Where to Invest First When Building Your Brand
We have heard from countless small business owners that one of the most challenging roadblocks to building a brand is not knowing where to start. In the beginning it can feel like you need it all, and it can be overwhelming to decide where to allocate your budget first – whether it’s towards PR, branding, website development, advertising, social media, or photography – just to name a few!
In this post we are mapping out the 3 most fundamental areas to invest in first that will allow you to build a legitimate brand.
Building a Brand Foundation
The very first place to start is establishing a solid brand foundation. This will be your point of reference for every decision you make as a business owner – from the copy on your website to the assets you post to social media.
Building a brand foundation entails setting up the framework and narrative for your business that tells the who, what, when, where, and why in a way that sets you apart from the competition and appeals to your dream customers. A brand foundation is a roadmap to achieve your long-term vision and goals. You can think of it like the foundation of a house. You need a foundation before adding walls (like a social media strategy) or a roof (a PR strategy).
When building a brand foundation, you are solidifying:
Exactly what you offer and why
Who you are building your business for
What makes your business different
The look and feel of your brand
Tone of voice for all of your communication
If you don’t have a solid brand foundation established yet, our digital course is a great place to start – and at $99, it’s accessible for almost every small business owner.
If you feel like you have a brand foundation in place but aren’t sure if it’s complete or where you need it to be, download our free Brand Foundation Checklist for a quick assessment.
If you want to outsource the building of your brand foundation, there are brand strategy consultants (including us) and agencies who specialize in custom projects for brand development, but projects of this scope typically require a substantial investment. If you do not have a significant budget at this time, do not be discouraged! We believe there is so much you can do on your own as a small business owner or creative entrepreneur to build your own brand foundation, which is why we created our course.
2. Telling Your Own Story
Once your brand foundation is in place, the next step is to bring the narrative of your brand to life. You tell your narrative through your website, social media platforms, newsletters, and any other owned channels.
The key here is communicating effectively and consistently – you want your brand to be cohesive across all channels, so that everything from an Instagram post to your homepage reflects the brand narrative you established in step 1 above. To achieve a consistent brand narrative, you want to make sure your messaging, photography, copywriting, graphics, and any other creative materials reflect the look and feel and tone of voice of your brand – all components solidified in your brand foundation.
Another key factor in telling your own story effectively is understanding where your dream customers are most likely to learn about and engage with your brand. Are they active on Instagram, dabbling in the land of TikTok, or are they a professional audience active on LinkedIn?
We dive into the essentials and best practices of telling your own story in our online course.
3. Amplify Your Story Through PR
PR is the third area to invest in. PR, “public relations,” is a broad term, but our definition of PR is an integrated approach combining earned media (when your business is covered by a print or online outlet without any money exchanged), influencer marketing, and partnerships. It can even extend to hosting in-person events. All of these areas help you tell your story to a larger audience and grow your brand awareness beyond your own network.
Before taking a stab at your own outreach or hiring a consultant or agency, you want to make sure steps 1 & 2 are completed. Otherwise your efforts could fall flat or even backfire due to confusing messaging, off-brand photography, and a lack of clarity around what you are doing and how it’s different from other brands out there.
If you’ve completed steps 1 & 2 and are taking a stab at your own PR, a few materials to have on file to include in your emails include:
An About page
Your bio
Line sheet (if you have a product collection)
Curated selection of photos of your product/service and yourself in a dropbox folder
We provide templates for these in our online course.
Our main PR tip for the early stages of outreach: Focus on building relationships - with media, influencers, and other brands - before asking something of them. You can do this by sending an introductory DM or email, or engaging with them on social media. Be authentic, let them know why you want to work with them, and be a resource. What can you offer them that is beneficial - whether it’s your product or service to try, a feature of them on your own channels, or tips for an article they may be working on.
We hope this helps break down the often overwhelming road of building a brand from scratch. If you have questions about how we can support you in this process, don’t hesitate to reach out - hello@allyouneedmethod.com.
We’re here to help!
Carla & Kathryn
