Defining Your Brand to Plan Your Marketing

Plan Your Marketing By Defining Your Brand

The old adage “Fail to Plan & You Plan to Fail” has never been so true as in today’s business environment. Every aspect of business is getting busier and with the constant interaction with social media, having a clear defined brand is essential. It is this defined structure or plan your marketing needs to avoid the inevitable time suck down the Facebook or Social Media rabbit hole.

Your clients today, statistically, have the attention span of  less than a goldfish. Without a clear message and a consistent brand, it is getting harder to stand out in the constant noise that is social media and digital marketing today. Time is precious, and in business your time is money. So how do you set up a marketing plan that will give you the defined marketing structure your business needs?

It was these conversations with clients that prompted me to pull together the Integrated Marketing Blueprint. As a business owner, you need to understand what is needed to market in this digital space, there is now so much technology and different marketing platforms… where do you start?

As a Serial Entrepreneur and Marketer myself, my experience has shown you start at the beginning. Simple right? Start with planning your Branding and watch your marketing plan come together. In fact, I’d go as far to say starting anywhere else is wasting your precious time (and money). That is why, with the Integrated Marketing Blueprint, the First Pillar of Marketing is BRANDING!

Branding is broken down into to the following smaller steps, which are:

• Know Your Target Market! Give your customer Avatar a name & get to know them intimately. (Get my Avatar Cheat Sheet Here)
• Get a Clear Message! Your Message is the core of your branding. It starts from your Vision Statement, flows into your Mission Statement and is finally clarified in your Business TagLine. (Click here for my Tag Line Cheat Sheet)
• Define & Set Up Your Brand File! Your Brand File reinforces Your Message through consistent use of certain colours, fonts & typography. Your BRAND is your clients’ sum total of their emotional attachment and experience with you and your business. You need to:
  • BUILD TRUST
  • STAND OUT

Know Your Target Market

Consistency is key to branding. Once you know who your Avatar is, it is easier to keep your message consistent and clear. You can be the best at what you do, but if you are marketing to the wrong client base you can not grow your business. You need to know what your ideal clients’ pain points are and what they need so you can solve them. That is why you are in business.

Knowing exactly who your target market is defines your brand message and how you talk to them. It also assists in knowing exactly where they hang out online so you can target your message. This brings us to the second point…

Get a Clear Message

Having a clear Tag-Line keeps your message concise, it keeps you on point. Your Tag-line starts from your Vision Statement, which is your goal of WHY you are in business. List what you want to achieve, the reason you chose this business or the end result of your calling.  flows into your Mission Statement and is finally clarified Your business Tag-line becomes your checkpoint for your message, whether it is a blog, an Instagram or Facebook post.

Your Vision statement flows into your Mission Statement which is essentially your HOW. What steps and values do you need in place to reach your business Goal or Vision? This is them honed and is finally clarified in your Tag-line. This is your WHAT – what you do – what you want your clients to feel and experience through doing business with you. Your business Tag-line becomes your checkpoint for your message, whether it is a blog, an Instagram or Facebook post.

Define & Set Up Your Brand File

Having a set brand file makes easier to plan. Remember, your brand is your clients’ sum total of THEIR emotional attachment and experience with YOU and your business. Your message, your core colours and even the fonts you use will create a feeling with your clients. It is the consistency of your brand and your message that enables you to build trust with your clients. Maintaining that consistency ensures you stand out and stay in your client’s mind.

Plan Your Marketing

Consistency only comes through PLANNING. This is itself is a series of blog posts but to keep it simple (& bearing in the goldfish analogy):

• Set up your calendar & sync it to your phone
• Download and use the checklists mentioned above.
• Get clear on your target market and your message

In my next blog I’ll discuss some of my preferred time management apps and in the meantime start planning your marketing and your branding. Having a clear defined brand is essential, it is the structure or plan, your marketing needs to avoid the inevitable time suck with Social media and marketing.

If you are interested in  learning more about the Integrated Marketing Blueprint or even still feel as if this is all a bit beyond you? Let’s talk and see how we can create a clear Message or Strategy for your Business that will give an integrated marketing experience for your customers.

Let’s Talk BRANDING!

Don’t have time to read the full blog? Watch the video here: