A Behind the Scenes Look: Marketing

I thought today that I might give you a behind the scenes look at how I craft my brand. First, let me say that marketing is something I’ve loved for a long time. I spent three years in high school studying marketing in a program called DECA . I never reached my potential because I was lazy and complacent. Otherwise, I loved the subject and it became my initial major in college. This was before realizing that the math was going to be the death of me, any college career I hoped to have, and good life I hoped to live.

I never thought I’d get back into marketing now that my dreams of creating beautiful, clever, funny and moving commercials were laid to rest. Even when I started this blog, I didn’t think of themes and consistency outside of, well, picking a WordPress theme. My first theme was teal and brown and contained no pictures, like never. I was telling purely written stories. Over time, though, my love of marketing, branding and design started creeping back up again, and I’ve been having fun with it.

So, I’ll be sharing the branding, design and marketing campaigns that I’ve played with these past couple of months in hopes to exemplify what you might do for your own company. Those of you who have been following me on Instagram and watching my stories will remember a lot of these.

Building my brand is still a work in progress, but a scroll through my older blog posts will show me definitely working towards a more consistent look.

BLOG POSTS

 

Q: What am I doing right?

A: Any first-time visitor can see that I love color and I love nature. Shades of pinks, greens and blues are prominent colors in most of what I put out there.

Q: Where could I improve?

A: Inconsistent fonts. This isn’t breaking my brand, but it’s a real missed opportunity to strengthen it. If you saw Coca-Cola written in block letters, chances are you’d think it was a knock-off bottle of Coke. And while I’m no Coca-Cola, the larger my audience becomes, the more imperative it will be for me to create guidelines for my branding and stick to it. Also, I don’t always create these featured images with titles for my posts so I could improve my consistency.

SOCIAL MEDIA: The Squares

I started my iwannabealady Instagram page long after I created this blog. By the time I got around to it though, I knew the look that I wanted.

Here are my first posts.

As time went on, though, my page underwent some changes. I made it a point to feel less self-conscious about posting photos of myself. My solution was to alternate between nature photos and self-portraits. People like seeing people more than anything else, so I needed to get out of my head and do what makes sense.

Q: What am I doing right?

A: When determining the elements of my brand, which is a process in itself, I knew that I needed a few things to be true to myself. Color. While I love a good monochromatic page, it’s just not me. Nature. Fashion infused with a modest dose of sexy. And the Florida lifestyle. I love my city and want to highlight it.

Q: Where can I improve?

A: I love so many things like art and architecture, but it doesn’t really show up in my feed as much as I would like. I get to add fresh images. For instance, although I love quotes, I want them to show up in my feed as original as possible, so I’ll be creating more of my own designs, such as this one:

Instagram Stories: Lit Talks

How many of you like adding things to your Instagram Stories more than your actual feed? I like the versatility that stories provide, the fact that nothing has to live there forever. Still, it’s important to keep brand consistency even on multiple platforms.

 

Q: What am I doing right?

A: I am sticking with my brand– saturated color, nature, a feminine aesthetic. My fonts are consistent most of the time. When I do stray from it, it’s a design decision that I don’t take lightly. Typically there’s only one other font that I’ll use, the cursive neon font. Also, one of the main categories of my blog is KNOW MORE, and through my Stories, I’m able to show that intellectual side which doesn’t show up as much in my feed.

Q: Where can I improve? 

A. Okay, a brand should have a certain color palette that’s always used. Purple font, for instance, isn’t in that palette, but it was perfect for the image, so I said screw it. Overall, I think I’m doing well here.

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If your company, be it a blog or otherwise, is a person, your branding is the personality of the company. It tells your clients what they can expect, it makes you memorable, less generic, it sets the tone for what you’re about.

If I started posting about luxury items more than experiences and vintage thrift store finds, you might wonder where the hell I went.

BRANDING TIPS

Your brand doesn’t have to include every part of your personality and passions. My thoughts on politics? You won’t find that here. I love interior design; however, I post about it once a month on this blog and have noticed that those posts get less engagement. Some people love them and I keep it for them, but if I have the space of a few words to market my brand, interior design won’t make the cut. Similarly, my Instagram feed includes a scattering of interiors. It could change over time, but it would be a subtle one.

Consistency. There are a number of ways to be consistent.

A. Aim for consistency in the little things, like font and typography, taglines, imagery,             your logo, and colors.

B. Your voice should be consistent with your branding, and consistent in all                              communications. Is your brand laid back and conversational, or is it formal and                  authoritative? Consistency will get people coming to you for your particular vibe.              You watch one YouTuber when you want just the facts and another when you want            chit-chat.

C. Have a branding message or mission statement. Let people know what you’re                         about and let your content back it up. Is the message you present the same on                     your website and social media?

Research. Go out and study the brands that you’re drawn to. Which brands just make you feel good the moment you lay eyes on it? Look into what it is about their brand that creates a particular sensation in you. Is it the colors, layout of their site, they way they speak? Years ago, I walked into L’Occitane for the first time and felt like a little piece of me had finally made it to France. I felt like what I imagined a French woman would feel like all the time, and I loved it. I couldn’t afford a damn thing, so I got out quickly after applying every sample they offered– but I never forgot the feeling of the place.

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As for me, any feedback you’d like to offer is greatly appreciated!

How much thought do you give to branding? Which tip did you find most appropriate or helpful in your case?

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Before you watch, I’d also like to ask you for your input. Do you have a preferred look amongst what you see here? Is there something that you’d like to see more of? What’s the mood or feel that comes up for you? All feedback is greatly appreciated.