Why I’m always talking about brand foundations and visibility?
When I was in school, I did try to blend in. My parents are artists and I was extremely different than all the other children in the school nearby. I’ve developed this habit and my mind told me it’s a good idea, it’s safe to be invisible, you need to be just like everyone else, so nobody could harm you for your different thinking.
After twenty years in the advertising and branding industry, where I’ve built many unique and powerful brands, I’ve started my own branding business. And that was a pivotal moment because this time I had to brand myself and be visible but I only knew how to blend in.
I needed to build my brand foundations and I was terrified.
I quickly figured out that I have no clue who am I, what is my “BIG WHY”, and who I want to work with. “Luckily” I knew what business model do I want. I said “luckily” because I was wrong. I’ve missed one important thing to make this model sustainable I had to invest a lot. Rather quickly I’ve realised that many of my ideas were wrong and I’ve missed the fundamental aspects of my brand. So having 17 years of experience (then), I had to start from scratch.
I knew that I have to be in alignment with my audience and my business vision. But I didn’t know how to achieve it.
- First, I didn’t know who do I want to be in my customer’s eyes. I had a habit to blend in and didn’t know how to be visible. I was a person behind the camera and now I had to be in front of it. So I’ve dug deeper and find a lot about brand archetypes and psychological test MBTI. It was extremely helpful but not enough. Not all videos convert viewers to buyers. Check out this free video training and receive free content planning Trello board “How to create Live videos that convert viewers to buyers”
- Second, I was researching my audience. And I have to tell you this. There is no theory that can give you the right answer. That’s why I’ve been teaching my clients not just theory, but how to research to get REAL answers from their prospects. Obviously, they are getting the systems and guidelines on how to find out all the answers.
- Third, I’ve checked my resources (time and money) and have changed my business model, having in mind that I will be able to tweak it in time. For that, I had to revise my business vision and set the plan.
The practice is key!
The only thing that can help you to find all the answers is practice. So I’ve implemented, tried, adjusted and fixed over two years. Until I figured the biggest flow that coaches and experts have online with traditional branding and why they choose the wrong path 70% of the time. They’re choosing an easy way to build an empty wrapping (logo, colours, templates) without building their brand inside out. And they are doing it for a reason.
- Reason number one is fear. They do not believe in themselves. They don’t believe in their business and therefore never plan for long.
- Reason number two is the lack of knowledge. They are investing in the wrapping and not in the brand because they are not aware of what is the holistic approach. Your brand is an image in your customer’s mind not just a logo.
- Reason number three is time. Corporates can invest 10 years in brand development and implementations without a blink. As individuals, we need to become visible and position ourselves as an expert faster.
That’s why i always recommend to use video marketing to brand yourself online.
I was scared to go “go live” so much that I’ve postponed it for 4 years. I’ve faced all my visibility blocks and excuses. But when I did it for the first time and then, again and again, it has changed my understanding of who I really am. The experience was so scary to my clients that they could quickly reveal and overcome their visibility blocks, they became more confident and were able to reach the right prospects faster. That’s why I can say: “if you want to build your personal brand online start with video! Build visibility muscles!” Check out Visibility Gym Challenge, it’s paid but it brings results for those who want to work on their videos. Fear of camera can be bitten in 10 days and your confidence will grow!
“If you want to build your personal brand online start with video!”