Today we’re talking about how to include “brand elements” into your brand strategy. I’m going to tell you what they are and why they’re important, as well as how to come up with and use them to help your audience fall in love with the magic that is YOU!
What are brand elements?
I think to think that of my brand as a person with a distinct personality–this is especially true if your brand is you, as is the case with so many online entrepreneurs. Because of that, I tend to think of my brand elements as the character traits or personality quirks that make me, “me.” They’re the things that come up repeatedly in your online presence and they are part of the secret sauce that attracts clients who love working with you.
I like to think of brand elements in terms of the 3 T’s:
Themes (ex. joy, finding your inner truth, living life by your own rules)
Things (the beach, your pets, hobbies, your penchant for The Real Housewives)
Tone (sassy, sweet, tough, spiritual, etc.)
Themes
Your themes are usually aligned with your brand values and you’ll typically see them in your miscellaneous copy (tag lines, mission statement, values, etc.). They should also be integrated into your social media captions on a regular basis as a way for your audience to figure out who you are and what you stand for.
So how do you determine the themes running through your biz? By asking yourself these two questions:
1. What are you super passionate about helping others achieve, do, or overcome?
2. What is one injustice either in your business (or the world at large) that you fight against?
Things
This is definitely when you want to tap into the things you love and would naturally be drawn to talking about with your friends because chances are you’ll find them sneaking into your business as well. At least, if you’re smart you will because if you have an abnormal love for pickles, chances are someone else out there will too and it’s a connection point for you and your potential clients.
What are some “things” you can incorporate into your business? Here’s two questions to get you started:
1. What is something your friends immediately think of when they think of you? Are there certain memes you always get tagged in? (Seriously, if you can’t come up with something, this can help!)
2. If you were to design a perfect day, what would that entail? What kinds of things would you do? Where would you go? What would you wear? Etc.
Tone
Having a consistent tonality to your brand messaging is a great way to connect with your audience. They will be attracted to what you’re saying because of how you’re saying it. It is also a great way to set you apart and make your brand stand out from the crowd. Your tone and how you speak will be distinctive and memorable. They key to tone is owning who you are. You want your tone to be authentic to who you are for two reasons: a.) trying to be someone or something else is exhausting, b.) people will see right through your inauthenticity and won’t be attracted to that.
Here’s two questions to help you identify the tonality of your brand?
1. If you had an actor or character from a tv, book, movie, etc. narrate your life, who would it be and why? What do you like about them?
2. Ask 3-5 people closest to you to give you the first 3 words that come into their head when they think of you. Hopefully you’ll start seeing some commonalities. Now own it, and infuse that into your brand!
Now just follow the 1, 3, 5 rule! Pick 1 tone to incorporate into your messaging, 3 themes you’ll primarily focus on and 5 things you’ll reference in your branding. Once you have your brand elements figured out, it’s time to integrate them into your overall brand experience.
Here’s my top 3 ways to do that:
- Social media captions (obvs) and strategies — think about what you’re saying and make sure that you’re mentioning your brand elements on a consistent basis.
- Images and visuals — are there colors, textures, or other visual representations that align with any of these elements? If so, utilize them on your website, social profiles, and any other content that your ideal client is engaging with.
- Content strategy — use your brand elements as a filter for your content strategy. Does your content align with any of them? Are you stuck coming up with what to say or how to say it? Revisit your brand elements and use them to help you overcome a rut!
I really hope that this helped you! If you are still struggling coming up with your brand elements, let’s chat! I LOVE helping people identify what these are for them so I’d love to gift you a free 30-minute brand strategy session where we can identify what these look like for you! Just head over to the contact page on my website HERE to apply!
Thanks for reading friend,
