Building your brand is all about trust, connection, and growth. If building your brand has you lost and wandering in circles, we’re here to be your guide! This 3 step process to build your brand is for small business owners and will simplify your journey. Let’s get to the heart of brand building by heading into the woods!
When Forest Floor Creatives has team meetings, we often go hiking in the woods. It’s where we find inspiration, grounding, and energy. Interestingly, we spend most of our time looking down at the ground and not up at the trees. We think the forest floor is were it’s at! There is so much to discover, and if it weren’t for the riches of the forest floor, the trees would never have grown in the first place. When you’re building your brand, think of the forest floor! Here you’ll find the beginnings of greatness, tiny collaborations that make a huge impact, confidence in the process, and even the remnants of old ideas that help fuel new ideas. Build your brand from the ground up!
3 Steps to Build Your Brand
Step 1: Brand Strategy
Let’s start with the roots- your brand strategy (the who, what, where, when, and why!) Without roots, there’s no structure, no growth, no safety. The trees would fall right over, and would certainly never grow. Your roots (or brand strategy) are the things that ground your business.
Brand strategy includes:
- your purpose or mission (Why)
- your story (Where and When it all started)
- your target audience (Who)
- your unique value (What)
- your voice
- your message
- your customer experience
- your brand’s personality
It is essential to take the time to have well-established roots because this is where your brand’s growth begins! We find small business owners often have more of a brand strategy than they realize, and it can be therapeutic to spend some time really thinking about the roots of your brand. If you aren’t sure what your brand strategy is, complete our brand questionnaire and let’s chat! We’re really honored when we get to hear the stories of other businesses and are happy to help you identify your roots.
Step 2: Brand Identity
Once you’ve identified your roots, or brand strategy, you can start growing something beautiful- your brand identity! This is the part that the world experiences, so you definitely want to make it shine, catch your audience’s attention, share your message effectively, and bring value to the world. When you’re walking in the woods and you spot an amazing mushroom, hear a unique bird chirping, or touch the bark of an ancient oak, it can leave an impression and make you want to explore more. Your brand identity should make your target audience want to learn more too. Each component works in harmony- doing its own job while contributing to the whole. It covers all the senses from the visuals, from your logo and brand colors, to how your brand sounds to your audience, to your voice and messaging. The design process is fun and creative, but there’s also a lot of strategy involved. It’s not enough to just throw some seeds in the air.
Brand identity includes:
- your logo and logo variations
- your brand colors
- your fonts
- your business name
- your tagline
- brand photography
- headshots
- your website
- your social media visuals and copy
- your style
- brand videography
- word choice and tone
Step 3: Brand Marketing
Brand marketing is your business’s trail. It helps your clients explore all you have to offer and works cohesively to guide your business forward.
Brand marketing includes:
- email marketing
- social media
- lead generation
- Business to Business (B2B) collaborations
- public relations
- content marketing
- brand awareness
- customer relationships
- advertising
- signage
Brand marketing is the path that leads potential clients to you and reminds them to visit again. Your brand can have an amazing strategy and a beautiful identity, but if there’s no marketing plan, very few will ever experience what you have to offer. Similarly, your brand marketing should work with your brand strategy and your brand identity to make sure your trail attracts the ideal hikers. You don’t need everyone in the world to find your trail (it will get trampled!)- just those who are your target audience and are most likely to appreciate the experience you offer.
Are you envisioning your brand as a forest floor: roots, beauty, and a trail?
Let’s review the 3 steps for building your brand: Ground your business in your purpose and brand strategy. Create beauty and captivate your audience with a unique brand identity. Design brand marketing that leads your clients to all you have to offer. In doing so, your brand will develop trust, connection, and growth. From there, it’s all about enjoying the hike!