The 3 Essential Parts to Good Brand Strategy
Branding has become a bit of a buzzword these days. But there seems to be a lot of confusion about what it actually is. Then someone mentions brand strategy, and things get a little extra confusing. Amiright?
Brand strategy is the first step in the process to develop a brand that aligns with your business’s vision and attracts your ideal clients.
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In this post I’ll explain the purpose of a brand strategy, the elements that make up a brand strategy framework, and how it lays the foundation for your visual brand identity and makes marketing efforts more effective and efficient.
Sound good?
First things first,
what is branding?
Let’s rewind for just a moment to go over what branding is.
Branding is the process we use to form.. You guessed it, a brand.
Developing a strategy is the first step, then we go on to create the look of our brand, with logo, colors, fonts, and other visual elements. Branding continues with every interaction we have with clients or customers.
In fact, just about everything we do that a client sees or experiences when they interact with our brand, is branding.
The point of all this work is to shape the perception that others have of our business.
If you want to learn more about branding, check out my post What is Branding? And 6 Reasons Why it is Important.
What is Brand strategy?
Think of brand strategy as a blueprint for your brand. A blueprint shows the overall architecture, where the foundational elements live, where we build certain structures, and what they support.
Similarly, a brand strategy, or brand blueprint, establishes the underlying “architecture” for your brand. It details things like your mission, values, and how you communicate with your audience.
What is the Purpose of Brand Strategy
Branding is all about shaping your audience’s perception of your brand, so your brand strategy is where we lay the foundation, and establish the intention behind your brand.
For most solo entrepreneurs (and even many big businesses), brand visuals are created first, and strategy second, or last, or never. This means the visuals have no intention behind them, they are just chosen because of their trendiness or because they “look pretty.”
Things like your mission, values, and how you communicate, are all parts of a brand strategy framework. This strategy process supports the work of creating a visual brand identity that intentionally aligns with your goals and guides your marketing efforts.
Design and marketing that are led by strategy, are better able to communicate with your ideal audience because they are considered from the very beginning.
3 Elements of Brand Strategy
1 Brand Heart + Soul
I. Brand Purpose (Your WHY, or your Mission)
Your brand purpose, or the WHY behind what you do is the very reason you do what you do. This core piece of your messaging gets infused into your brand at every opportunity.
Most commonly you’ll hear this vital piece of messaging called a mission statement, but it’s all the same. It is the reason you do what you do, the thing that keeps you motivated to do the work.
II. Brand Intention (Vision Statement)
Your brand intention, or vision statement, is usually an internal piece of messaging, but it is still very important in your overall strategy.
It outlines your goals, and where you plan to take your business in the short, and the long term. Outlining this from the outset can help you create a strategy and brand design that not only fits your business today, but that can grow with you.
III. Core Brand Values
Honing what your core values are as a brand is very important as you begin writing your messaging for things like your website and other marketing materials.
You might have ideas floating around your brain of what you stand for, but getting them into a solid format that you can draw from will help you keep your brand messaging consistent.
IV. Ideal Client
Knowing exactly who your ideal client is, is an essential part of any brand strategy. By getting to know the person you most want to work with and attract to your business, you make it much more likely that you will.
Researching your ideal client is about knowing what they value, as much as it is about knowing where to find them.
First learn what it is they care about, then where your marketing efforts are most likely to reach them.
V. Competitor Analysis
Are you the ONLY person offering the service or product that you offer? If the answer is no, and it most likely is, then doing competitor research is necessary.
Getting to know your competitors will help you to see gaps in the market, and better allow you to position yourself differently in order to stand out.
2 Brand Messaging Framework
Brand messaging is where you establish what your brand sounds like.
Messaging will be used in nearly every single piece of marketing you create, whether it’s on your website, a banner ad, or even just your business card.
Very rarely will your logo or your brand visuals live on their own. Your words will almost always support the visual elements and they need to be able to pull their weight.
I. Brand Voice + Tone
Voice and tone are the foundation behind your messaging and establish rules for the way your brand sounds.
These rules typically establish things that your brand IS, and what it ISN’T.
For example: your brand is playful, but not goofy or over-the-top silly.
