employees. Armed with this information, you can create content that offers solutions to these problems and positions your products as a valuable tool to overcome these challenges.

Goals

Understanding your ideal client’s goals will help you create products and services that help them achieve their desired outcomes. By understanding their goals, you can create marketing messages that speak to their aspirations and connect with them on an emotional level.

For example, if you run a fitness studio that specializes in high-intensity interval training (HILT), you may find that your client is someone who wants to get in shape, lose weight, and improve their overall health.  Knowing this, you can create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to these goals. For instance, you might emphasize the benefits of HIIT for weight loss and toning, or highlight the ways that your studio can help clients achieve their fitness goals through personalized training programs and nutritional guidance.

Buying Behavior

Knowing how your ideal client makes purchasing decisions is essential to creating a sales strategy that converts. Understanding their buying behavior will help you identify the best channels to reach them, create compelling offers, and provide a seamless customer experience.

For example, if you sell luxury clothing, you may find that your ideal client values high-quality materials, exclusive designs, and personalized customer service. Armed with this information, you can tailor your marketing campaigns to highlight these factors and create a shopping experience that meets their expectations.

Competition

Knowing your ideal client’s competition is crucial to understanding the market landscape and how you can differentiate your products and services. By understanding your ideal client’s competition, you can identify gaps in the market and create unique selling propositions that set you apart from your competitors.

For example, if you run a digital marketing agency you may find your ideal client is a small business owner who wants to increase their online visibility and generate more leads and sales. By researching your ideal client’s competition, you might discover that many of their competitors are not utilizing social media to its full potential. Armed with this information, you could develop a marketing campaign that emphasizes the benefits of social media marketing for small businesses, highlighting the ways that your agency can help your clients leverage social media to reach their target audiences and grow their businesses.

 

Your Ideal Client Persona

Once you have gathered this information, you can use it to create a detailed profile of your ideal client. This profile, also known as a buyer persona, should include all the essential information you have gathered about your ideal client. A buyer persona should include details such as their name, age, occupation, income, goals, challenges, buying behavior, and preferred channels of communication.

Creating a buyer persona will help you visualize your ideal client and create targeted marketing messages that speak directly to their needs and desires. Here are some tips for creating a buyer persona:

Conduct Research

The first step to creating a buyer persona is to conduct research on your target audience. This can include surveys, focus groups, interviews, and social media monitoring. The more information you gather, the better you will be able to understand your ideal client.

Identify Patterns

As you gather information, look for patterns and similarities among your ideal clients. This will help you create a profile that accurately represents your target audience.

Use Real Data

When creating a buyer persona, use real data rather than assumptions. This will help you create a profile that accurately represents your ideal client and their needs.

Refine Over Time

As your business grows and evolves, so too will your ideal client. It’s important to refine your buyer persona over time to ensure that it accurately represents your target audience.

Gain Clarity on your Ideal Client

Gaining clarity on your ideal client is essential for business success. By understanding your ideal client’s demographics, psychographics, challenges, goals, buying behavior, and competition, you can create a detailed profile that helps you create targeted marketing messages and build long-lasting relationships with your clients. It’s essential to note that gaining clarity on your ideal client is an ongoing process. As your business grows and evolves, so will your target audience. Continuously gathering information about your ideal client and updating your branding and marketing strategy to meet their needs is crucial for long-term success.

Are you ready to dig into building your ideal client persona, but not sure where to start?  Schedule a Stand-Out Brand Strategy 1:1 Consultation.  During this intensive strategy session, we’ll work together to develop a plan to define your target audience and attract more of your dream clients. Click the link below to get started.

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Brand DesignBrand IdentityBrand PositioningBrand Strategy

The Essential Guide to Conducting a Brand Audit

by Bilbrey Lee
written by Bilbrey Lee

Conducting regular brand check-ups can ensure that your brand remains in alignment with your vision and strategic direction.  Although we build our brands to last, internal and external factors can impact our business strategy and force us to evolve in order to stay connected with your audience.  In order to be certain your brand remains relevant, consistent, valuable, and true to its mission, I recommend conducting an annual brand audit. 

What is a Brand Audit?

