Invisible Details

The topic of “story” can be misunderstood and confusing. Should you tell figurative or literal stories? Are you supposed to have some sort of fictional concept ready to go? What’s more important, your story or someone else’s? Your brand is more than a collection of facts. It is your past, present, and future, the culmination of your values, mission, and purpose. Storytelling is essential to a brand. Nobody likes a big untouchable brand with no human interaction. Story brings humanity back into the picture and allows your audience to feel they can connect with you on a deeper level. In this episode, we get practical on why it’s important to have a brand story and some tips on how to mold your words, presentation, and audience engagement with the power of storytelling.

There are multiple stages to a person's knowledge and involvement in your brand: not knowing anything about your brand, initially hearing something, first interaction, first purchase, ongoing loyalty, and so on. Anyone can read a blog, but it requires action on your audience's part to sign up for a newsletter, purchase a product, or subscribe for a membership. Exclusivity is about providing the best parts of your brand to your loyal followers. When they exchange some kind of value for something you are offering, whether it's money for a membership or an email address for a newsletter, the value you need to deliver should be greater than what your audience exchanged. On this episode we talk about how you can establish deeper loyalty by allowing your audience into exclusive aspects of your brand, and why inviting people to step deeper into your brand is worthwhile.

From the very first moment someone sees something related to your brand, whether it be your logo, website, business card, or product, they have begun forming an opinion about you. Often we think about communication as being the words we speak to someone else, but it's more than that. It is an understanding that comes from an experience. The experience can be words that are exchanged, but it can also be in the way you present yourself. Visual identity is all about breaking down barriers between you and your audience. How you present yourself is going to be the way that others perceive you, which requires you to think strategically about how you want to be perceived. In this episode we talk about investing in the kind of visual identity your brand deserves, the purpose and importance of visual communication, and crafting a memorable brand.

Social media. It’s a mess out there. It’s noisy, it’s cluttered. There’s even a plugin you can get that removes the entire feed from Facebook. But here’s the truth: If you’re not on social media, you’re going to lose. Social media used to be all about friends. You meet someone, you add them. You know someone, you add them. It's not like that anymore. You follow your interests, not your friends. People hate the noise, so they block it out. Facebook added “mute” so you could “stay friends” but not have to listen to the wild political rants of your friend’s mom that you’ve only met once. Presence on a social platform is not just about posting whatever you want, it’s about connecting with the people who want to connect with your brand. We talk about the importance of brand consistency and why scheduling matters when it comes to your activity on social media.

If you're wanting to sell or promote something, you have to be comfortable with marketing. It can be easy to write off marketing as sleazy or underhanded, a collection of tactics that ignore the customer experience and just try to get a quick sale. Annoying advertising schemes clutter our feeds and inboxes, and you might think that the only way to get someone's attention is by plastering ads all over the internet. Content marketing is a strategy that is all about building trust and relationship with your audience. Producing content that resonates with your customers and potential clients is an incredibly effective (and infinitely less annoying) tool to get peoples' attention and funnel them toward a specific goal. In this episode, Sean McCabe joins the show to discuss content marketing and how it can help your brand stand out.

Growth. Maturity. Relationships. These are words we typically use to describe aspects of the life of a human being as they progress from infancy to adulthood. There is a process from their first moments to their last, an ongoing discovery of ability and identity. A brand goes through a similar process: it begins at a single point in time, it grows and matures, and it develops a means of expressing itself to its audience. A brand is not just an entity, it is something for people to connect to and have a relationship with. In this episode, we explore a brand's growth and expression and how your audience and customers will connect better with your brand when you understand its personality. Learn how to leverage the evolution of your brand toward success.

Figuring out what you want to do is fairly straight-forward: find a problem, present a solution. What can be difficult is determining who the people are who have that particular problem and reaching out to them with the solution. Unless you have someone specifically coming to you in need of a solution, it can be hard to validate your idea. Defining your target audience is all about bringing clarity to your brand. It’s easy to think that everyone needs what you have, but the truth is that if you try to reach every single kind of audience, your brand only becomes more diluted and confusing. In this episode, we walk you through what a target audience is and the crucial reasons why you need to define it. You’ll learn the value of starting small and the power that comes from learning who you’re trying to reach and how to tailor your message to reach them. Grow a stronger brand by narrowing your focus and reaching the people who truly need what you have to offer.

A lot of people have asked, "Why do I have to know the deeper meaning behind what I do? Can't I just make cool stuff?" The answer is simple: without goals, drive, and a clear understanding of what your brand is, it's next to impossible to stand out in a saturated world of noise. Your values are what guide and steer your brand to establish consistency and promote trust. Your mission is the culmination of your values to declare what you’re all about. Your purpose is your philosophy, the reason behind what you’re doing. In this episode, Cory and Kyle outline examples of values, provide clarity to what a brand's mission is, and help to uncover the real meaning behind why your brand exists. You'll learn why having a foundational understanding of what your brand is doing, why it exists, and what it stands for is crucial to success.

The word "brand" can feel so loaded at times. Is it a logo? Is it a color palette? Is it that annoying thing we do to our businesses every year when we redesign our websites, contract out a designer to make a new logo, and make sure our look is updated to match current trends? A brand is far more than what something looks like. It is the culmination of values and goals, molded by its actions and interpreted by its audience. A brand is not just what someone sees, it's what they feel or think when they see it. In this pilot episode, we dive into the foundations of what makes a brand, going back in history to determine where the term comes from and then taking a 21st century look at what it means for us today. Developing a brand means understanding the deeper principles and meaning behind what you do, and we begin to uncover what it means to build a successful brand through story and authenticity.