This post will give you a framework for building a brand you AND your customers love.
The other night I was watching a stand up special on Netflix featuring comedian Ali Wong. Have you seen it? If you have, you’ll remember that Ali keeps coming back to this punchline – I don’t want to work anymore.
I relate to Ali. This is how I feel about most things in life. I don’t want to have to think about one more thing, make one more decision, or add one more line to my to-do list.
My gut says it’s safe to assume that you can relate. We all have enough on our plates as it is.
Which, is why I want you to consider this:
Yes, That’s right. Your customers want you to be their favorite. They want you to make their lives easier by giving them one less decision to make. When they love your brand they don’t have to think about who they are going to buy from. They already know the answer.
Take these examples
When I buy groceries I already know what brand of coffee is going in my cart. When I need a card I know exactly which shop I’m heading to. And, when Mother’s Day rolled around last week there was no question who I was buying my flowers from. I have the brands that I know and love for these things. And you know what, I love them for being that for me.
So what is it that makes us love one brand over another? Take the example of my favorite coffee. Yes, I enjoy the flavor but its more than that. The real reason I love the brand is that its fair trade, local, and cool without being presumptuous. The brand’s equity (aka what it stands for) resonates with me. In turn, they’ve found a fan in me.
Last week we talked about how to really get to know your customers. Here’s where that becomes important. When you know who your customers are, what they want, and what they need you’re primed to succeed.
Now let’s talk about the 5 steps you’re going to take to make sure your brand is one that your customers can fall in love with. To help illustrate each step, I’ll provide an example for a service business – in this case, blogging. As well as an example of a product business – in this case, subscription boxes. (Don’t worry I got you ; )
Step 1: Decide & deliver on your brand fundamentals
By fundamentals, I mean the actual products/services your brand creates or provides. At the ground level, your customers should know exactly what they can expect from you. You are their favorite brand for X.
If you’re a blogger: I want to know exactly what kinds of posts I can expect to find on your site and social media feeds. I want to know if you’re going to be my source of inspiration, advice, or education.
For example, you might decide that: My blog shares weekly recipe posts that teach you how to make easy vegan meals on a budget.
If you sell subscription boxes: I want to know what kinds of products the boxes include. Where can I buy them and how much do they cost? Do they cater to a certain type of person or occasion?
For example, you might decide that: My brand ships monthly boxes with 3 – 4 beauty products selected from organic, woman-owned brands. The cost is $50/ month.
Step 2: Do things different… and better
What can you do to make your brand better than the others for your customers? How can you intersect their needs and interests? Clarify the reasons your customers should choose you over another brand. You are the only brand that does what for them?
If you’re a blogger: Is your content more in-depth? Does it come with free downloads? Do you provide exclusive interviews? It is full of beautiful imagery? Is it guaranteed to make me laugh? What is is that makes your blog better than every other I could read?
For example your point of difference might be that: Every recipe post includes a grocery shopping list, video tutorial, and budget breakdown. So that, cooking and eating vegan has never been easier.
If you sell subscription boxes: Do you use special ingredients or source from local vendors? Do you support a charitable cause? Can I customize my order? Does it ship for free? Why should I choose your product over any other?
For example, your point of difference might be that: Every subscription box comes with a card that tells the story of the women behind the brands inside. Customers can also visit your Youtube channel to see exclusive interviews with them. Additionally, you donate 10% of sales to a fund that supports women entrepreneurs.
Step 3: Evoke an emotional response
Your customers should leave every interaction with you feeling something. In fact, the way your brand makes people feel is as important as what it does for them. What emotions do you want to stir? You are the brand that makes your customers feel how?
If you’re a blogger: Do people come to you for a dose of tough love or to feel comforted? Are you there to motivate them, be a patient teacher, or fill them with inspiration?
For example, you might determine that: Our recipes will make our readers feel like going vegan is actually easy and affordable. We don’t make them feel bad if they aren’t vegan or weird if they are. We want our readers to feel supported and good about themselves.
If you sell subscription boxes: When someone receives your gift box how should they react? Is it a heartfelt gesture? Does it get them ready to party? Do they feel inspired to DIY or take a moment for self-reflection?
