Hi Ladybrillers! Aren’t you glad it is Friday? I am. It has been a rather hectic week. Actually, my year began at a good pace but from March until now, it has been simply hectic. Nevertheless, I am grateful and excited for how 2015 has been shaping up so far. How is your 2015 ? I hope it is proving to be exciting.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a business marketing and branding event held by the National Association of Women Business Owners, Sacramento, an organization I belong to. I enjoyed myself and walked away with a few tips that I thought to share with you, our community of brilliant entrepreneurs.
1. Branding and your brand identity is so much more more than a logo and website.
2. Your brand identity necessarily involves an internal process where you narrow in on what matters most to you, how you want to communicate what you care deeply about in your business, and the consistency in your actions with what you say matters most to you.
3. In picking a creative professional, a graphic designer, to help you communicate your internal brand identity externally, choose wisely. Your designer should care about who you are. He or she should then be able to interpret who you say you are into a visual identity that is consistent with your internal branding process. If there is no true synergy there i.e. lack of care, it is not a fit. Move on.
4. Never forget your target audience. Bring them along and ask them questions about your brand. How do they interpret your brand? Don’t forget to collect that data and properly interpret that data to give them more of what they want or improve upon things.
5. Ultimately, branding and brand identity is an ongoing process. Be open and willing to explore where the process takes you, even if it includes discovering you may need a new brand identity/rebranding.
I hope the above five tips helps guide you towards building a brilliant and successful brand.
Cheers to success/continued success!
-Ms. Uduak
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