Basically, a brand audit is a process that helps you analyze and assess how your brand is performing in the market. A brand audit allows you to:

      • Take a step back and look at the overall picture, which helps to inform your long-term strategy

      • Pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of your brand

      • Highlight any missing pieces from your brand strategy

      • Identify areas where you can improve your brand position and overall performance

    The magic of a brand audit is that it uncovers hidden roadblocks that are stopping your brand from growing or moving forward. Conducting a brand audit helps you to understand the current state of your brand and create a strategy and plan to reach more customers, get more sales, and increase brand awareness.  

    Advertisement Image for Free Brand Audit Workbook

    Items to Review During your Brand Audit

    When conducting your brand audit, you should consider your target audience, offerings, social media channels, pricing, and competition.  Plan to gather as much information as possible in these areas.  You can use the table below to guide you. 

    Brand Strategy Brand Identity Touchpoints
    Goals
    Personality
    Purpose
    Positioning
    Values
    Vision
    Promise
    Essence
    Message Architecture
    Ideal Client Profile    		 Logos
    Color Palette
    Typography
    Patterns
    Icons/Illustrations
    Graphics
    Photography
    Voice
    Story
    Copy    		 Website
    Welcome Guides
    Client
    Emails
    Email
    Marketing
    Social Media
    Collateral/Assets

    Conduct Your Brand Audit in 6 Steps

    Step 1:  Audit Your Brand Goals and Priorities

    Before you can assess how your brand is performing, you need to get clear on what you hope to achieve with your branding.  This means reviewing your business and marketing objectives.  

    Before you start your brand audit, consider the following questions.

        • Who is your target audience? What are their pain points, challenges, and needs?

        • What is the level of brand awareness among your ideal audience? Do you need to increase your visibility?

        • How is your brand currently perceived? Is it on-point with how you would like your brand to be perceived?

        • What is your current market share? Are there opportunities to expand? What are the main obstacles to making that happen? 

      Think about what you are trying to accomplish in the next year or two.  Consider some ideas for quick wins as well as actions that will have the greatest impact and return on your investment.  Keep these in mind as you go through your brand audit to look for possible roadblocks.  

      Step 2:  Question your Audience

      Your brand’s success is shaped by the perceptions and experiences of your audience.  This means you gotta dive into their mindset to find those gaps between your current and desired brand perception.  

      “Your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”

      Marty Neumeier

      You can use an email survey, social media poll, or customer feedback to better understand how your people perceive your brand.  

      Consider some of these questions when asking for feedback.

          • How would you describe our brand?

          • What do our products/services help you with?

          • How do you feel after viewing this?

          • Do you recommend our products, services or content to others?

          • What do you think of when you see our logo?

          • How can we improve your experience?

        If you can’t pose all of these questions to your audience while conducting your brand audit, consider adding some to your client feedback form at the end of each project.  The information provided by your audience can help you determine what, if any, adjustments need to be made to your brand strategy, platforms, and communications.  

        Image advertising free brand audit workbook

        Step 3:  Compare with the Competition

        Normally, I would say comparison is a bad thing.  You have unique gifts and talents that your audience needs.  During the brand audit, we want to use comparison to ensure you are positioning yourself in a way that celebrates what you have to offer that no one else does.   

        Ask yourself:

            • What is the position that your business owns in the marketplace?

            • How are your competitors positioned? What is your primary point of difference? What sets your business apart?

            • Do you need to make changes to your brand strategy and positioning to better leverage what makes you different/better than anyone else?

          Step 4:  Cross Check Brand Identity and Communications

          Next up on your brand audit is to examine your brand identity and communications to make sure they are working for you and your business goals.   Check your resources and ask yourself:

              • How are people navigating to your website?  What links are they clicking?  What is the bounce rate? Conversion rate?  

              • Does your personality come across in the tone and style of your design and copy?

              • Are you communicating in a way that is relevant and resonates with your ideal client? Do you clearly and directly address their unique needs, wants and challenges?

              • Is your brand voice distinct, consistent, and on-brand?  Do your communications immediately convey the reason to choose your company, or do they look and sound just like those of your competition?

