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[00:00:48] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Your brand should not hold you up from starting a business and doing what you love. but I do want to speak to the piece around, you know, It's not a natural thing also of like being

on brand and it's like, how do you do it? [00:01:00] So I have an easy trick for just like making sure that you're always on brand.

[00:01:04] Tracie: Welcome back everyone. Today I am once again, joined by Kristin Lawton of the district brand bar. And if you haven't come across Kristin yet, like in episode 11, She is the mixologist behind the district brand bar and brings 20 years of expertise in marketing and branding strategies directly to your business's doorstep.

She's not just about ideas. She's about making those ideas actionable and accessible. And that's part of what we're going to talk about today. Because in this episode, I bring her a question that can feel a bit tricky. Creating business foundations versus letting things evolve with your branding. How do you balance figuring out client journey, brand, voice, the systems that you need with making money? And trying your hand at the different options that are available to you in this online space. So we're going to go pass the look and feel of aesthetic brand. And into the full expression of [00:02:00] who you are and what you stand for as a business.

So there's never any shame here and let's go beyond these flash words and these Instagram moments and get you out of spinning your wheels and into more money. That actually feels good to make. Let's listen in.

[00:02:15] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Well, welcome back, Kristin. I'm so excited to have you again, onto the podcast where we're going to have another little coaching session and we're going to, Hash out a concept that, I really love that you talk about a lot.

And that is people who are like, they're going all in on their business. They're trying really hard, but they almost ended up like, as you say, like spinning their wheels or like throwing spaghetti at the wall because they haven't actually built these foundations for their business. And, and, and I think this is where a lot of that, Kind of online confusion comes in, right?

Cause if we were traditional brick and mortars and you were trying to get a lease on something, you had to go to a bank and you have to, you know, create a business plan and you have to do all this kind of stuff and online, it's more like, all right, you got [00:03:00] internet, you got an idea, let's go. Right. So a lot of times I think people feel like having business foundations is more creating a digital product.

or becoming a coach about a certain thing, and then the rest evolves. So how do you define like that line?

[00:03:18] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: I know. Yeah. I mean, that is a good point because I do believe in sort of launching your business without it being perfect and that it's allowed to evolve over time. But I do think that when you get into that. You know, mode of where you're just trying everything and to see what works that you need to actually take that step back and be like, okay, let's define what my brand is.

Let's understand my audience, my marketing strategy, set up those systems, get consistent, get cohesive, and make sure you're, speaking with the right voice and that your brand is really shining before you sort of start throwing everything at it. so I do think, you know, like I [00:04:00] started with like the website and maybe some services that I was trying to figure out, but I was still very clear about You know, who I was, who my brand was, what my brand was, the messaging. I started with the look and feel and I, you know, it evolves, but you still want to sort of keep that same cohesion so that people can start to get to know you and to say, Oh, that's, you know, that's Kristin, that's the district brand bar. This is what she does and sort of be a really consistent with that, because I think that's what people miss a lot with sort of those foundations is that they start becoming all over the place and then no one, their audiences and sort of know where they land on anything and then nothing.

[00:04:43] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Do you think that's kind of that chameleon effect where like, because they're trying to appeal and figure out at the same time, you think that's where a lot of that comes

[00:04:52] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: I think probably, and I think it is the chasing the shiny pennies too, of like, you know, because nothing's [00:05:00] sticking yet, you're very quick to just sort of like jump at a new thing and sort of abandon another, You're not really finding your footing and having those foundations. And when you have, when you have your brand foundations in place and you sort of have a very clear understanding of your brand voice and maybe your content pillars and your look and feel is fairly consistent, then at least you have that place to land and sort of, you can be trying different things, but they're all going to feel and look very similar. and it's not going to sort of stretch you so far out of this comfort zone where it's not going to work.

[00:05:35] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: So let's take it back a bit for people who, cause most people who are listening to this, well, they're already business owners, right?

