Branding. It’s such a broad term, right? In addition to “traditional branding” (your logo, color palette, typography, etc.), there’s visual branding, like the consistent aesthetics of your business (think filters and editing styles), and what I like to call textual branding, basically how your brand communicates to your audience with things like website and email copy, social media captions and even video scripts.
It can all be a lot to think about and manage while running your business, but once you hone in on these styles, you’ll find it’s much easier to develop content that speaks to the heart of your audience. So let’s chat about three signs your brand is due for a makeover. These signs will span across your digital headquarters, your social channels, and your email list.
#1: Your website traffic has slowed to only a few visitors per day or worse, going days without a single hit.
As an entrepreneur, one of your main goals should be to consistently drive visitors to your site even when you’re not actively working on promoting your brand. So if you’ve checked your Google Analytics lately and you’re seeing tumbleweeds where high-performing data should be, it’s time to make some edits.
First, you’ll want to dig into where your traffic normally comes from. Set your view to the last three to six months to see what channels send visitors to your website. These channels could be your social media platforms, organic Google searches, links from your latest email campaigns, etc. Make note of your top drivers and commit to putting more energy into developing content for those channels.
Next, check out the pages of your website that are getting the most traffic. It may also be beneficial to review the tree maps to determine how the majority of your visitors travel through your site. If you notice that visitors are making it to a sales page without making a purchase, there may be a disconnect you need to look into, like not having enough offering details, lack of social proof, or even pricing or shipping information.
Furthermore, if the majority of your visitors are leaving only a few seconds after landing on your home page, some piece of content is discouraging them from learning more about your brand. You’ll want to make sure every piece of content on your home page is inviting and speaks directly to your audience’s desire to solve a problem.
Once you’ve got these data points from your analytics, ask your professional network for feedback. Share the goal of your website with them (to inform or to sell) and ask for their constructive feedback on why your site may not be performing as well as you want it to. You can also ask your audience to share their feedback regardless of if they’ve purchased from you or not.
#2: Your social media engagement game is weak.
The phrase “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t necessarily work with social media. Simply creating a profile, posting and adding a few relevant hashtags isn’t enough to drive people to your channel and eventually to your website to purchase.
To improve your engagement, don’t think of it as mindlessly liking and commenting on the posts in your feed. Think of it more as starting to build relationships with your audience. Additionally, you want to make sure you’re building relationships with the right audience so before you start engaging, go through your “Following” list and make a few edits. Your brand should be following channels that fit into at least one of the following categories:
A Complementary Brand
For example, if you design ready-to-wear pieces, follow brands that sell accessories like jewelry, scarves, hats, and even footwear that would pair perfectly with your clothing options.
Local Influencers Who Embody the Aesthetic of Your Brand
It may be tempting to follow the top influencers who have large followings in hope of collaborating with them, but unless you’re willing to shell out thousands of dollars to work with a specific well-known influencer, it’s wise to start with local influencers to further build your social proof and work your way up over time.
Your Loyal Customers
Make sure to connect with individuals who consistently purchase from you and voluntarily share your products/services on their social channels. Talk about some awesome user-generated content, right?
Once you’ve made those edits to your “Following” list, carve out at least forty-five minutes every few days to engage in your feed and respond to comments on your posts and direct messages. When engaging in your feed, pay attention to the message of the content, read the caption thoroughly, and comment with your opinion, or a question, or even offer a tip based on your industry experience.
#3: No one is opening your emails.
Regardless of which email platform you use, you should be sending emails out on a regular basis (at least once or twice a month) to stay top-of-mind with your audience. Because if someone was interested enough in your brand to give you their email address, you’ve got a warm lead on your hands. Don’t waste it.
To make things simple, decide on the day and time you want to send emails to your subscribers on a regular basis. Your email provider should have basic analytics for you to analyze and determine which day and time works best for the majority of your audience.
Next, design email templates so you’re not starting from scratch every time. Make sure to include your logo with a link to your website, your contact information, and links to your active social channels.
Each email doesn’t have to focus on selling to your subscribers. You can share exclusive behind-the-scenes content, a new video or blog post, a testimonial from a loyal customer, etc. Furthermore, the voice of your emails should be upbeat, yet professional (with zero typos). Create your copy as if you’re speaking one-on-one with a friend who wants to learn more about your passion for your business.
And when it comes time to sell, easily incorporate direct links to product pages or better yet, integrate your e-commerce platform to your email platform and sell directly from your email with a “Buy Now” button. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for your subscribers to complete a purchase. The fewer steps they have to take, the better for everyone involved.
Are you ready to use these tips to dust off the cobwebs of your brand for a successful and profitable year? I hope so because I’m definitely rooting for you!
Comment Below
Share how you plan on refreshing your brand this quarter?
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