5 Things you can do to audit your own brand

A brand’s story is what first opens the door for you to begin to establish relationships with your audience. Relationships that lead to trust, loyalty, and (you guessed it) sales

By Stephanie Powell

A strong, authentic, intentional brand is a CRAZY, powerful tool (think: Disney, Apple, Nike). Your brand tells a story, whether you want it to or not. Why not control that narrative, instead of allowing someone else to do it for you based on what they think it is?

If you don’t tell them what the story is, they’ll make one up based on their own assumptions (and we all know what assuming does, do we not?). Your brand story is too important to give anyone else the mic but you.

A brand’s story is what first opens the door for you to begin to establish relationships with your audience. Relationships that lead to trust, loyalty, and (you guessed it) sales!

Because your story is what catches their attention and makes them say “These guys. I want to be a part of what they’re doing. They get me and we care about the same things.”

The audit below focuses on just your Brand Identity.

Your brand and your brand identity are NOT the same. Your brand identity is made up of the visual representations of your brand (logo, fonts, colors, etc.). Your brand is what everyone else says it is (not what you say it is, ya dig?).

If you’re reading this and suddenly feel very unsure as to whether or not your brand is where you need/ want it to be and telling the right story, invest in a professional brand identity audit. Brand identity audits involve taking a deep dive to figure out whether or not your brand is performing the way you want, saying what you want, and talking to who you want. And if it isn’t, what steps do you need to take to get it there?

It will not only give you invaluable information, but insights, recommendations, and often action items as well.

Brand Audits are one of my FAVORITE things to do for clients. No b.s. Here’s a very simple 5-step version for you to do yourself.

1 Make sure you have clear and definitive answers to the following five questions (it’s a five within five, I know).

For funsies, I included some answers in parentheses, just as a guide. Knowing these answers is the first step in achieving brand clarity. If you don’t know what your brand is supposed to be and who it’s supposed to serve, how can you evaluate its effectiveness?

1. Who are you? (Donnie Boivin)

2. What do you do? (creating business freedom)

3. Who do you serve? (small business owners)

4. What problem do you solve? (hitting a plateau and not knowing how to scale after experiencing success in the past)

5. How do you do this differently? (by teaching them to become the face of the company)

2 We already know your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what everyone else says it is.

So, what do you want them to say? Make a list of 5-7 adjectives you’d want people to use to describe how they FEEL about your brand. That’s the keyword: feel. How do you want your “voice” to sound when they’re reading or listening to the content you’re putting out there? I’ve attached a list of words I use during strategy sessions with my clients to get you started. And no, you can’t have 10 or 15 or 27. Keep it between five and seven, mmkay pumpkins?

3 Make a list of your brand identity assets.

I’ve got another list for you to peruse. It’s far from exhaustive, but gets you rolling. Grab all that apply.

4 Take each item from your brand asset list and compare it to your answers from questions one and two.

Do they match? If the answer is no, try to assign the word that best fits that asset. Maybe you wanted it to be approachable and informative, but it’s coming across as arrogant and condescending.

Now listen, it will do no good if you aren’t honest, so be straight up in your answers. Oh, and pro-tip?? Ask other people (within your business as well as some trusted people on the outside) if they think it matches up. We’re often way too close to our brands to be objective. And when you think of who you’re going to ask for help, think about who most closely matches your ideal client. That is, after all, who all this is for anyway.

5 Look at the language you use with your branding.

Social posts, articles, emails, product info, etc (hint: that’s your brand voice). How do they match up with your answers from questions one and two? Again, if there’s some misalignment, make a note and jot down words you could have used instead. Example: if I wanted my brand to feel highly intellectual (which I do, for the most part) and appeal to only the top percentage of academics, my love of 90’s words and slang would have to go bye-bye. Caaaaause, thems don’t match.

BONUS item numero 6: Take a look at your colors and compare them to the color psych chart below.

It is by no means a full, comprehensive list. Still, considering there’s an entire branch of psychology devoted to color, this is an excellent jumping-off point to get you started and pointed in the right direction. Is there wiggle room with this? Pretty much always. That being said...if you want a brand that makes your customers feel calm and at ease, maybe don’t go with bright reds and neons. Just sayin’...

Mad props to Michele Hamel for her hella dope color psych chart!

Of course, there’s definitely more that goes into a full-scale brand identity audit, but this is a perfect place to start.

Fair warning: the closer you are to your brand and the more personal it is to you (maybe the logo is super symbolic, or the colors are for your grandmother, etc.), the harder this will be, friends. And I get it. Really, I do.

But if your brand is about your audience then you HAVE to create and design a brand and brand strategy with them in mind. If you don’t reach your people, it doesn’t matter how great your product/service is because they’ll never know about it. And people rarely purchase things they aren’t even aware exist.

This does NOT mean there can’t be parts of you in your brand. In point of fact, there should be. Chances are, your brand was borne out of a deeply personal and intense passion, so how could it not be, at the very least, a small extension of you? But, going back to the previous example, if your brand is all about instilling calm and peace of mind, it don’t matter how much you love neon pink. That ain’t the route to pursue.

And I’ll say it one more time: seek out your ideal client to help you in this process. Let them HELP you. The more you involve your clients in the product/service we’re asking them to pay money for, the more vested and engaged they become. And that, my friends, is what we call a win-win.

Happy auditing!

Got questions? Fire away! stephanie@morepowelltoya.com

Stephanie is a brand strategist and creative designer specializing in brand + web design solutions. But more than that, she’s a: total nerd, animal obsessor, lion chaser, Aggie, lover of Jesus, breaker of molds, crusher of boxes, and a fierce believer in the badass magic you (and only you) can give the world. Her business began as a leap of faith after 13 years in public education, she’s got a dope husband, and her own little mini zoo

(6 dogs, 2 cats); the only way to properly usher in her ultimate dream of opening an animal sanctuary.