              • How often do you communicate with your target audience? Is this enough to stay top of mind? Are you communicating with your audience through the channels of their choice?

              • Do each of your communications have a clear call to action, spelling out precisely the next step you want your audience to take?

            If you find that your brand messaging, visuals, and even your overarching brand strategy just aren’t pulling their weight, I would encourage you to get in touch with me.  I would love to chat about how we can level-up your brand through distinct visuals and intentional strategy. 

            Step 5:  Review the Brand Audit Data

            At this point in the brand audit process, you have the information you need to determine whether your brand is on track, needs a few tweaks, or needs a rebrand.  

            You can learn more about whether a rebrand or brand refresh is right for you in this blog post.  

            Make a list of the areas for improvement.  Rank them in order of importance and what will have the biggest impact on growing  your brand and business. 

            Step 6:  Make an Action Plan

            Remember, the purpose of a brand audit is to identify any actions you need to take to strengthen your brand. Once you have identified your strengths and weaknesses, consider which are the easiest and fastest to implement. Then take the time to develop a detailed action plan and determine a timeline for execution.  Once you start implementing changes, be sure to monitor any changes in ROI, brand awareness, conversions and customer feedback.

            You can’t afford to take your eyes off your brand.  While conducting a brand audit may seem like a challenging task, it doesn’t have to be an ordeal.  My step-by-step Brand Audit Workbook provides a framework to guide you through the process.  Grab your copy today!

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            5 Proven Ways to a Build Consistent Brand

            by Bilbrey Lee
            written by Bilbrey Lee

            One thing I get asked all the time is how can I keep my branding consistent? Most people realize that they need consistent branding to build recognition and brand awareness.  However, what people may not realize is that branding is so much more than a logo, color palette, or website.  Building a strong, consistent brand requires strategic planning and purposeful design that accurately represents your brand’s personality and speaks to your ideal clients.  

            Today, I’m sharing five tips to help you create consistent branding that communicates your mission and inspires authentic connection with your audience.  

            Image advertising blog content

            Consistent Brand Identity

            You need a strong, consistent brand identity to attract your ideal clients.  Taking the time to develop your brand identity ensures that your messaging is always on point with your brand’s personality, value, and unique positioning in the marketplace.  This makes it easier for people to remember your brand, which increases brand awareness and helps you connect with your ideal audience.  

            Your brand identity includes:

            • Brand visuals-colors, logo, fonts, layout, and design elements like photos and graphics. 
            • Brand voice and tone- the language and style used to communicate with your audience
            • Brand messaging– slogan or tagline, social media, email, and in-product content messaging, website copy, and anything else used to communicate with your audience

            Each piece of your brand identity is an opportunity to influence how people see you and your business.  

            Not sure if your brand identity is working for or against you?  Maybe it’s time for a brand audit.  Check out this post to learn more.

            Consistent Brand Visuals

            In order to develop consistent branding, you need to make sure that everything you put out into the world uses the same colors, typography, imagery, and voice.  Each of these play a different role in your messaging, but when strategically selected, they work together to deliver a big impact.  Each component should be carefully selected to connect with and inspire your audience.  

            Let’s examine the key elements in creating consistent brand visuals.

            • Color Palette:  Colors are powerful communication tools and will be the first thing people notice about your brand.  Be sure to select a color palette that reflects your brand and speaks to your target audience.
            • Typography:  Choose 2-3 fonts for your brand and use them consistently.  Heading fonts should be the most expressive and represent your brand’s personality.  Keep your subtitle and body fonts easy to read.  
            • Logo: Your logo is one of the most visible and recognizable components of your brand. Therefore, it should be unique and memorable. 
            • Graphics:  Visuals make a serious impact when it comes to brand recognition, conversion rates, and social media engagement.  Custom illustrations, graphics, and patterns give your brand a unique edge that will engage your audience and make you stand out from the competition.    

            You want to invest in logo, graphics, and brand patterns that will help you deliver distinctive, easy to recognize messaging across a variety of platforms. 

            Consistent Brand Guidelines

            To help you and your team maintain consistency, develop (and use) a brand style guide for social media, website content, and branded images.  Your brand style guide can include sample messaging, guidelines on selecting images, brand and tone recommendations, and other suggestions to help everyone on the team stay consistent with branding.  

