Filed Under: Beliefs-Based Branding, Intrinsic Branding, Leadership, Marketing
Inward
As intrinsic brand strategists, we often hear people talking about “working on their brand” and they ask questions like: When does my brand need attention? What should I be doing with my brand? Is it time for a brand refresh? These are all good questions, and they’re only one lens through which to view your relationship with your brand.
We see your brand is an extension of your soul, of who you are and what you believe at your very core, what you would fight for, argue for, draw a line in the sand for. When viewed through that lens, we’re actually talking about having a mindset that you are always, whether intentionally or not, working on your brand.
Your brand is not a separate entity from your business like your vehicle, your laptop, or your office. Your brand emanates from your purpose, your why, your drive to create or change or improve something in the world. You’re doing what you’re doing because you experienced a gap in the world and wanted to fill it. Your brand is an extension of your desire to create, and in the sense we are always creating, we are also always working on our brand.
The real question is: Are you working on your brand intentionally?
Asking this begets a deeper relationship with your brand, one where the messaging, interactions, product and services you’re creating in the world are tied directly to your why, and you realize working on your brand becomes intrinsically part of everything you do with your company, from the way you buy office supplies to how you hire and let go, to how you problem solve internally and externally.
When you shift to thinking about your brand as inherent in every decision, then you’re at the place where you can start planning strategically about what your brand needs from you in order to thrive in the larger world.
Outward
If we were to break down all the ways and places you could be thinking about and working on your brand, we could write a book (oh wait, our founder did write one, find Rooting UP, here.) but for now, we’ll outline some strategic tips for bringing your attention to your brand on a regular basis.
Quarterly: Sit with your brand standards, values and beliefs for a few moments. Bring in your team if you have one, and ask some questions about the way your business or organization lives those beliefs:
- Are your clients and projects supporting your beliefs?
- How often do you talk to the world about your why, what you stand for, what your brand stands for. This could be on social, in networking groups, on stages, etc.
- Is anything out of alignment? Is one area getting more play than another? Are your actions, projects and partnerships in line with your beliefs?
Monthly: With the quarterly review foundation under your belt, ask yourself these questions every month:
- What about your industry or profession has been on your mind a lot lately?
- What have your clients been talking about, struggling with, celebrating?
- Are you paying attention to this via your brand language on social, emails, newsletters?
- How does your brand (and no one else’s) address what’s current in your professional world?
Weekly: Now it’s down to sharing your brand’s personality:
- How do others experience what your brand stands for in real life, real time? What stories can you tell that support your brand and its mission?
- How are you affected by your brand and the work you do in the world on a daily basis?
- What can you share more deeply about your brand, your beliefs, how you came to build this business, why it matters (to you and others) right now?
Brands are a lot like plants. They have roots, they need fertile soil, sunlight and attention to thrive and grow. The more attention you give your brand as an outward expression of who you are and the work you do in the world, the more your brand will flourish, and you won’t be asking the question of whether or how you should be working on your brand, you’ll be asking how you can get more intentional about what you’re already doing.