For example you might say: Our boxes make will help our customers feel good about what they’ve spent their money on. They will feel excited to be part of a bigger mission and empowered to champion women. They’ll feel inspired to share their stories while creating their own.
Step 4. Create a human connection
People serve different roles in our lives. We have our best friends, our teachers, our critics. How would your customers describe your brand if she were a person? What role does your brand play in their lives?
If you’re a blogger: Is your blog the life of the party? Always optimistic? Brash? Unabashed? An advocate for others? What are the words you want people to use to describe you and/ or your blog?
For example, you might want your role to be: Our blog is the friend that helps you be more mindful. She has graceful awareness of herself, the planet, and those around her. She’s the one you turn to when you need to feel grounded.
If you sell subscription boxes: Is your brand a perfectionist? Charming? Is she more like your relatable best friend or your mentor? Does she push you to be better or hold your hand and walk you step by step?
For example you might want your role to be: Our brand is the friend you call to talk about the latest product you’re obsessing over. She’s also the one you went to the Women’s March with. She embraces her soft feminine qualities as well as her feminist strength.
Step 5. Deliver a consistent brand experience
Your brand’s equity describes what you want it stands for in the hearts & minds of your customers. It’s created through consistent delivery. Meaning, everything you do should build up the qualities you’ve outlined in Steps 1 -4. This is true whether we’re talking about introducing a new product or an Instagram post. What is the experience and equity you’re delivering to your customers?
If you’re a blogger: Is your tone of voice the same from post to post? Is that Instagram post helpful or braggy? How about that recipe, is it actually easy?
For example, your brand equity might be that: My blog is a safe space for all people to learn about and practice being vegan.
If you sell subscription boxes: Are you selective about the products you include? Do the women behind those brands support your mission? Is the message consistent from month to month?
For example, your brand equity might be that: My subscription boxes empower women to support and empower one another.
So there you have it. Taking these 5 steps will help you build a brand that is just right for your customers. And, when you show up for them, they will show up for you.
Wrapping it up
To help make this process easy as can be, I created this template for you to download and complete for your brand.
The purpose of going through these 5 steps is to help you see how the different parts of your brand come together. This framework should help clarify the kind of brand you want to build. And, it should create a structure that will help you best build it.
Next week we’ll talk about how to use this framework to bring your brand personality to life through design, visuals, and language.
What questions do you have? Leave them in the comments below!
Your brand mission statement is the most important promise you will make to your customers.
That’s right, I’m coming in strong here.
There’s a difference between building a product and building a brand. A product offers a solution to a specific need. A brand offers a gateway to a specific desire. You’re here because you want to build the latter.
So how do we take our businesses from product to brand?
You give your brand a mission.
Your brand mission is a declaration of what you’re going to do for your customers and how you plan to make it happen.
It should:
Express not just what you make, create, sell, or do what you do but why you do it
Be rooted in emotion not just cold hard facts
Spark brand loyalty by revealing a true desire to help not just sell
Let’s talk about that last line for a second. Your mission statement is an opportunity to introduce what your brand values and more specifically, that you value your customers.
Let’s use Toast Meets Jam as an example.
Toast Meets Jam teaches you how to build and grow your brand online.
Your need = wanting to build and grow your brand. My brand is here to help make that happen.
What’ I’ve just shared is my brand statement – a clear, concise articulation of what service or product I offer. Now, compare that to my brand mission statement >>
Toast Meets Jam exists to enable female founders to build the world’s most loved brands by inspiring confidence in every woman with a dream.
Your desire = having the confidence to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams and feel set up for success. My mission is to fuel you with that confidence by helping you put your best put forward with incredible branding.
See the difference? And if you want a few more examples, this Free Download is for you.
And if you think writing your brand mission statement is a fruitless exercise. Think again. Here are three ways I want you to share your mission statement IRL.
In your ‘About’: Include your brand mission statement in the About page on your website, your media kit, or even the bio your social media profiles.
In your email signature: Including your mission statement in your email signature will make every interaction a little more meaningful by reminding those you work with why your brand is different.
On your hiring page: Using your mission statement here is a great way to attract the right kinds of talent to your team who not only want to work on your product but are inspired to bring your mission to life.
