I was on a podcast the other day and the topic of brand came up.
Branding is a funny term. It means something different to everyone.
I won’t get into the definition of “brand” with an audience of marketers, but I do know one thing: brand has a lot to do with how people feel about you and your business.
Which is an odd thing to consider for the logical-minded people (me included). Isn’t it all about facts, data, and analysis?
Brand breaks that mold. Brand implies you can do something expensive and non-linear that sends a signal to the market about things like quality and value.
For me, it’s things like spending a little extra on illustrations for my website. Or sharing ideas consistently for hundreds of days in a row to my email list. Or investing a little extra (okay, a lot extra) into my audio/video quality.
In isolation, none of those things matter. But over time, they send a signal. They tell people I intend to show up with my best effort and bring a high-fidelity presence to the table.
I’m no brand wizard, but I do know one thing: investing in brand is inefficient. It’s not logical. You will waste some money in the process.
It’s subjective, too. You do it based on how you feel and how you want your audience to feel. Which means there’s really no “right” way to do it.
By spending inordinate amounts of time on a marketing initiative, or going above and beyond with your audio/video setup (the way you show up these days), or even going against the grain and purposely producing something ugly (brutalist design, anyone?), it tells people you’re invested in the success of what you do.
So how are you being inefficient in your brand-building efforts?
Perhaps it’s time to create an inefficiency budget to help you explore, innovate, and build your own brand value.
—kevin
P.S. Doors close on Mindshare this Friday at midnight. Yesterday’s training was on “Camera, Lighting, and Audio Setup for Your Home Office Studio“—one of over 15 workshops among the many other resources you’ll find inside the membership. Join today.