Creating a Social Media Plan {day five}
Welcome to Day Five of the Write 31 challenge! If this is your first time stopping by, head over to Day One to get started from the beginning, and now on to Day Five…
Today we’re going to talk about branding…or in other words, defining what makes you sparkle!
Quite simply, cupcakes are a part of my brand. (True story…as I was writing this post, someone posted on my Facebook wall…about cupcakes!) Fortunately it’s not the only thing that makes me sparkle…but it’s definitely part of it!
Why do you need to define your brand?
-Defining your brand will help you refine what you share via social media
-Defining your brand helps you gain loyalty…people know they can trust me for a cupcake recommendation…what information can they trust you to provide?
-Defining your brand helps you decide what opportunities to take and which to pass on to someone else…earlier this year I had the opportunity to join my first affiliate program and I did it because I was so excited for the chance to make money. But as I really started promoting the product I realized it wasn’t a good fit for my brand, so I was going be wasting time and energy trying to promote this product…instead I try to focus my energy on products that fit my brand.
So let’s talk about your brand!
First step, download the SM Creating a Brand Printable
In the center circle jot down what/who you are branding and then you’re going to use the outside circles to brainstorm words that describe you (or your product, organization, blog, ect)…and feel free to add additional circles! Here are a few questions designed to help you fill in the outside circles…
-What words would other people use to describe you?
-Who are you?
-What is important to you?
-How do you want people to walk from an interaction with you?
After you’ve brainstormed all of the words look them through and highlight the ones that are most important to you…which words describe what you want others to be saying about you?
Here’s mine: Girl on the Move’s (GOTM) brand focuses on inspiration, travel, fitness, and cupcakes.
Congrats on starting the branding process! You’ll want to save this printable for later on in the month when we sit down and put all of the pieces together…and as you go through this process you might find yourself tweaking your brand…and that’s okay!
A couple of logistical suggestions in regards to branding…
-If at all possible, use the same username and images across all of your social media platforms
-Branding is about more than just colors so yes it’s helpful to have colors and images that coordinate with the branding message you’re sending, but it’s also about the story you tell, the feelings you create and what people tell their friends about you.
What three words do you think others would use to describe how your, your business, your blog or your organization sparkle?
17 Comments
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom
This is tough. I’ve tried thinking about my brand before but I have often come up flat. I think it’s because I’m a no-niche blogger… which is what I like to be.
Hmmm. This might be a stalling point for me.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I think a brand can be about more than just topics. So for me, my brand includes cupcakes, travel and fitness, but I also want my blog to be an inspiration to people so I want to be a brand that is inspiring. I would encourage you to maybe think about other words that you want to describe you and your blog…sophisticated, relaxed, welcoming, adventurous, bold, etc
Hope that helps!
Julie M
I am really enjoying your series and both Day 4 and Day 5 brainstorming efforts have been easier to work on than in the past when I have tried. I think you explain things very simply and effectively, and that is how I try to be as a teacher. It is a quality I excel in. I feel like I’m still trying to figure out what to put my focus on and if it is ok to have more than one focus. I currently have a business with a partner, but am looking to start a blog to share my art and turn that into products to sell, as well as share my experience in teaching with technology, and possibly create products to sell for that too. The two feel so far apart in some ways, and yet I feel like I’m strong in both and that I could share my love of both with others. This makes it difficult in determining how to decide on my brand, or rather what my “title” will become – most likely it will be my name. And then, what will that look like – clean and simple, “cute” but not cutesy. LOL Thanks for your help!!!
She Rocks Fitness
Fitness, Inspiration, and Health. Now I’m going back to the beginning of your series, since I am late to this party! 🙂
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Welcome to the party…better late than never!
Amee
Really enjoyed this because I am now trying to figure out my brand! Thank you!
Ana Lynn
I wrote about branding recently, and I mentioned that having a brand is more than just having a logo and a catchy tag line that goes with your blog. I also recommended keeping your brand consistent across all your internet presence because it’s quite confusing when you one image on FB and completely different one on Twitter. Makes me wonder if it’s the right person. I’d add that it’s important to consider colors as well as fonts you choose because even those convey a certain emotion about your brand.
Joanna Clute
Loving this series! The concept of having a brand is something I’m really trying to work on since I talk about so many different things.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I think when you talk about so many different topics the thing your brand focuses on is HOW you talk about those things. Even though I enjoy talking about fitness, travel and cupcakes what is most important to me is that I use my platform to be an inspiration to others. If I someday change what I talk about, I’m okay with that…but I don’t want to change the idea that I want to be a brand that inspires.
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Marnie @ SuperSmartMama
Wow…more to think about. I think my branding has “evolved” over the eight months I’ve been blogging, so I think I need a little more time to think about this!
Lucy Valdez
Hmmm…I would say cruelty-free beauty, animal lover, and South Floridian
Maureen@Scoops of Joy
This is a great post that got me thinking about my brand more seriously. Thank you for this 😀
Beth (OMG! Yummy)
Food memories, food stories, motivating others to cook. I love your description that you need to figure out what makes you “sparkle”. For me, that is a good visual and analogy. I don’t blog in a narrow food niche (like baking or vegetarian), but I still sparkle in certain areas. Saying hi from SITS Saturday sharefest. Great post.
Keisha
These are great tips; will be saving. Thanks!
Dropping by from the SITS linkup. 🙂
Belinda Letchford
I’ve just found this series and am enjoying the process of pausing and thinking about these things. Using Social Media is a weakness so I’m looking forward to getting my head around it all as I progress through your 31 days. I do have one question though – the comment you made to try and keep your profile the same across the different platforms. My blog has a ‘title’, Live life with your kids, but the other platforms I’m using my name, except for Facebook, where I have two accounts, personal and blog related. I really struggle to see which way to go here. I’m in the process of renovating my blog so it could be a good time to change. Do you address this further? Do you have any insights here.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I don’t think your title needs to be the same across all of your platforms. My blog’s name is Girl on the Move but my social media is @jmdenouden (my name) and that is mostly because if I change my blog down the road I can still keep my social media handles because they are directly related to me and not one specific blog.