Writing Your Mission Statement
OK, now let’s write yours. I’ve created a foolproof formula for writing a brand mission statement that nails it every time. Ready for it? Here goes:
Not so bad, right?
It’s a simple statement that packs a lot of punch. The formula is simple but the end result can be incredibly powerful for elevating your brand to the next level.
You’ll know you’ve nailed your mission when it becomes not just a directive but a rallying cry for your team and your tribe – something everyone knows by heart and are working together to achieve.
If you want even more help to nail down your brand statement, mission, and values you might take a look at the Jammin Brand Book. In the meantime, leave a comment below with what questions you have about writing your brand mission statement.
Do you really know who your customers are? This post is going to teach you how to make them your new BFFS with a super specific research process and a customer persona template.
Last week I posted about how to build your brand from the bottom up in 10 steps. I was really excited to share that because I wanted to give you all one source that covered it all.
If you haven’t yet checked that out I would recommended popping over here to read it.
While I’m in love with that post, I can freely admit that it came with two big challenges. First, it’s A LOT and might even feel like too much for you. And while yes, you’ll eventually need to go through each of the 10 steps, you won’t be tackling them all at once. Second, while I was able to provide some examples and resources, I didn’t get to go as in depth as I wanted to for each step.
For that reason, I want to take the next few weeks to tackle each of the 10 steps in it’s own blog post. Starting at the top with how to really get to know your customers.
Let’s get real for a minute.
How many of you struggle with the customer bit and figuring out who your brand is really for? Maybe you have an idea but aren’t totally sure. Or, perhaps you’re crystal clear about who you want to target but don’t know how to connect with them in an authentic way. Wherever you’re at in this process let’s all agree, getting to know your customers is CRITICAL.
Why is getting to know your customers so important?
When you really know your customers you’ll know exactly what they need from you. This information is POWER. If you’re creating the right offerings you’ll get more sales.
You’ll know how to sell to your customers in a way that isn’t salesy. When you can talk to your customers about how you’re going to help solve their biggest struggles or achieve their biggest dreams magic happens. You stop becoming a saleswoman and turn into a best friend.
You will know when and where your customers want you to jump in. It’s the difference between your brand being an annoyance and a godsend.
Pretty good stuff, right?
On top of all of that, when you get this right, your customers will love you for it. So much in fact that they’ll want to tell the world about your brand. Because you’ve been so darn amazing for them they’ll want to let others into the secret. This is literally MONEY because you know what?
92% percent of consumers around the world say they trust word-of-mouth or recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. [Nielsen]
Okay, by now I hope we can agree that getting to know our customers is a fundamental first step. The next question is what to do about it.
That’s what I want to tackle in the rest of this post. I’m sharing exactly the process that I use and that I want you to adopt too. I’ve also created a template you can use to build your customer personas. We’ll get to that in Step 10 but in the meantime, you can Click Here to Get Your Download
Alright, let’s get to it.
Create a place to keep all of the information you’re about to collect about your customers
You’re going to collect a lot of data throughout this process and I want you to have a system to keep it all organized.
I like to use a Google workbook but you can also use Excel. My workbook has two tabs. The first tab serves as a place where you can dump information as you find it. The second tab is where you can start to organize it. On this tab I want you to create columns for each of the places you’re going to pull data from. Google Analytics, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Brand A, Brand B, and Brand C are good places to start.
Across the side I want you to create these rows: age, location, interests & hobbies, wishes, and frustrations. This is the information you are going to start to gather about your customers through your research.
Check your Google & social media analytics
There is so much good information readily available at your fingertips.
Assuming you have a website you’ll want to make sure you’ve integrated Google Analytics. Here you’ll be able to find out information about who is coming to your site including their:
Ages
Gender
Where they live
Interests (like travel and design)
Which content they’re reading the most
Google Analytics Academy is a great resource to checkout if you’re not familiar or comfortable using their tool.
The next stop are your social media analytics. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest all have reporting dashboards. Here you can find out information about your followers on each of those platforms. Much of this will be similar information (age, gender, location) but there are unique insights each can also add. For instance, Pinterest Analytics can show you which other brands your followers also engage with on their platform.
