The Branding Panic Point:
When you’re starting a new business (or revamping an old one) branding is one of those huge looming questions. Most people approach branding the same way they approach goal setting. The process usually goes something like:
1) Pick a new superhero business identity for yourself.
2) Break the pieces of that business image of you down until you have elements that you can brand with.
3) Panic because you cannot possibly live up to this new you that you have created on paper and now the whole world is watching while you flail around trying to change yourself.
Guys, this is why branding scares us. It isn’t the marketing, it’s not the graphic design or the writing: it’s the fact that usually branding forces us to become someone we’re not.
And everyone wants to live up to that cool new image of themselves. It’s human nature.
My Experiment in Accidental Branding (or, How I Got My Tattoo):
So, in a time long ago and far away (like November 2009) I decided to start this business. Now, I’m someone who has a lot of ideas all the time and I run a mile a minute. I get teased about it frequently by my friends and family. So, I decided that since a business was a huge commitment and I really wanted to build something that would keep me interested and debt free for the next ten years, I had to commit upfront.
I got my second tattoo. It’s of Ganesha, who is the Hindu god of not just writing, but is also the giver and remover of obstacles (I am told he’s seriously popular with stockbrokers in India, ironically). Now, once I got started, I didn’t even think about branding with this. But I did need a Twitter picture, and I hate pictures of myself, so I threw up my tattoo as a placeholder.
A couple weeks later I had actual blog readers, and I noticed a pattern. Everyone mentioned my tattoo, or wanted to know what it was. I had somehow branded my business with this tattoo without even meaning to.
As nicely as that accidentally worked out, branding with Didy was perhaps the smartest thing I have ever unintentionally done for my business.
Now, anyone who knows me know that the dog and I are pretty much attached at the hip. He comes to the park with me, and anytime I can I take him in the car. When I’m home, he’s either sleeping in the same room as me or following me from room to room as I do chores. He’s even been known to help me carry loads of laundry to the washer and dryer. When I started writing the blog, it seemed natural to make him a focus because he was always around.
Almost a year later, I think in some internet circles, Didy is more well known than I am. He gets organic treat gifts from clients and internet friends, and I think he’s got about four collar and leash sets. Two weeks ago on Twitter, a golf course in Perth said hi to him out of the blue.
My accidental branding was far more successful than any crazy badass image I could have come up with myself. And the fact that it’s actually reflective of who I am makes it a lot easier to live up to on a daily basis.
Why You Don’t Need to Be A Brand Superhero:
Next time you sit down to brainstorm that list for your new brand identity, try making a list of all the little things about you that are cool and different. Now, these don’t have to be life changing and deep things, because it’s very hard to see those when we’re that close to it. Successful branding relies on the little things, even if they don’t prove how you’re reinventing the world through your website.
This is also one of the reasons that your branding may change once a year or so. It’s not so much that things get stale, but because you change along with your business. The person that your branding reflected a year ago may not be who you are now, and there’s no shame in changing that around to make it more honest and accurate.
Remember, branding is about being remembered for who you are in a positive way. It doesn’t have to involve lying, or making up an image that doesn’t fit because you’re scared that you aren’t impressive enough.
You are absolutely impressive enough for your Right People.
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