1. Maximize Your Social Media Presence:

Fifteen years ago the internet exploded with the concept of social media in the form of Facebook, a social network in which you could simply share yourself and what you were up to. From its meager beginnings, the social media frenzy has blossomed into perhaps the largest “free” marketing system in the world. For anyone willing to put in the time and effort to post regularly, create interesting content, and cultivate the tips and tricks of the trade, social media is a powerhouse. But you have to remember; everybody does it, and many of them do it better than you.

There are a few ways you can make sure your targeting your audience well, and best utilizing this amazing marketing tool. Make sure you’re active on as many platforms as you can be. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, whatever platform caters to your target market, be present there! Another great way to make sure people keep coming back for more is to diversify your content. Do you always post blogs, or only post pictures? Switch it up and keep it interesting! Add a video here and there; write some interesting articles for blog posts. Make people glad they stopped by. Above all else, be interactive and consistent. If people feel like you are a real person behind the keyboard, who listens and responds to them, they can begin to build a relationship with you.

If there is anything we learned from watching the copywriters of MadMen brainstorm around the table, it’s knowing your audience. When you’re cultivating a brand, you know who it’s for. It’s probably for people just like you, as most brands are born from a necessity or something lacking that a given demographic experiences. Social media platforms are just another form of accessing your audience, so knowing which one is most used by your target audience is paramount. Do you think your brand mostly aligns with Instagram and YouTube users? Are your consumers the quick quipping Twitter users who want one-liners and fast facts? If you don’t know, try out everything and see what is performs the best.

2. Develop a Voice for Your Brand:

People want to interact with a brand they feel embodies who they are. Surfers, divers, and fishermen deck themselves out with Salt Life® shirts and bumper stickers. Skateboarders wear as much checkered-patterned Vans® paraphernalia that they can get their hands on. People associate themselves with brands that that represent the lifestyle they live or aspire to be a part of. Show these consumers what it means to live YOUR brand’s lifestyle. Tell your story (social media is a great place to do this!) The ups, the downs, even the embarrassing parts, will all show that you are relatable. Was your brand born from an experience? Perhaps you noticed something important and felt nobody was doing anything about it? Share these thoughts, feelings, and even emotions with your audience. You would be surprised how many people think “me too!” when reading about a brand and its mission.

Once you’ve shared your story, the journey isn’t over, you have to promote yourself! You’ll probably get tired of it, but you can’t promote yourself too much. Remind people of what your brand represents, what you stand for, and how your brand is impacting the community. Share interactions you’ve had with consumers. If people love your brand, tell others about it! Did someone come up to you and tell you they love your brand and your vibe? Share that! Remember, no one will promote you if you don’t do it first.

3. Know Your Perfect Customer:

Much like knowing your most efficient social media outlet, knowing your audience is one of the biggest keys to success. It can be hard to sit down and think about “Who likes me, and who doesn’t” but it’s integral to your brands growth. For instance; if your brand manufactures and markets ergonomic golf clubs, it’s important to know your target customer probably isn’t a twenty five year old in Kentucky that frequents demolition derbies on the weekend. (If your brand revolves around the demolition derby lifestyle, that’s probably exactly who you’re looking for!) Think about what your target consumer enjoys doing. Remember that they have interests outside your brand, so know what they are and how you can use that to your advantage. Remember our Salt Life® target audience? They probably also care about ocean conservation, traveling to anywhere with a beach or ocean, etc. This all makes up who they are as a community outside of one brand.

Once you know who you’re looking for, sit down and cultivate a breakdown of what you think their day might look like. How do they start their morning? With a balanced breakfast and a workout, or avocado toast and a mimosa? What do they do for work? Where do they spend their time? Where do they relax with family and friends? What other products are they buying, and are these products similar to yours? Are the other products they are buying competitors of yours? Or potential collaborations? Cultivate everything you can about the personality and lifestyle of your perfect customer. You should know this ideal candidate as well as you know yourself!

4. Collaborate:

Among the entrepreneurial industry, there’s a phrase “A rising tide lifts all boats.” This means a healthy economy, or good relationships with other businesses, benefits all involved. This is a really great mindset to have when it comes to collaboration between yourself and other brands. You want to create symbiotic relationships in which both you and your collaborative partners are gaining, and this is really important to never forget. You might want to jump straight to “collabs” with all of your favorite influencers and like minded brands, but make sure you have something to bring to the table as well. Don’t look to other brands to lift you up, but instead be ready to tell them how collaborating with you will benefit them as well. Collaborative endeavors are endless, so get creative, don’t close your mind set off to any potential opportunity, and be ready to make some magic!

Most commonly in today’s market, the collaborations we see are brand partnerships. These don’t necessarily have to be products. An author could collaborate with a fitness coach, creating a book in which they have both contributed skills, and have now made a product together that both can use for their personal brand. If you find brands or social media influencers you would like to work with, you just have to be brave, and ready to hear no. Reach out and tell about yourself, the capacity at which you’re interested in working with them, and why you felt drawn to them. Not everyone you ask to work with will be interested, and that’s ok. This is in no way a reflection upon you and your brand, just thank them for their time and keep moving. There will always be more creative people to work with, there are plenty of branded fish in the sea!

5. Sales Reps and Brand Ambassadors:

You’ve established your brand, shared your story, carefully curated your social media presence, and discovered your perfect target audience….but there’s one final piece to the branding success puzzle. You’re going to need help getting yourself and your brand out there. It’s great to promote yourself and share as much and as often as you can, but the reality is you just can’t be everywhere and meet and see everyone. You need people on the ground making the face to face connections that take branding to the next level. Those people are brand ambassadors. Just as the name entails, brand ambassadors work with a brand to raise awareness and promote brand recognition. Consider these people to be like sales representatives for you, but on a smaller scale. If you do hire sales reps, these can be part or full time positions, but it’s a more traditional job description. These people are directly responsible for sales of your brand or product, the definition of brand ambassadors can be a little more flexible.

Brand ambassadors usually represent a given brand on social media or in person (such as at places of business, stores, festivals, special events and more.) They will wear branded clothing, become educated on products and services, and serve as the middle man between your brand and the public or your target audience. In the last few years, brand ambassadors have really flourished on social media, which gives you a secondary outlet that you weren’t privy to before. Not only can you access your own following, but their entire following as well. While these people don’t work for free, they will often work for reimbursement via product, services, or exposure. If you’re interested in getting brand ambassadors on your team, think back to that perfect customer, and get to work finding them. If they truly are your ideal consumer, they’ll most likely be thrilled to have the opportunity to work with your brand!

Final Secret Bonus Tip:

These five tips will help you on your branding journey, but there’s one monumental mistake brands make that keeps them from ever getting off the ground. Not acquiring attention! If brands allow themselves to stay too small for too long, their audience forgets about them, and all their efforts fizzle out. Your brand is as big as you believe it is! Now go believe in it!