Build a list of brands, books, and blogs that share your customers
Equipped with this information I want you to create a list of brands, blogs, and books that you believe share a similar audience as you.
Brands: These could be direct competitors or folks who do something completely different but complimentary to you.
Blogs: These are from media and influencers who cover the topics your audience is interested in
Books: You’re looking for self help, how-to, and DIYs related to your industry.
Discover which blog posts are the top performers with Buzzsumo
Take your brand and blog lists and head over to Buzzsumo. Type one of the websites from your list into the search bar. Out will pop a list of their most shared blog posts. These are the topics that their audience found the most compelling. Repeat this process for each of the brands and blogs on your list. Add these links to your Google worksheet. Later, you’ll want to go back to these posts and look for comments that readers have left.
Tap into the conversations customers are having on social media
Next, I want you to take your list of brands and bloggers and follow each of them on social media. Look out for whichever platform they have the most engaged followers and don’t forget to look for Facebook groups.
Browse around to see what posts are getting the most engagement e.g. people are leaving comments and a conversation is taking place. These are hot topics that people care most about.
Mine Amazon customer reviews
For the last part of this investigation, I want you to head on over to Amazon to look up the books on your list. What you’re looking for here are the customer reviews and more specifically the 5 and 1 star reviews.
These reviews are going to tell you what people absolutely loved about the book. They will also tell you where they felt like the book let them down. The latter is particularly valuable because it reveals what your potential customers are craving and currently aren’t being served.
Read and copy comments
As you are going through Steps 4 – 6 your goal is to uncover what real customers are saying they want and need. When you come across a great insight, copy the user comment and add it to your Google worksheet.
This process is sometimes referred to as copy stalking. Essentially you are gathering the exact language your customers use when they ask their questions or talk about their struggles or desires.
This is where you really start to get to uncover amazing insights. People are literally telling you what gets them jazzed, what’s holding them back, and what they want from you. I mean oh mah gawd does it get better??
Ask your audience
Up to this point you’ve been using other people’s audiences to get to know your own. This can be really helpful especially if you haven’t yet built up a large customer base or following yourself.
That being said, we don’t want to ignore the customers you do have so let’s talk about how to best engage with them.
The first thing I’d recommend is sending out an email and a few social posts asking who would be up for giving you feedback. This is your support squad. Many of you probably know that I do this with Toast Meets Jam. Use this group as your sounding board when you have ideas you want input on.
The easiest way to get their feedback is to send surveys to them through a free tool like Google polls or Survey Monkey. I’d also suggest identifying a solid group that you can do one on interviews with. These don’t have to be formal. Ask if you can take someone out for coffee or hop on a Skype to get their thoughts.
The second thing I’d recommend is to regularly gather feedback from your audience through social media. Sprinkle questions and polls into what you’re posting to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This is a great way to get immediate reactions and vet ideas as you go.
Analyze your findings
While you’re going through your discovery process you should be adding your findings into your Google worksheet. It should now look pretty filled with all of the great data and insights you’ve uncovered across your social networks and your look-a-like brands.
At this phase, you want to start to look for patterns in the information. For instance, is there a specific age group that kept coming up as you were looking at your analytics across platforms? Do you see similar questions coming up in the comments that you copied from other brand’s social feeds and blog comments?
What you’re going to discover here are your customer segments. These are the different types of customers your brand serves. It’s likely that you’ll have one core segment that really stands out and maybe 1 – 3 smaller segments also in the mix. For example, your biggest segment might be women, age 25 – 34, who live primarily in LA and are interested in yoga, health blogs, and volunteering. Another smaller segment might be women 35 – 44 who live in NY and are interested in shopping, travel, and beauty. You want to narrow in on 1 – 2 and no more than 4.
Write customer personas
Your final step is to take these segments and give each a persona. Start by giving each a name. Then describe who she is, what she likes to do, what she struggles with, and what she hopes to achieve. If you can include actual quotes from your copy stalking even better.
I also like to give each persona a picture because I think that it helps to really bring them to life. You can even take it a step further and create a mood board that depicts her lifestyle. Polyvore is a really fun tool for this.