This section of your brand strategy may also outline more specific guidelines on things like punctuation and the use of emojis.
For instance, are you a fan of the Oxford comma? Or do you use emoji smiley faces? 😻
II. Brand Promise + Value Proposition
Your brand promise, or value proposition, is what clients or customers can expect to receive every single time they interact with your business. It incorporates your mission, values, and why you deserve your client’s business.
Fulfilling that promise is what strengthens your brand over time.
III. Positioning Statement
Remember that competitor analysis? Of course you do. You’ll use that to help you position yourself in the market and to stand out from your competition.
This is what makes you different and tells potential clients why they should work with you over someone else.
IV. Brand Messaging Pillars
What are the 3 most important benefits of working with you? Your brand messaging pillars combine your purpose (mission), your positioning, and your promise.
V. Elevator Pitch
I know you’ve heard of this one before. It seems simple, but this piece of messaging is crucial to the success of your business.
Seriously! If you can’t articulate what you do, who you do it for, and why someone should choose you, then who can? No one, that’s who.
It’s up to you to hone your ability to speak confidently about your business. This bit of messaging will constantly evolve as you get more and more comfortable talking about what you do. It will also be flexible to consider your present company.
For instance, the elevator pitch that you give to your grandma is going to look very different than the one you share with someone at a networking event.
Honestly, your grandma just cares about you. ♥️ She doesn’t need to know all the nitty-gritty details.
3 Visual Brand Identity
Now that you’ve laid the foundation of your brand with strategy, now it’s time for the visuals. The visual identity of your brand is meant to support your mission, express your personality (the equivalent of voice and tone for your messaging), and appeal to your ideal clients and customers.
I. Logo
Perhaps the most obvious part of branding is your logo.
Your logo is not the end-all-be-all for your brand. It’s important because it will become the mark that people recognize and think of when they think of your business, but it can’t carry your brand all on its own.
When you follow through on your brand promise, your logo becomes a symbol of that promise. Of course the same is true if you don’t follow through on your promise.
A good logo design that aligns with your purpose and intention can attract new customers and build trust in your business. But it becomes a mark of recognition and positive associations when you uphold your end of the bargain.
II. Brand Color Palette
Color is so powerful because it can evoke emotions. The meaning of colors is subjective and can have different significance in various cultures.
A brand color palette helps to convey meaning and personality in your brand and is anything but random.
When choosing colors, ask yourself “does this color match the personality and overall vibe of my brand message? Or… do I just LIKE it?”
III. Brand Typography
Similar to color, typography also can convey a feeling or vibe and needs to align visually with the other elements.
Unlike color though, it is also the medium you use to communicate your words. It is important to choose typefaces that are legible. It’s no good if we can’t read it.
For body copy, stick with typefaces that are easy to read at all sizes. For headings, you can go with something with a little more style, so long as it fits your brand vibe, and isn’t difficult to read.
IV. Brand submarks
Submarks are related to your logo, and can be used in place of your logo at times, or be used to add additional style and personality to your brand.
V. Brand Elements
Brand elements also do their bit to spice up the look of your brand and really help it look unique and bring out your brand’s personality.
VI. Imagery
Your brand elements are one source of imagery for your brand, but imagery also includes things like photos, and icons. Using images that feel like they belong to a family will help your brand to feel cohesive and consistent.
VII. Brand Guidelines
Last but absolutely so far from least, your brand identity guidelines help you apply your visual branding consistently across all communication channels.
It’s also a super useful tool to have if you ever need someone else to apply your branding properly.
Need help developing a brand strategy and visual brand for your mindful business? If you’re a mindful entrepreneur I’d love to work with you to create an authentic brand that aligns with the good work you’re doing and helps you reach your dream clients.
Take a peek at my Signature Brand Experience and get started by booking a free consultation call.
Or, if you want to design a brand yourself and need software, check out Adobe Creative Suite or Canva Pro. (Yup, those are affiliate links). Both offer free trial periods, so be sure to take advantage!
Did this post help you? Or do you still have questions? Please leave a comment and let me know! I’m always happy to hear from you!
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Don’t run off without your free ideal client discover workbook. This part of brand strategy is so essential that I’m giving this guide away for free Check it out!.