            Consider the following topics when developing your brand style guide:

            • Logo usage:  clear space, sizing, logo version descriptions, usage restrictions, etc.
            • Color palette: primary and secondary colors with hex codes
            • Typography: font styles, sizes, and spacing
            • Imagery: photos, illustrations,etc. 
            • Layout guidance: filters, colors, relevant specs, etc.  
            • Tone and voice: messaging, word choice, and emotion

            Your brand style guide is essentially an instruction manual and rule book on how to communicate your brand consistently.  If you’re working with a designer, ask them to provide you with a brand style guide 

            Image advertising blog content

            Consistent Social Media Graphics

            To save time and make sure your posts are always on brand, create branded templates for your social media channels.  You can work with your brand designer to tailor templates to your unique color palette, fonts, graphics, and overall style.  When you have a collection of branded templates, you can rest assured that everything you publish is memorable and on-point with your brand.  

            When designing social media templates, be sure to consider:

            • Fit sizes and specifications for various platforms
            • Optimization for different social media platforms
            • Organization strategy to keep templates easy to find and use

            Creating brand templates is one of the easiest ways to stay consistent when posting online.  

            Consistent Brand Communication

            From email signatures to welcome guides, consistent branding means updating your client experience in addition to your online content.  Everything you share should include your brand identity in order to set you apart as a professional and build trust with your clients.  I recommend working with a designer to create custom guides, stationary, etc. that match the look and feel of your brand.  

            To stay consistent with your communication, remember to update your:

            • Email Signature
            • Client proposals
            • Invoices
            • Welcome guides
            • Contacts
            • Newsletters
            • Worksheets, upgrades, freebies, etc.
            • Services guide
            • Business stationary

            Whether you are designing communication for print or electronic distribution, keeping everything on brand will elevate your client experience and increase demand for your business.  

            A strong brand identity does more than just look good.  It’s vital to maintain consistency in your branding and communication.  A well-designer brand identity can improve your marketing efforts and attract your ideal clients.  By choosing the right design for your brand and showing up consistently, you build awareness, establish credibility, and increase your earning potential.  

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            How to Build a Mood Board in 4 Steps 

            by Bilbrey Lee
            written by Bilbrey Lee

            As you know, your brand personality is one of your biggest assets when it comes to standing out from the crowd.  You want your brand to represent you, your mission, and your unique positioning in the marketplace.  It’s important to have a clear vision, and a brand mood board is one of the best ways to organize all your ideas to help visualize your brand story.  

            Whether you are working with a brand designer or DIYing your brand design, a mood board will help to focus your efforts in a particular direction.  It provides a starting point and guidance throughout the branding process.  Plus, your brand mood board can save time.  Without it, it may take longer to develop a design that truly reflects your business.  

            Image advertising blog post

            What is a Mood Board?  

            A brand mood board is a collection of visual assets that represents who you are as a brand and what message you want to convey with the world.  It’s an assortment of ideas, patterns, textures, fonts, and images that you feel accurately reflects your brand’s personality, style, and message. Your brand mood board helps to establish the creative direction for your brand design and serves as a valuable tool for:

            • Inspiration:  Brings brand attributes, vision, identity, and personality into focus.  
            • Affirmation:  Helps translate culture and values into something tangible.
            • Guidance:  Provides focus when creating your brand identity, website, and marketing materials.
            • Communication:  Ensures your designer and partners understand your brand vision right from the beginning.  

            What to include in your Brand Mood Board

            You can include pretty much anything in your brand mood board that helps communicate your vision for your brand.  I recommend using Pinterest as a way to collect the images that are a good fit for your brand and the message you want to convey to your audience.  

