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What does it actually mean to have bold branding? If you’re looking to make your mark in a crowded marketplace, you’re in the right place! Bold branding is all about creating a vibrant visual and experiential identity that grabs attention and keeps your audience coming back again and again. Read on to discover how to craft your brand to be one-of-a-kind!
What is Bold Branding?
Let’s start by defining bold branding. Each brand has a unique personality, core values, and mission within its services. With so much competition out there, standing for something and stating your opinions is becoming increasingly important. This fearless approach to how you present yourself to the world should shine through in all aspects of your marketing, including your visuals, messaging, and overall experience for your clients. You’ve got to craft a business that feels unforgettable – one that your clients can’t help but RAVE about to their friends.
Key Ingredients of Bold Branding
Visual Identity That Turns Heads
Unique Logo Design: Your logo needs to make a great impression! Go for a design that’s simple yet bespoke design that embodies your business. As tempting as it may be – try to avoid Canva logos or other templated designs. Thousands of other businesses use these templates for their logos, making it nearly impossible to create business distinction. Instead, work with a designer that can build your business a logo design from scratch.
Bright Color Palette: Colors evoke feelings (via color psychology), so selecting a palette that creates a target emotion around your business is key. Perhaps you want your clients to feel supported, empowered, or energized. Getting clarity around the feeling and overall vibe that you want to create can help to guide your color palette selection. You can also take a look at what colors your competitors are using and consider – how can you do the complete opposite to stand out?
Playful Brand Voice
Messaging Magic: Your brand voice is key in connecting with your target clients in an authentic way. Whether you’re fun and quirky or serious and professional, keep your tone consistent and engaging across all platforms! If it feels appropriate, consider using slang, emojis, or industry-specific terms. The language that you choose can help your audience feel seen, heard, and valued.
Storytime: Everyone loves a good story – in fact, humans are naturally born story consumers! Share your brand’s journey in a way that’s authentic and relatable. When people connect with your story, they connect with you as a business!
Innovative Marketing Strategies
Think Outside the Box: Don’t be afraid to take creative risks! Launch marketing campaigns that surprise and delight your audience. Bold ideas often lead to buzz-worthy moments! Liquid Death is one brand that has an excellent understanding of this concept. Study their marketing moves and get inspired! One tip that I give to all of my branding clients is to look at what other providers are doing in your niche and then brainstorm how you can do the complete opposite. This is how magical, truly innovative marketing ideas are born.
Social Media Shenanigans: Use social media not just for selling, but for sparking conversations! Not every post has to be a “buy this thing” statement – in fact, your audience will love you more if it’s not. Engage with your followers, share fun content, and create a community that loves your brand. Way too many brands are taking social media entirely too seriously. Point out silly things within your niche and state your opinion from time to time.
Extraordinary Customer Experience
Personal Touches: Make your audience and clients feel special and well-taken care of! Take note of their personal details when possible so that you can integrate them into future campaigns (ie. their name, email address, any hobbies / special interests, etc.). Offer personalized experiences that make your customers feel valued. A little extra care goes a long way!
Feedback Fun: Encourage your customers to share their thoughts and make sure you listen! When you show that you care, your audience will feel more connected to your brand.
Bold Branding Design Letterhead For My Client, Hedonist Health
Why is Bold Branding a Big Deal?
1. Stand Out in the Crowd
With so many brands out there, bold branding helps you shine! It separates you from everyone else in your category because only YOU are conducting business in the way that you are. It highlights what makes you unique and creates brand memorability.
2. Build Trust and Loyalty
When your audience connects with your brand’s personality and core values, they’re more likely to stick around to buy again and again. Loyal customers become cheerleaders for your brand, spreading the word and bringing in more fans! Think about a time that a friend made a recommendation to you – this recommendation feels more trustworthy than if you were to randomly find that particular thing online. This is because we trust our friends for good advice – and for this reason, referrals often become the life blood of a business.
3. Attract Your Dream Audience
A bold branding identity draws in the right crowd – a fun, rebellious audience that will deeply connect with your vibe! These clients realize that they’re building something way bigger than just a logo or color palette – they’re focused on creating an entire experience around their business.
4. Boost Perceived Value
Bold branding can make your products or services feel more premium – which means that you can charge more! Because you position your brand as the ONLY option for what it is that you do, you’re creating a unique experience that your audience can’t find anywhere else.