So you can kind of have a bit of this like, Oh shit, what am I going to do now? Moment, right? Or is it too late? Have I, you know, messed everything up or it can kind of be this, like what, what could have been my guidepost and something that I'm thinking about as, as you're talking is [00:06:00] is a safe place to start.

Right. So that way they can kind of put up some walls of protection around influence and, you know, accidentally like starting to look like these other people and getting like real far away from themselves is almost just creating it like Like you, like you as an individual, until you start to get your sea legs, until you start to know what your offers look like or who you're paying clients are versus like, you know, your ideal audience versus your paying clients can be very different

[00:06:32] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah, yeah.

[00:06:33] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: So it's, is that like a safe place to kind of

be? It's like, It's like,

pick words that would actually come out of your mouth, you know, pick colors that you want to wear or that you like being around. What are like some other things that, that are kind of beyond Canva that people think about with brand?

[00:06:52] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah. I mean, personality tone, you're definitely right on that. I think emojis can be very branded and like you can just

sort of [00:07:00] use your mode, brand emojis. But I do think, you know, we all start businesses. that have some reflection of ourselves right at the problem that we've gone through. It's an expertise that we have. oftentimes we were our former sort of client, right? We've gone through it. Now we want to help other people. and so especially for like solo entrepreneurs, like we're also like coaches and service providers, consultants, like we're often the face of our business. So starting there is a great place.

And I think and that's where, you know, the, the whole like faceless accounts and that type of thing, like you're not really setting yourself apart and you're not giving people a place to feel grounded either. Cause I think it's about you feeling, having those foundations to where like you can go off and build your business in a way that feels good and natural and authentic to you and your brand.

But there's also, you want people to feel like they have a home and when you're all over the place. That doesn't work either. But the, you know, the first place I start is with your brand voice. and you know, I [00:08:00] think using chat GPT and AI to help you define this is like the way to go. little trick for doing this is basically like create like a dating profile and give it to chat GPT. And so you're like, you share your, personality assessments and horoscopes and human design. And, you know, so you sort of give it your CliftonStrengths, your Myers Briggs, you give it all of that. You tell us a little bit about what you do, for your business. You maybe share, some hobbies that you like, you know, and activities that you like to do to sort of give yourself a well rounded profile and then, you know, give it a chat and be like, Can you analyze this?

How can I, you know, infuse my personality and personality traits like into my business and what it will give you is pretty accurate description of you and a really good, really good ideas of how you can sort of be more authentic with your brand. and then, yeah, I think it is. You [00:09:00] have, you sort of create messages from that and key messages.

And yeah, you know, like I, I have a cocktail themed business, so for me, it's fairly easy to say, okay, well, all of my emojis that I use are all the cocktail ones, right?

Um, I use

[00:09:16] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I

always use the bourbon glass. That's mine. I'm

[00:09:19] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: The bourbon, the bourbon glasses in my, you know, like my email name, when an email pops for me, pops up, you're going to see the bourbon glass as well.

you, I always use cheers, you know, at the end of

every email or, you know, so you have these like things that, you Start to sound like you. Then we go into the look and feel, and thinking about right. Colors, the sort of photos that you're going to use, this kind of filter, like, you know, are you going to have sort of a consistent look if you're doing, Instagram stories or what your LinkedIn posts are going to be like, so you're just sort of starting to create this like. cohesive feel around your business where everything that you're putting out, right? Because your brand [00:10:00] is everything external in your business. It is not just your look and feel. That's a little bit of your branding, but your brand is anything that someone can interact with. It could be an ad on Facebook. You know, you at a networking event, it can be your website, obviously your emails, your lead magnets. but you sort of just want to have this like you pull all up. What I love to do is. Open, um, Google my brand name and then right click to open a new tab of every instance, you know, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tik TOK, uh, um, even, you know, all the little like networking sites where your name might pop up, like open those all up and then just see, like, does it kind of read the same?

