3 lies you've been told about branding

It’s not just you. It’s me. It’s everyone who has these ideas about branding, especially founders.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with people who can’t move onto messaging because they’re stuck on:

• looking at website templates,

• parsing through 100’s of stock images,

• and thinking about your LinkedIn banner.

And it’s totally natural! I once rabbit-holed over a font for a month, that’s 31 days. In the end, I went with the old standby, Helvetica…which I could have done in 2 seconds.

But we all fall victim to these insidious and oft-repeated lies about branding

These 3 branding lies will stop you dead in your tracks

Listen, I’m a stickler for some good visuals as much as the next person, but I think a lot of founders are done dirty by this very well-meaning “advice”.

• “Just get the right hex colors, your visual identity is key”

• “Your logo has to be perfect, if it’s not, no one will trust you!”

• “What sells is your website template, pick a bad one and you’re toast”

It’s positively shocking how much and how long people spend on visuals. I’ve known some founders to spend upwards of $20,000 before they bring in a dollar.

And while your visual identity is definitely important, I just wish people would bring the same sort of focus to their brand strategy.

Because too many people think that their logo IS their brand. That their colors CONVEY something. And while there are subtle undertones, the truth is that words sell.

Intentional brand strategy is a rare commodity

Imagine if you said to a designer: “my logo doesn’t matter at all, just throw something up there!” They would clasp a hand to their cool leather jacket and mumble something about Comic Sans under their breath.

But that’s exactly what people do with positioning or a mission statement.

So many founders neglect these things not because they’re not smart people, it’s because they’re falling victim to twin deceiving beliefs:

1. Everyone knows what we stand for: Very common for companies who came up around a signature product or service but have since diversified. The belief is that people will spend time investigating and reading all the literature to try and figure out who you are and what you stand for. They won’t!

2. It doesn’t matter what my mission and values are: The evil twin sister of the first belief, this one crops up when people build fast. “Who cares what I stand for and what my values are, as long as I deliver?” Quick answer: almost everyone!

But if you are methodical about your brand strategy (includes a ton of valuable stuff like who you are, how you talk, what you do, and who you do it for) instead, you’ll stop recreating every ad, every one-pager, every speech.

You’ll just know who you are. Every time.

And so will your customers.

The difference between visual branding and brand strategy

Here’s a cool graphic I like to use. The brand strategy isn’t the first thing that people notice, but it is what grounds the entire operation:

Look at that healthy chunk of the iceberg under the water. Do you have these rock solid attributes in your business? Do you know how all writing should come from your “brand”?

Is your core purpose obvious?

If the answer to any of those is no, it’s time to take stock. Any beautiful website will stop people from scrolling, but they have to get there first. And, thinking about search results, there’s no differentiation of fonts, or hex colors, or logos.

There’s just you. And your words.

Make them good but more importantly, make them a conscious choice.

Until next time,

Christine

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