To wrap it up
We kicked off this post talking about the benefits of getting to know your customers really well. I hope that the steps we walked through help you see how this can be true.
To make it even easier I’ve created a template you can use to guide you through this process and help you build your customer personas. You can Click Here to Get Your Download
Now off to you! What questions can I help answer? Drop ‘em below.
This comprehensive guide is here to teach you everything you need to know about how to build a brand.
Intro
You had an idea and an entrepreneurial itch so you decided to go for it.
Before you knew it your venture was in motion and things started to happen, fast. Strategy and long term planning fell to the wayside as the day to day realities of running your business took center stage.
Now, things are going pretty well but you’re craving more. You look at some of your favorite brands and wonder what it would take to reach their level of success; to grow a following of loyal fans, keep customers coming back for more, and attract the attention of top media.
Trust me, I’ve been there and I get it.
I started Toast Meets Jam 4 years ago as a blog called The Single Diaries. (That’s a story for another time). Once things were going, trying to control them and stick to a plan for more than a few weeks became out of the question. The brand kept changing and things were anything but consistent. I finally decided that if I wanted to turn this blog into more than a passion project that I’d need to make a serious change. In July I committed to turning Toast into a full fledge business with a solid brand behind it. This is me coming out on the other side, ready to share everything I’ve learned.
You’ve probably already read a lot of articles with tips and strategies to grow your brand but always end up feeling overwhelmed. The goal of this post is to take away your doubts. I’ve put in the hard work so you don’t have to.
Because you know what?
Nailing your branding doesn’t have to be intimidating.
With a roadmap and specific actionable advice to follow, building your brand can actually feel totally achievable. And the payoff will absolutely make the effort worthwhile. Investing in your brand is a surefire way to scale your business and create more meaningful and profitable relationships with your customers.
When we’re done you’ll know exactly how toturn your business into a brand that customers crave. Ready? Let’s jam.
How to Build a Brand – 10 Steps to Brand Building Success
1. Really get to know your customers
Building a brand is about creating a community with the people we serve. In order to do that, we need to understand how to relate to them. That means getting to know them as friends, not just as a set of stats about their age, gender, and occupation. What’s the most important thing in their lives? What do they lose sleep over? You want to learn exactly who your customers are, what they like to do, what motivates them, and how they want to engage with brands like yours.
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57% of small business owners say that having a relationship with their consumers is the primary driver of repeat business. (source)
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So how do you do get to know your customers?
First, refer to your analytics. Google, Facebook, and Instagram all have amazingly detailed data to share around who is engaging with your brand online. Then,, conduct free market research by using your social media feeds to poll your audience. Ask easy to answer questions like “do you prefer A or B” or “In the comments tell me your favorite thing about X”. It’s real-time feedback at your fingertips. Next, scan the comments in blogs, Amazon books, and social media profiles that you believe share a similar audience. See what questions people ask, what complaints they have about the content, and what things they are blown away by. Lastly, use Quantcast to gather deeper information about these same audiences.
Turn your findings into customer segments.
I like to use a Google spreadsheet to keep track of the data that I collect. My workbook has one tab where I copy and paste direct quotes and comments that I find. A second tab categorizes critical information with rows labeled for age, location, interests, wishes, and frustrations. You’re looking for patterns that start to identify the different kinds of customers you serve. There will likely be more than one but you should try and keep your focus narrowed to no more than 4. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself not able to get specific enough in your communications.
Then turn these into customer personas.
The final step is to take these segments and turn them into customer personas. This is really just a fancy way to talk about writing characters for each of the types of customers you’ve identified. Give each a name and write a bio that describes who they are, what they like, dislike, and hope to achieve.
Storytelling is a part of human nature. We’re curious. We like to know the history and reason for things.
Believe it or not people really do care about the story behind your business. It’s why Netflix just released Girlboss, a new show loosely based on the story behind Sophia Amoruso’s Nasty Gal. It’s also why people can’t get enough of the Kardashian- Jenner clan. We know their story so intimately we feel like we’re a part of it.
When you share your story people are able to develop a trusting relationship with you. Think about it, would you rather buy something from someone you know nothing about or someone you know, trust, and like? I think we’d all vote for the latter.