            When creating a Pinterest board to share with your designer or business partner, you might want to include:

            • Colors:  Include swatches of colors that send a clear message of who you are as a brand.  
            • Textures & Patterns:  Look for different textures that speak to your brand and the vibe you are trying to create. Include patterns that can give insight into your brand.
            • Visuals, Photography, & Imagery:  Search for photography and visuals that capture your preferred aesthetic.  This could be lifestyle shots, product photography, or even pictures of your family and friends.  Anything that helps tell your brand story.
            • Fonts & Typography: Look for font combinations and individual fonts that you love and feel represent your brand’s personality and style.  Include words and quotes that give voice to your brand message.  
            • Graphics & Illustrations:  Pin examples of your style preferences for stickers, icons, etc.  
            • Anything Else: Logos you love, packaging and mock-ups, printed materials, and anything that fits the vibe you’re going for in your brand design.  
            Image advertising blog content

            Steps to Create a Brand Mood Board

            Step 1: Define Your Audience

            Obviously, it’s important to identify your personality as a brand, but you also need to make sure that it resonates with your ideal client.  Ultimately, you want your brand identity to attract your ideal clients.  So before you start building your brand mood board, think about who you’re speaking to and use that audience to drive your decisions about what to include.  Afterall, your audience will determine the success of your brand.  

            Step 2: Define the Vibe You are Trying to Create

            It’s likely when you think of your brand, certain words come to mind. This is part of your brand personality.  Think about the values and feelings you are trying to convey with your brand story.  Brainstorm at least 3-5 words that truly reflect your brand.  

            Step 3: Start Pinning 

            Create a new board labeled “Your Brand Project” Ideas.  If you don’t want just anyone to see your board, make it private.  Now think back to those 3-5 keywords you just picked and locate images that reflect those words. There are no rules as to how many images you should curate, but I would suggest going for 30-50 images.. Just remember, to include color swatches, textures (refine, rough, etc.), patterns (organic, stripes, polka dots, etc.) as well. 

            Tips for Creating Your Brand Pinterest Board

            • Keep your pinning purposeful.  Remember to look through the eyes of your brand and ideal client.
            • Add the word, aesthetic, after your search term to help find visuals rather than products.
            • Take a look at the “related pins” to find additional images to support your brand.
            • Use the “more pins” tab to discover more suggestions.  As you add images to your board, Pinterest will have a better idea of what you’re looking for and make better suggestions.  

            Step 4: Refine and Edit

            After you’ve chosen at least 50 images, it’s time for the hard part.  Go back over the images you’ve collected and pick the ones that best reflect your brand and what will connect with your ideal client. See which ones really jump out at you and clearly express the feel of your brand.  Delete any pins that no longer resonate with your brand and audience.

            Next Steps

            Your next steps depend on whether you are working with a brand designer or DIYing your brand.  

            Working with a Brand Designer

            If you’re working with a designer, you can share your Pinterest Board with them as a way to communicate your vision.  Don’t worry if your Pinterest board isn’t perfect.  They will use the images you shared to create the brand mood board that will drive the brand design process. Your designer will be able to take those ideas and develop a brand identity that captures your essence and works for your design strategy.  

            DIY Brand Design

            If you are DIYing your brand, you want to use your Pinterest board as a starting point to refine and create your guiding brand mood board.  Use the images and color swatches to choose 3-4 colors, plus 1-2 neutrals, to make up your color palette.  Use the images and color palette to create your brand mood board using Adobe Photoshop or Canva. Use your brand mood board to create your brand identity essentials and your brand style guide.  

            You can check out Canva’s mood board templates here.

            Whether you are creating a brand identity for your own business or you’re about to work with a designer, a mood board will help you build a solid foundation for your brand.

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            Refresh vs. Rebrand:  Which is Better for your Business?

            by Bilbrey Lee
            written by Bilbrey Lee

            There’s no doubt that your brand is important to your business success.  Your brand is your most valuable asset and your competitive advantage in the marketplace.  

            Although you strive to build a lasting brand identity, there are times when a brand needs a little (or a lot) of TLC to stay connected with your audience and/or mission.  Sometimes that can be accomplished with a brand refresh, but other times, it may require a complete overhaul in the form of a rebrand.   

            Let’s take a look at the difference between a rebrand and a brand refresh.  

