Your brand is your reputation. As you consider the community and audience you want to build – how do you want people to communicate about it from the sidelines?
Determining your values, mission and uniqueness is the foundation of tying in your passion with your brand strategy for memorable touch points and great growth within your niche offerings.
The more narrow you can get in who you serve the more $$ profitable you will be as the expert in that thing. Let’s dive into what a community brand strategy is, and its value for your business!
Skip ahead:
- What are you offering?
- What is your branding mission?
- 9 Must-Haves for a strong community brand.
- Converting your community
What are you Offering?
Foundationally I recommend making a list of the values you want people to refer to your offerings as. Here are mine:
We believe small event business owners can achieve work/life balance, systems, define their own success and feel empowered and worthy.
- Empowering others to be their best self
- Community is necessary, we need relationships to shine and grow
- Everyone is worthy of taking space
- Everyone should have the confidence to share with unique purpose and talents
What is Your Branding Mission?
Next, think about your mission. I always like to use a Value Prop statement to help clients find confidence in what sets you apart.
Mad-Lib version for you to utilize:
I help (who), do (what), so that (result), unlike (alt), because of (distinction) *Adapted from by Alex Osterwalder
Example: “I help creative solopreneurs + small business owners that want to magnetize their ideal clients with visual marketing and positioning techniques to make heads turn.”
As a brand strategist with a visual background, I recommend you consider treating your service offering like a business. Have a name, have a tagline, have a funny name you call your followers, have a logo, have brand colors, have a look and vibe to your imagery, and language dos and dont’s.
9 Must-Haves for a Strong Community Brand:
Now let’s talk about having a strategy for an impactful brand.
9 Must-Haves for a Strong Community Brand:
- Have a Target Audience
- Have a Value Proposition
- Understand what you offer and go all in
- Create a memorable client experience
- Perceived value is in the details, so build in surprise and delight moments
- Have consistency in every touch point with visuals (logos, logos, fonts)
- Create a connection and celebrate wins
- Outline expectations, Community Rules and Standards
- Inside jokes and phrases, even “nickname” for the group (For my Brand Magic Society Members, I call them Magicians!)
- Listen. Fostering a two-way door
Converting Your Community
The more you grow your community, the more it will grow your brand. Having voices to shout from the rooftops about how you served them, they are free on an email list, a paying customer, or an active membership member – they can spread your praises!
The more you brand your business and have a strategy to do so, the more traction you will see. It takes someone 5-7 times to see a brand to feel familiar. So being consistent and staying front of mind is so helpful in converting and retention.
For selling to your community visit my blog post here on Thinkific: How to Grow & Sell to an Engaged Online Community.