How to write your brand story:
Writing your brand story doesn’t have to be hard. Tell it like it is and fill in the who, what, how, and why for your audience. Who are you and what’s your background? What was the catalyst for your business? Why did you feel compelled to see it through? How did you do it and what challenges did you overcome along the way? The biggest key to success is just to be honest.
Once you’ve drafted your story there’s three places I want you to start using it. First, add it to an “About” page on your website. Second, include it on a separate sheet in your media or press kit. Third, write it into your brand book. The point is for this to become a tale that is shared and repeated. Your goal is to reach a point that your fans, partners, and press can tell it as well as you can. When that happens you know you’ve got them hooked.
One of the things you’re going to uncover as you’re writing your brand story is your brand “why”. That is, why you do what you do? Why are you building this brand in the first place?
The way the answer to that question often manifests itself is in your mission statement. I like to think about your brand mission as the most important promise you will make to your customers. It is a declaration of what you’re going to do for your customers and how you plan to make it happen.
Your mission reveals your values.
Your mission is also where you begin to introduce your brand values. It’s an important opportunity to reveal what you care about and will deepen the emotional bond you have with your core customers.
Let’s take Brit + Co as an example. Their brand mission is to “ignite the creative spark in women”.
Wow! Right? Doesn’t that make you want to be a part of their community? I mean I for one want my creativity sparked.
Brand mission statement formula:
Ok, now try using this formula to write your own brand mission statement:
When you’ve written yours bring it to life by including it in your website both on your “About” page as well as in your “Hiring” page.
People don’t fall in love with brands because of what they sell. They fall in love with what a brand promises to do for them and how that brand makes them feel. In marketing lingo this is often referred to as a brand’s equity. It’s what a brand stands for in the hearts and minds of consumers.
So how do you begin to stand for more than what you sell? Great question. It’s about delivering on your mission statement through your words and actions. It’s how you talk to your customers, the content you put out in their social media feeds, the bigger impact you have on the world, and ultimately every little interaction someone has with your brand.
As an example let’s look at Jen Gotch’s brand Ban.do:
Their equity is really encapsulated in that last line “We are serious about fun.”. Ban.do sells office supplies and desk accessories that deliver on this promise through quirky patterns and catchy quotes. They also keep the vibe alive with bright colors and graphics in their social posts and a generally playful vibe wherever they pop up.
Okay so let’s get to it.
To figure out what your brand equity is I like to use this 5 step framework:
First, list the tangible products and services your brand creates or provides.
Second, write out your brand’s unique points of difference – the reasons someone would choose you over another brand.
Third, decide how you want your brand to make people feel.
Fourth, describe the traits your brand would have if she were a person.
Fifth, summarize this all in a short statement that describes what your brand stands for.
Going through this process should help you see how the different parts of your brand all come together. You can then use this framework to evaluate whether something like a new product, partnership, or even a social media post helps or hurts the equity you’re working to establish.
Research reveals that we make a subconscious judgment about something within 90 seconds of seeing it (source). Meaning, like it or not, we can’t seem to stick to the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover”. As human beings, we’re prone to make decisions on subliminal cues or “unconscious bias” as the author Malcolm Gladwell puts it. That means we need to make an awesome first impression every time someone encounters our brand. It may be our only chance to establish trust and validate our credibility with potential customers.
An awesome first impression begins with your brand design. It’s the outward expression of your equity that brings to life your brand’s personality. Great design can help create an immediate sense of trust and authority while poor design can detract from even the best brands.
Start with a mood board.
The first step in developing your design theme is to create a mood board which is a simple visual aid for bringing to life the look and feel of your brand. An easy way to build one is with Pinterest. Just create a new board and then begin to pin pictures that you feel reflect your brand personality.
The mood board sets the visual tone for your brand.
Reference it when you’re selecting images for everything from your website to an Instagram post. Your mood board is also where you can draw inspiration for the core elements of your brand design. Choose 4-5 colors that compliment each other. Tip: I like to use Mac’s Digital Color Meter tool to pick out colors directly from the images in my mood board. Then choose 2 – 3 font styles that you see repeated in your pictures. Font Pair is another great tool for picking out fonts that go together.
