Branding
101
WORK BOOK
WWW.MACONDESIGNS.COM
CONTENTS
Enjoy this Brand Guide Workbook from Macon Designs. This workbook provides a great guide to start you with what you need to start branding / rebranding your business. When you start right, you end up RIGHT!
Workbook Goals:
• Use the contained work sheets and answer tips / questions. • Define your brand mission, vision and purpose. • Become accountable, get your ideas written down and focus on where you want your business to go!
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WHAT IS BRANDING More than a logo.
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10 STEPS To Communicate Your Brand Message
BUILDING BRAND CREDIBILITY Positioning yourself as an expert in your industry.
BRAND COLOR GUIDE Think about what colors will resonate and showcase the message that you want your brand to have.
YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
EXPLORING YOUR BRAND’S PURPOSE Questions to help you dive deeper into your brand goals.
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FINALIZING YOUR BRAND What will your business solve for your customers?
WHAT IS BRANDING? Branding is more than your logo.
It is the feeling that someone gets when they come into contact with your brand and brand elements.
1. BRANDING IS THE FEELING SOMEONE GETS WHEN THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH YOUR BRAND. How do you want your audience to feel? Should they feel secure, relaxed, playful, etc. It is important that you know this because it will determine the colors you use and the language you use when communicating with your audience.
3. BRANDING IS ALL ABOUT THE FULL VISUAL IMAGE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Your logo and website functions as pieces of your brand, but it is not your full brand. A lot of different aspects make up your brand. For example, the pictures that are posted on your social media, the uploading videos, and even blog posts, serve as the pieces of what makes up your brand. WWW.MACONDESIGNS.COM
2. WHAT DO YOUR CUSTOMERS SAY ABOUT YOUR BRAND? Branding influences what your audience is saying about your brand. That’s why it’s so important to be mindful of how that is communicated with your audience.
4. BRANDING IS TO HELP YOUR AUDIENCE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU OFFER AND HOW YOU STAND OUT AMONG YOUR COMPETITORS. Branding is a combination of all of the ways your brand communicates. And each detail adds up to the whole of how your brand’s visuals are communicated to your target audience.
YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
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EXPLORING YOUR BRAND’S PURPOSE Your brand’s purpose is the WHY behind your business. It will help you make better decisions and know when to walk away from events that don’t align with your brand.
1. WHY DID YOU START YOUR BUSINESS? WHY DID YOU WANT TO START?
2. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO WORK HARD TO BUILD YOUR BRAND?
3. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO OFFER YOUR SPECIFIC PRODUCTS / SERVICES?
4. WHAT ARE THE VALUES OF YOUR BUSINESS?
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YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
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EXPLORING YOUR BRAND’S PURPOSE Your brand’s vision is your WHAT. What do you want your business to accomplish in the future. Consider your goals and the type of impact that you want to make. Let’s determine what you to accomplish that aligns with your brand’s purpose.
5. WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
6. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN FIVE TO TEN YEARS?
7. WHAT STEPS CAN YOU TAKE TO REACH YOUR BRAND VISION?
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YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
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EXPLORING YOUR BRAND’S PURPOSE Your brand’s mission is your HOW. How are you going to accomplish your brand vision. Your goal should be to offer value, serve your audience as well as solve a problem that they may have. How will you accomplish this?
8. WHAT IMPACT DO YOU WANT TO HAVE?
9. WHAT ARE THREE GOALS YOU HAVE FOR YOUR BRAND?
10. HOW WILL YOU MAKE AN IMPACT?
11. WHAT STEPS CAN YOU TAKE TO ACHIEVE YOUR BRAND VISION?
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YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
WWW.MACONDESIGNS.COM
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STEPS
TO COMMUNICATE YOUR BRAND MESSAGE.
PRODUCTS BRAND COLORS EMPLOYEE DRESS CODE ADVERTISING / MARKETING PRODUCT PACKAGING WEBSITE PRICES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE VENUE ATMOSPHERE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
FINALIZING YOUR BRAND Branding is all about creating a positive feeling that resonates with your audience. What will you do to make them keep coming back for your services?
12. WHAT ARE YOU SELLING?
13. WHAT SEPARATES YOUR BUSINESS FROM COMPETITORS?
14. WHAT PROBLEM DOES YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE SOLVE?
15. WHY WOULD SOMEONE NEED YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE?
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YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
WWW.MACONDESIGNS.COM
BUILDING BRAND CREDIBILITY It’s essential to build brand credibility as it will position you as an expert in your industry. Offering value will enhance your position as an expert. Your content should always offer value. Make sure that you understand what is valuable to your audience.
16. WHAT DO YOU FEEL QUALIFIES YOU AS AN EXPERT IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
17. WHAT KNOWLEDGE DO YOU ALREADY HAVE ABOUT THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT YOU ARE OFFERING?
18. WHAT ARE CURRENT CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS SAYING ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES?
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YOUR BRAND GUIDE WORKBOOK
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BRAND COLORS
CONSIDER WHAT COLORS THAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO YOUR AUDIENCE / POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
White
Symbolizes purity and innocence. Evokes a sense of spaciousness and clarity. Do not fill every empty space with a sales pitch.
Yellow
Cheerful, warm and symbolizes energy and increases metabolism. Yellow makes the brain release serotonin, giving one optimism. But used wrong on a website, can cause eye fatigue.
Green
Encourages creativity in a working environment, evokes health and nature, and symbolizes money. To give a sense of stability and wealth, many financial institutions use green in their branding.
Orange
Creates excitement, enthusiasm and draws attention. Orange evokes warmth as well as caution.
Black Enhances the feeling of sophistication and luxury, and is slimming to wear. Black can also symbolize death or evil, depending on the context.
Red
Evokes strong emotions like passion or intensity, encourages appetite, symbolizes love and danger. Eyes look to red first as it draws attention. Too much red however, feels hostile.
Pink
A calming and warm color that evokes love and romance. Pink is a clean and feminine color. Recently however, there has been a backlash against its overuse in product packaging.
Blue
Purple
Symbolizes royalty and wealth. Purple also evokes a sense of success and wisdom.
Gray
Calming, tranquil and associated with water and peace. Curbs appetite and creates a productive environment. Blue causes the brain to release chemicals that calm.
The perfect neutral to work with and has less reflection than white. Evokes a sense of professionalism and calm. Seen as sleek and high-end. Gives a sense of stability.
I hope that this workbook gives you a lot to consider when it comes to your brand. Hopefully, now you will have a clear position and unique selling point for your business. Remember, if you are the face of your brand, use your story and craft that brand story with your audience. Much success to you!
Denishia Macon
WWW.MACONDESIGNS.COM