How to Conduct a Brand Audit in 3 Steps
Last month we had the pleasure of hosting an IG Live with Faire and answered crowdsourced questions about brand building. The most popular question always comes back to: where to focus and invest first when it comes to PR and marketing.
So many small business owners and creative entrepreneurs skip the most important step - building a brand foundation.
It's easy to get excited and want to focus on the “fun stuff,” like influencer marketing, growing your Instagram following, getting your product in a coveted magazine’s gift guide. We want to encourage you to take a different approach – one we take with every single one of our clients.
Take a step back and consider how you are communicating on your website, social media channels, in sales materials, etc.
Are you showing up online in a way that represents the vision you have for your brand?
Are you consistently communicating your brand values, points of differentiation, and aesthetic?
Can you succinctly explain what you do and for whom you do it?
Building a strong brand foundation is an evolution, it doesn’t happen overnight. This exercise is for small business owners at any stage - regardless if you’ve been around for years or are just starting out.
A brand audit will help you take a step back and evaluate how you’re communicating who you are and what you do so that when you do reach out to influencers, go after PR opportunities (like gift guides), or post to Instagram, you are doing so in a way that will move the needle and support your business goals.
Read on below for a break down of a simple 3-step brand audit.
*Pro tip: brands constantly evolve, so we recommend conducting a brand audit 1x a year.
Messaging (Your Positioning )
To audit your messaging, start by pulling up your homepage, Instagram and other social media profiles, and anywhere else you have a presence (print materials, storefront, etc.). Read through your current messaging and ask yourself these questions:
If my ideal customer spent 1 minute on my website or social media channels, would they walk away knowing the 3 most important things about my business? Those 3 things should include:
What your business stands for
Why you started your business
Your brand values
How your business is different from the competition
How your business can serve your ideal customer or solve a problem for them
2. Does your tone of voice and word choice reflect your brand’s unique personality and does it speak to your target audience? Here’s how to gut check:
Would my target audience feel seen and heard, as if you are speaking directly to them and their needs?
Are you using industry jargon that might be confusing, or fluff words that don’t set you apart from the competition? *the more specific you can be about what you have to offer, the better
3. Are you being consistent in how you describe your business, both online and when you talk to people? It is so important to be able to succinctly and consistently describe what you do and for whom you do it. It sounds simple but many small business owners don’t take the time to get this down, and it can create confusion
2. Visuals (Your Aesthetic)
Now that customers’ first interaction with you is likely your Instagram or website, your visuals are more important than ever before. When you look at your website and social media channels, are they visually communicating the brand you are envisioning? We know that not every small business owner is creative, but there are amazing tools (like Canva) that can help you establish a distinct brand aesthetic that will elevate your business and help you appeal to your target customer (not to mention influencers and media).
Here are some visuals to evaluate:
Fonts – have you chosen fonts to reflect the brand personality you are building and do you use them in the same way consistently
Color – do your brand colors reflect your brand personality and help set you apart from the competition (if your competitors are all millennial pink brands, choose a different color!)
Photography – Imagery is SO important both for selling your product or service online and for influencer/media opportunities. Avoid using stock photography and invest in your own photos that reflect your brand personality
Marketing materials – Do you have branded materials, like an About page or bio, that have your logo and fonts in place?
3. Goals
PR and marketing should always, always, always ladder back up to your business goals. When you look at your website, social media channels, newsletter, and any existing marketing efforts (like influencer partnerships) - are they supporting your business goals?
For example, if you are a jeweler who offers pop ups, and one of your business goals is to book more private events, are you clearly highlighting this on your channels, or is it buried on your website? Are you partnering with influencers to help you spread the word about your private events?
If you have multiple products but have a goal of selling one specific product, are you highlighting it in a way that stands out?
Consider your top business goals for the rest of this year and 2023 as you do your brand audit and consider how you might edit your existing channels and reconsider your marketing budget to support those specific goals.
If you need guidance on determining what you stand for, what makes your business different, how to describe your business succinctly, who your target audience is, your unique tone of voice and aesthetic, and how to draft marketing materials, we made our online course for you.