            Image advertising blog content

            Need a Little Tweak?  That’s a Brand Refresh

            Think of a brand refresh like a fresh coat of paint in your living room, maybe even a new couch.  A brand refresh isn’t a fundamental change and tends to focus more on the appearance of your brand.  It’s a strategic set of changes to your brand identity to realign with current trends or increase its impact on how your brand feels, sounds, and looks to your audience.  A brand refresh can come in many forms including:

               

                • New or altered logo

                • Updated slogan

                • New color palette

                • Refreshed marketing materials

                • New font

                • Updated content with your brand’s voice

                • New service and product offerings.

              Tearing it All Down?  That’s a Rebrand

              In simple terms, if a brand refresh is a fresh coat of paint and a new couch, then a rebrand is gutting the room and starting over.  While a refresh updates your brand identity, a rebrand completely transforms it.  Rebranding gives you the power to go back to the beginning and go through the branding process again with a refined vision for your business.

              Rebranding is a top-to-bottom change that includes:

                 

                  • Overhauling your entire image

                  • Creating a new brand strategy

                  • Redefining the mission

                  • Reestablishing the brand story

                  • Reworking the brand positioning and value to match a new set of goals

                  • Developing a new brand personality

                  • Establishing your brand in a different market

                Image advertising blog content

                Which is Right for you, a Brand Refresh or a Rebrand? 

                So now that we understand the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand, how do you know which one is right for your brand? To answer that question, you need to determine what the issues are with your current branding.  

                Go for a refresh if…

                If your brand strategy, story, and positioning is solid, chances are you just need a brand refresh.  A brand refresh is perfect when you just need to update your messaging and design system to give your brand more power and consistency.  A refresh will help clarify and refocus your brand image by giving your brand elements a few quick, modern enhancements.  

                When going through the refresh process, it’s important to build on your existing reputation and enhance your brand’s current equity with your audience.  Consider a brand refresh if you want to:

                   

                    • Make your brand more appealing to your target audience.

                    • Reconnect your brand with your offerings.

                    • Ensure your brand stays relevant and keeps up with the changing marketplace.

                    • Reach a wider audience.

                    • Preserve the integrity of your brand.

                    • Infuse the business with new vitality.

                  A refresh is something that can improve and build upon your current brand. If you have a loyal audience, and things are going well for your brand, a refresh can help you to make sure that you stay competitive, and remain on the right track.

                  Go for a rebrand if…

                  If you need to completely change your brand image, reposition your business, or expand your business scope and appeal to a new market, you probably want to go for a rebrand.  A brand redesign, or rebrand, involves some serious changes to your brand aimed at changing your messaging and brand identity.  

                  Since rebranding is a more complex process than a brand refresh, it requires serious consideration and preparation.  Rebranding is basically like starting from scratch to develop your brand identity and visual assets.  This is a good choice if your current branding was never a great fit for your business or you’re changing focus and moving in a new direction.   

                  You should consider a rebrand when:

                     

                      • Your competition is growing, so your  brand needs to evolve too.

                      • Your audience is changing.

                      • You have a  desire to market new services and products.

                      • Your old marketing methods aren’t working anymore.

                      • Your current brand identity is out-of-date.

                      • Industry expectations have changed.

                    With a rebrand, everything changes. You might be selling the same products, or providing the same services, but your brand becomes something entirely new. 

                    Final Thoughts: Brand Refresh vs. Rebrand

                    Eventually, every brand needs to change. The world is constantly changing.  New competition, new innovations, and new demands from your clients require your brand to keep up if you want to stay relevant.  However, the extent to which you change your brand and adapt depends on you.

                    Markets, businesses, and audiences grow and change.  It’s important to keep in touch with your ideal clients and the latest trends in brand strategy and design.  To keep your brand relevant, you have to be willing and ready to refresh or rebrand as needed.  Sometimes, that requires a few changes to some minor details in order to make your brand more appealing to customers. Other times, it calls for a complete redesign of your brand identity, especially if you’re reaching out to a new audience or preparing to enter a new market.  The main thing to keep in mind is the importance of your brand identity and how to make sure it represents your brand image properly.

                    Could a brand refresh or rebrand be in order for your business? If so, which approach do you think will help you reach your desired results? Sound off in the comments below, or get in touch to chat more about this exciting time for your brand!

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