Branding Mistakes To Avoid Hurting Your Business
Branding is important to all businesses, small and large but many people get it wrong. Here are some branding mistakes to avoid hurting your business.
Hi Trish Davies, here and today I want to share with you some branding mistakes to avoid. As a personal branding expert, I know what it takes to create a strong personal brand. Branding is so important in today’s economy; you need it to stand any chance in succeeding.
The reason is that the competition you face is growing day by day and the playing field is becoming congested. Now healthy competition is good because it means there is a demand for what you have to offer which makes branding more important.
The reason I say that is because when you have a strong personal brand it differentiates you from your competition. By doing this and doing it correctly you are not swallowed up in the vast ocean. You are in effect creating your own pond within the landscape ready to attract an audience that is aligned specifically with you.
My Build Your AU program shows you how to build a strong personal brand which you can learn more about here. Today I want to focus on what you mustn’t do when creating your brand, I want to shorten that learning curve for you.
Therefore, I have compiled a list of don’ts, a list of branding mistakes to avoid to protect your business. So, with that said here are some of the most common branding mistakes that business owners make.
Branding Mistakes To Avoid
Thinking You Don’t Need A Brand
Many business owners, old and new, still think that they don’t need a brand in place. Now I don’t want to cause any offence but if you do that then really you are not being a professional. You are entering the playing field as an amateur so why should you expect people to take you seriously?
Your brand is your communication tool because it relays your message to your audience. You must create an experience for anyone who comes into contact with you business.
Without a brand in place how can you tell people what you stand for and how you can help them? Brand communication and messaging is crucial. If you haven’t got that in place how can create marketing strategies?
Copying Other People
One common branding mistake is to copy what your competitors are doing. That really defeats the object because you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Now by all means study what your competitors are doing when it comes to how they position themselves. Look at your successful competitors and model or mould your brand on elements they are doing right.
Take certain concepts and then innovate on those ideas and make them better. Make them unique to you with the messaging you want to deliver. Be you and not a mini me of them.
Being Fake & Not Authentic
Being authentic is one of the biggest factors to becoming successful in business. Don’t be something you are not as your potential customers will see you coming from miles away.
Too many people try to fake it until they make it which is senseless. Just be you warts and all when you create blog posts, videos and social media posts. Honesty, integrity and transparency is what your audience is looking for from you. Therefore, give them just that.
Your messaging, positioning and how you present yourself must be aligned with what you stand for. Don’t spout out rubbish, tell people the facts.
Not Being Consistent
You must be consistent in the language and message you deliver on all platforms. Also, your online presence must be congruent. For example my personal website TrishDaviesInternational.com, my YouTube channel, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles are congruent.
They all use the same imagery elements and the all deliver the same message. Therefore, when people explore those online platforms they know exactly what they can expect from me.
Not Defining Your Niche Or Industry
You must be clear on what industry you want to be involved in. For example, say you are a golf coach then golf coaching is your niche. Golf is the broader niche and Sport is the overall niche. You would position yourself as a golf coach and not a sports coach.
Taking Your Tribe For Granted
You will naturally grow a following of people, some of which will become customers. You must love your tribe and never take them for granted. In many respects your loyal tribe have unconditional love for you, a special bond which must be nurtured and cared for.
They are your true advocates so make sure you give them special treatment. Let them into your life, treat them with special offers and always keep them up to date with where you are at.
Skipping Quality Control
You must always be professional and offer high quality value. All communications must be easy to understand, well written with no typos as it reflects badly on your brand.
There will be times when you meet your tribe face to face so make sure you look the part. Don’t appear as though you have been dragged through a bush the wrong way. Being presentable doesn’t mean you must be suited and booted, that may not reflect who you are. Remember you must be you but at the same time you must be smart and look the part depending on the environment.
So, there is my list of branding mistakes to avoid. That’s what not to do and here is how you should build a strong personal brand. I would like to invite you to join me on a 9-week journey that will show you how to build your personal brand. I will show you in person how to avoid the branding mistakes I have shared with you today.
By the end of the program, you will have clarity on the foundational steps to personal branding, that is my promise to you. Click the image below to start your 9-week journey to creating your personal brand with Build Your AU.
Helping you build your authenticity, authority, and audience.
Trish Davies
Build Your AU
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