Once you select your elements stick with them and use them everywhere your brand shows up. To help drive this home I recommend documenting your choices in your brand book.
Of course, visuals are the only way one to communicate with your customers. The other is through your words. It seems pretty straight forward but for a lot of people finding the perfect tone of voice is actually one of the most challenging parts of the brand-building process.
So here’s my easy hack. Imagine how you’d talk to your customers if you met them at a party. Then, read out loud as if you actually are talking to them while you’re writing. I find that doing this really helps your words to come out more naturally.
Coin your signature sayings.
Another trick I like to use is to come up with a handful of signatures words and sayings. Think about how Sophia Amoruso coined GirlBoss and the word caught on like wildfire. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. The reason this trick is so powerful is that a shared language builds community amongst you and your followers. It creates a sense of belonging when someone recognizes and adopts the signature saying you’ve created.
How to develop your voice:
To develop your authentic voice start by brainstorming all of the words that reflect the brand equity and personality you’ve created. Write them down on whatever’s available to you whether that’s a whiteboard, Google doc or a notebook. When you’re done picking out the ones that really jump out. Aim to have a few words, phrases, and hashtags in your mix. I also recommend adding these to your brand book. Sensing a pattern here ; )
Why do I keep harping on documenting things in your brand book? Because the real secret to stand out branding is consistency.
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90% of consumers expect the customer experience to be consistent across all channels and devices used to interact with brands. (Source)
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Consistency makes your brand memorable.
It also builds trust. Both are critical when cultivating a loyal audience. Remember, you’re in your brand every moment of every day. Your customers are not. Even though you might be growing tired of how your brand looks, talks, or feels, chances are it’s only the first time someone is coming across these things. When they see you a second time, you want to make sure there’s no confusing who you are.
Your brand book is your best friend.
A brand book is a tool that helps you document and share your brand choices so that everyone who creates something on behalf of your brand does so in the same way.
Conduct a brand audit.
Now would be an excellent time to conduct an audit of how your brand is showing up on and offline. Are you using the same brand name everywhere you show up online? (logo, website URL, social handles, email address)? Have you picked a color palette and are you sticking to it? Have you picked specific fonts and are you using them consistently? Are you using the same or similar explanations for every brand bio?
8. Develop original brand content
First things first, get your house in order. Your goal is to answer “yes” to every one of the questions above. From there you’re ready to take what you’ve learned and apply it to the creation of original content e.g. blog posts, emails, social media posts – anything your brand creates and shares with your customers.
And why is creating original content so important? Because:
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62% of millennials feel that online content drives their loyalty to a brand (Source) and the more frequent your interactions the more loyalty you gain (Source).
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Creating original content helps your brand extend beyond the products you sell. It gives you a way to show your customers that you’re not all about business. That you actually care about them and you’re not just in it for the sale.
Create for your customers.
Bearing that in mind, before you get started creating content your first step should be spending time to understand what your customers are interested in. Good news! You should have this in hand from step 1 where you created your customer segments and personas.
From there it’s about picking the right platforms and messages for each. Here’s what I do. First, create a spreadsheet and list all of the places you talk with your customers across the top row. For instance, you might include your blog, Twitter, Facebook, email, and Instagram. Then in each column, list what kinds of content your customers would find helpful to find there. For Toast Meets Jam Instagram is where I’ve chosen to share inspirational quotes, tips, and a look behind the scenes. Twitter, on the other hand, is where I share other experts’ articles that I think my audience would benefit from and Youtube is where I share interviews with female founders.
Get creating!
Once you’ve nailed down what kinds of content you want to fill your channels the next step is to get creating! Canva is an awesome tool for creating beautiful original content. And pro-tip, if you upgrade to the paid version you get access to thousands of stock photos you can use to give your posts even more pizazz.
9. Attract your brand tribe
At this point, you’ve identified your core customers, you’ve got a brand designed to delight them, and content you know they’re going to love. The next step is to find and attract those people to your brand.
Here’s how you’re going to do it.