Does it feel the same? Does it seem like it's all my business? And sort of making sure that you have that like cohesiveness around your brand And that it feels very like unique to you as well

[00:10:55] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: So what I'm hearing is that it matters more that it is cohesive to you [00:11:00] than it matters that it is tailored to each platform.

[00:11:02] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah, I mean, I think there's a little bit of both right like Certainly things need to be tailored right your your instagram bio is gonna feel different than a facebook description that can be longer and something might feel a little more professional versus like informal, but It's still going to be you and your brand and it should still come across in some of the language and the photos and the colors. plus it just makes it easier to market when you're sort of speaking the same language

across

[00:11:32] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Yeah. I mean.

I think of different platforms like, whenever you're physically going to different places, right? You're still you, whether you are at your grandparents house versus like you're on a date versus like you're at a networking event versus, you know, like you're somewhere else, right? You just may edit yourself a little differently, or you may wear one outfit versus another, you know, if you're at a sports bar versus at a cocktail hour or, you know, but like the essence of [00:12:00] you is still the same.

[00:12:01] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yes, totally. Yeah. You know, and I'll see some new businesses, you know, like their Instagram profile, for instance, like it's a lot of different stock photos based on, you know, the social media holidays, or just sort of like a quote graphic here or there, but like nothing feels. Unique or original and not like it that has to be crazy unique original, but I guess it all just feels generic, right?

It feels like you copied a template in Canva and you just sort of like created some stuff But that anyone can have and so I think when you think about like the foundations you want it to be like You know, I'm using templates that are custom to me that I have like Put my style on to where I'm using messaging that you know, no one else would really be. A lot of people could be using like the same words, but not in the way that you're putting them out there, right? With that same personality and tone that you're using and with your special about, you know, emojis thrown in there and you're [00:13:00] not doing it in a way that is attracting the same amount of audience, the same, the right audience.

And I think there's just, when you have all those, it just starts clicking when I. Finally, like really like honed my brand. and I, you know, it combined with sort of some like a brand photo shoot and, and launching a lead magnet, but it all worked together, everything sort of staying the same tune. I was getting so many compliments about my brand that I, they were, I would, people were seeing me all the time. The same people. That had been on my list and the, you know, if I was doing consistent social media, but now they're saying, I see you pop up all the time and it's not that I wasn't popping up before.

It's that I'm, I'm popping up with that same look and feel with that same message, with that same, just brands feel that they're remembering

[00:13:46] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Yeah, like they're, they're finally noticing, right? Cause it, cause they know that it's you. And as so myself, I'm not somebody who's comfortable with those things. I mean, I would be happy if social media didn't exist. I am not someone who [00:14:00] needs to tell well, anybody, anything really. So it's, it's, it's. It does not come natural to me.

it was actually kind of a funny moment when I realized that the colors that were for my company were actually the same ones that were in my closet.

[00:14:14] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah. Which is very

natural and how it should be, honestly. Like ones You like

wearing.

[00:14:19] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: the thing behind me, this was my dining room.

[00:14:22] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah,

[00:14:23] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: You know, it just kind of became a, you know, a part of it. It was just what, what was, and I was like, Oh my gosh, it's been so long trying to figure out the quote unquote, right colors and you know, what was going to exist, you know, and, and I came from a corporate background.

I was a consultant as well. So, you know, you had to have this certain persona with this kind of suit, with these kinds of shoes, with this kind of, you know, facade, right. To, to be taken. Serious. I mean, even down to the kind of luggage that you carried, right. It had to be like these kind of brands and this kind of, well, and, and especially as a female and a younger one, you know, you just, you weren't legitimate otherwise.

Right. It was all that kind of [00:15:00] bullshit. And, and so it's like, so whenever you're going out on your own. You're kind of like, well, what is it supposed to be to be taken seriously? And as someone who's not naturally a social media person, I'm sitting here going, I don't know. I pick things based on what I like, or what I don't like least.