Business Card Mockup with My Client, Vagabonda Travel‘s New Bold Branding
How to Rock Your Bold Branding Strategy
Step 1: Define Your Mission, Core Values, and Target Audience
First things first—let’s get to the heart of your brand! Identify what your brand stands for, your ultimate mission in running your business, and who you are aiming to speak to.
Your core values will be the compass guiding your branding journey. Ask yourself – what values do you believe in and operate from on daily basis?
Your mission statement should include your longterm vision for the services that you provide and the impact that you want to have on the world.
When defining your audience, you want to go deeper than surface-level demographics. You need to understand what makes them tick, what keeps them up at night, what they are doing on the weekends, what their pain points are, etc. The better that you know this one specific type of person inside and out, the easier it will be to craft messaging and visuals that will connect with them.
Step 2: Dive into Market Research
This is a key step in the process that so many businesses skip over. Get to know your audience and competition! Conduct surveys, focus groups, and gather insights. Understand what makes your audience unique and take note of any trends/ gaps in the market that your bold brand can fill.
When in this phase with my branding clients, I love to chat directly with them to do a deep dive on what is “typical” for their niche – so that we can brainstorm some ways to do the complete opposite.
Step 3: Create a Unique Brand Identity
This is where the magic happens! Develop your brand identity visuals, including:
- Logo and Usage Guidelines: Collaborate with a designer to create a logo design that truly represents your brand’s personality and uniqueness.
- Brand Voice: Set the tone for your messaging. Don’t hold back here – remember, we’re creating a BOLD, stand-out brand. Define a few core opinions of where you stand on issues within your industry so that you can share them consistently throughout your marketing. Create guidelines that ensure your voice shines through consistently, no matter where you’re communicating.
My client, House of Modern Realty‘s bold branding in action
Step 4: Create Awesome Content
Content is your secret weapon for bold branding! It’s an easy way to show up consistently for your audience, build trust around your services, and ultimately, generate revenue for your business. This can include:
- Blog Posts: Write fun articles that share insights, tips, and stories that resonate with your audience. Bonus tip: integrate search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to get new eyeballs on your business.
- Videos: Get creative with videos that showcase your brand story or highlight your services in action. Behind the scenes content is a great way to sell your offerings without being overly salesy.
- Emails: Leveraging your email list to get your message out is a great way to build your brand and promote your offers. Social media isn’t for everyone – and email is great for being able to reach your most dedicated fans without having to jump through an algorithm.
Step 5: Engage Your Audience
Let’s get social! Bold branding is all about building those long-lasting relationships with audience members. Engage with your people through:
- Social Media: Respond to comments, ask questions, and share user-generated content. Make your followers feel heard and appreciated! This is an excellent opportunity to integrate your brand voice and unique personality that we defined in Step 3.
- Email Marketing: Send out personalized emails that connect with your audience’s interests and help them along in their journeys.
- Events and Collaborations: Host fun events or team up with content creators to reach new audiences and build a sense of community around your brand.
Step 6: Measure and Adapt
After launching your bold branding strategies, it’s time to check in! Pay special attention to any feedback that you may be receiving from your audience after launch. Does your audience feel truly connected with your new brand?
Remember – brand guidelines are just that – GUIDELINES. They should be followed consistently to build recognition, but businesses should still be open to change. Bold brands are always evolving based on what their audience loves!
Conclusion
Bold branding is your ticket to making a big splash in your niche! By embracing a distinctive identity, creating engaging content, and connecting with your audience, you can create a brand that not only stands out but also makes a lasting impact on the world.
As you embark on your bold branding adventure, remember to be authentic and true to your core values. Don’t be afraid to take risks, but always do so with purpose. You’ve got this and I’m cheering you on!
Take The BOLD Branding Persona Quiz
Curious about which BOLD Branding Persona you embody?
Comment “MAGIC” on one of my Instagram Reels to shake the Magic 8 Ball for FREE and find out which persona aligns with your unique personality as a business owner!
This will launch a quiz that you’ll take entirely within the Instagram DMs – and at the end, you’ll get FREE social media templates that are specifically tailored to the brand persona you got!
Ready To Step Into Your Bold Branding Era?
I would love to help your creative business stand out from the crowd and attract your dream clients! Check out some of my custom branding work and if it feels aligned, reach out via my contact page. Once I receive your application, we can have a quick chat about your website goals and overall vision for your bold branding. I look forward to hearing from you soon!