Your first step is to find out where your customers are already hanging out online. The tool you’re going to use to do this is called BuzzSumo. This site allows you to search for topics and websites. If you search a topic like “women entrepreneurs” it will show you a list of which articles were the most shared across the web on that topic. It will also show you where those articles were shared (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +). This will uncover which websites are attracting readers interested in that topic. It will also show you which social networks conversations around the topic are happening the most frequently.
Step 2
Next, I want you to become an active, helpful, and engaged member of the communities you identify. Regularly read the content that these other sites are posting, leave comments, join their Facebook groups if they have them, and share your favorite posts of theirs.
Step 3
At this point you can begin to introduce their audience to your brand and your content. You want to do this in a way that is helpful and not spammy. That means leaving a thoughtful comment and at the end mentioning that you have a product or a blog post that you think they might be interested in checking out. You’re subtly bringing people over to you.
Step 4
Finally, you’ll want to apply this same approach with your audience once you’ve started to build one. Regularly check your analytics to see which types of content people are loving the most and produce more of it. Engage with your audience around those topics and do what you can to be even more helpful for them in those areas.
Ultimately building a brand is about creating a community around a shared passion. Everything you’re doing now is intended to help foster relationships and create brand love.
10. Grow your brand awareness
One thing I want to clarify about the last step is that it’s not at all meant to be malicious. You are not stealing customers away from your competition. You want to be genuinely helpful and consequently, your engagement should actually benefit them. Sharing their content will help them get in front of a bigger audience. And engaging with their posts will help stir up more positive activity (comments, shares, likes) within their community.
The power of partnerships:
There’s a reason I emphasize this. It’s because I want you to get you to start thinking about how you can grow your brand through partnerships. This is about collaboration over competition. For that reason, I want you to build relationships with the people behind the sites you’ve been supporting. You’re going to do this in order to drum up opportunities for you both to continue to support each other and help one another grow. It’s really a big love fest in the end.
Go ahead and direct message these other brand owners through Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or shoot them an email. Introduce yourself, let them know how much you love their brand, and suggest a partnership. Try and be specific here in order to make it as easy for them to say yes as possible. You could cross-promote each other on social media, host a joint giveaway, create a video together, the ideas are endless. The aim is to do something that each of you and your customers will benefit from.
Partnerships are the not so secret trick of the trade for building a stand out brand. Don’t think that you need or should be on your journey alone. The more people you can involve the faster and bigger you’ll see your brand-building efforts pay off.
When you take time to build your brand you’re making an investment that will take your business to the next level. As a result, you’ll stand out from the crowd. You’ll find and attract your fan club. And you’ll feel completely confident that what you have to offer is awesome.
And while there is a lot packed into that tiny word “brand” learning how to build a brand doesn’t have to be stressful. Most of all it’s all about taking it one step at a time.
An interview with Jennifer Hyman| Co-Founder of Rent the Runway
Jennifer Hyman is perhaps one of the most well known and respected women entrepreneurs of the past decade. Along with her co-founder Jenny Fleiss she has built what has been dubbed “one of the most disruptive businesses of our time”. The proclamation is well warranted. Rent the Runway created a new business model that merged the worlds of fashion and technology. In fact, on their website Rent the Runway describes their business as,
Rent the Runway is a fashion company with a technology soul. Powered by a transformative business model, proprietary technology, a unique reverse-logistics operation and some of the smartest people on earth, we’re in a position to challenge old systems and rewrite new rules. By giving people access to remarkable luxury experiences, we’re changing the meaning of ownership — and revolutionizing retail in the process.
Growing a business of this nature and size (Rent the Runway employees over 1,000 people!) doesn’t come without it’s share of learnings. That’s what inspired Jennifer and Jenny to found their second venture, Project Entrepreneur. They sought a way to mentor and financially support the next generation of women entrepreneurs. Rock on ladies, rock on.
In this interview, Jennifer talks about the founding of Rent the Runway and passes along some of the advice she wishes she’d known when she was just getting started. To learn her startup story you’ll just gave to go ahead and watch our interview!
Want to catch more great advice from women like Jennifer? Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the The Jam weekly newsletter. Every week I’ll be delivering exclusive interviews, the best advice from around the web, tools and resources to help you build your business, listings of the must-attend the conferences and events, and much more!