Does that say like, like what doesn't annoy me versus what like me?

[00:15:23] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: And a hundred percent that's how it should be, right? Like, because even though we want everyone to see everything, right? Only like 10% are seen

10% of our stuff,

[00:15:31] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: mean,

[00:15:32] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: you know? So to me, and I always say with colors, like choosing colors, they should be ones that you love. Like I picked red and orange for my brand colors, not because color theology, whatever, says, color theory says that, you know, red is, is power and passion and whatever. It's because it's the colors of a Negroni, in an Aperol Spritz. And those are my favorite cocktails, you

know, and [00:16:00] because I won't get sick of the colors as I'm creating content on a regular

basis. Right. I think it's very good idea if you if you go in your closet and like a couple colors stand out pick those colors because you know you're not going to get tired of seeing them.

I don't think it matters what. Color theory says, I do think that, you know, I think it should match your personality and sort of your brand personality. Mine is very fun and I like a lot of color and bright and I'm an engaging person and, you know, I, am definitely more social. And so I think if I had this very like calm, muted, like neutral

color tones, right?

like it very soft and relaxing.

Like it's just not me. It would feel weird, right? It would not feel right to my brand. And people would be like, that's weird, right?

It's not like

[00:16:50] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: They get on a call with you and be like, what is going

[00:16:53] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: yes, you know? so I think there is a piece about that, but I do want to speak to the piece around, you know, It's [00:17:00] not a natural thing also of like being

on brand and it's like, how do you do it? So I have an easy trick for just like making sure that you're always on brand. And it's basically, so there's like five brand elements, right? So there's like, um, your messaging, your colors, your sort of overall look and feel of like using, maybe graphic elements or photos or the way you use your photos or the way you edit your photos.

Or if you use like. You know, lots of lines like those sort of like imagery piece. there's like the words that you use. And then sort of really just like your content pillars, like the things that you're always going to talk about. Uh, and that sort of has your key messaging in there. And if you just, you know, Make sure that there's like three out of every five and you can decide what those brand elements are for you, right?

Like I'll throw my emojis in as one of those. but you just make sure that there's three out of the five elements and everything that you do. It's really simple. It's not that hard, right? Like, and if you're doing a, a LinkedIn post, let's say, cause we've been [00:18:00] talking a lot about Instagram. so you may not have a photo in LinkedIn, though you should, because people will comment on photos a lot more than they will comment on just a post.

But let's just

say it's just text.

Let's just say it's text, right? So, you know, you're using your, your key messages. you know, somewhere in there, you're talking about those keywords, right? I would talk a lot about like, simplifying your marketing or, you know, You know crafting your unique brand just sort of like making sure one of those phrases is in that post maybe pulling out some of the emojis or like keywords that I would use and then I would make sure that What i'm writing about is part of my content pillars so that you know People know that they're going to get brands and marketing tips from me They're going to get something with a little cocktail fly and they're going to get something around like this Simplifying your business life so that you can find joy, you know, outside, sort of like the main things that I talk about, it's going to be at, like, one of those things is going to be in that post. It [00:19:00] doesn't have to be like this, like really hard thing to be on brand. Right. Cause also once you keep doing it, right, you're going to, you're going to Talk the same language. The more podcast interviews you do, you're going to be talking the same, you know, thing, right? Like coming up with those words and phrases, they're just going to start becoming natural to you. And it's going to be really easy to make sure that, you know, every time that you're, you're writing a new post, you're writing an email to your group, you're posting in a Facebook group about your brand. Like you're, you're, you will just naturally be on brand.

[00:19:31] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Hmm. it's the kind of thing where it's like, so we can allow this to evolve, right? Cause it, you know, it's not going to stop us from. You know, putting, putting ourselves out there because it, that, that does, especially, well, okay. I say, especially just probably just because of my lived experience of coming from corporate is that I see it holds a lot of people back who came from corporate because they're trying to figure out a business name instead of just using their name.

You know, they're trying to figure What facade to do because well, you have to have a [00:20:00] facade corporate, right? It's like that that's quote unquote how it's done. So, how are you supposed to do here? You know like like all of these all these shoulds all these supposed to is all of these haves You know come out and now here you are standing on your own You don't technically have a title anymore, right?

Because you can have whatever time

[00:20:15] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: I made up my own title. Yeah.

[00:20:17] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: you know, it's like you don't have a big, you know, existing corporate name behind you anymore. You now have whatever your own is. And, and so like you're trying to figure out what, what to do, what not to do. And every single decision feels heavy.

So sometimes it can feel, funner and, and lighter to look at like the branding. Elements, you know, of, of the business, but it can also be a place where people lose themselves and, and has to learn, you know, or they just kind of like hide in because, because someone told them they had to have the perfect Instagram in order to do something.

And how do you get that kind of, of balance? Because I'm also [00:21:00] thinking about my, my people. Who they're, they're corporate dropouts, but I also have a lot of multi passionate. And so they're like, why I need five different brands because I have five different passions. And, and, and what, where, where's the, you know, umbrella factor is what I call it because it's just like a umbrella corporation, right?

It's like you have like and gamble and then you have all these different brands underneath it. And, and it's like, how, how do you do things that make you feel legit, make you feel excited, make you feel like I can stand up, I'm cohesive, people are recognizing me without feeling like there's so much to do or where do I even start, how do I not get trapped?

You know, does, does that make sense? It's kind of that,

[00:21:43] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: know you are not supposed to have this all figured out day one out of the gate Your brand should not hold you up from starting a business and doing what you love. Absolutely not. You know, the way we started this conversation was, if you're spinning your wheels and if you are trying [00:22:00] all of these like strategies or you feel like you need to spend, you know, a high ticket price on a very specific type of coach, because nothing's worked.

You should look at your foundations first, right? Because it could be that you just haven't sort of become consistent and cohesive with a strong brand first before, you know, so you haven't given it a chance to work. Sometimes these strategies, right? If you're putting yourself out in front of a lot of new audiences, it takes them, right?

Like seven times to, to do it. See you to like, remember you to engage with you and they need that sort of consistent, like punch in the face of your brands. but that doesn't mean it doesn't evolve. Things change for sure, right? Mine has changed a lot. I think, but you're not, but I think the idea is that you're not drastically changing things every week, right?

You're not changing up new colors.

right? You're not, you're not deciding that I'm going to, I'm going to go from a cocktail theme to a, I don't know, [00:23:00] like a horse's theme, like overnight, like things just don't change, right? I could one day say I'm done drinking and I'm going to do mocktails, right? My mixology thing is still the same, right?

Things evolve.

[00:23:10] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Not letting it hold you back, but also not feeling like defeated by it, you know? Yeah. Because like, whether you are like an ex corporate or multi passionate, it's like, how do we find this kind of through line? So I liked how you had started off by saying, if you feel like you need some sort of like big coaching thing, but really maybe you just need this consistency piece to kind of snap it in place.

[00:23:30] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: yeah. And I mean, and so one thing is that, you know, figuring out your brand and your marketing and to me it's all about streamlining and simplifying first. those things working before you're adding on, right? And the good news is a lot of that stuff is much cheaper than bringing on these big high paying things that might solve your problems that you might, they're saying they'll solve your problems. But what I think when it comes to, you know, with those foundations, I, I don't start or stop at just [00:24:00] branding. It's about understanding your audience, what your client journey is. And so I walk people through the no, like trust path. And it's, it's not just sort of like a catch phrase. It's like an actual journey that you take your audience on and you need to understand really like Where are people getting to know you?

Where are you putting yourself out there to be known? And then how are you moving those, your audience to the next step of the like, and then how are you moving them to trust and where are you selling them? I like to really simplify it, like pick two or three of those options and then really hone those so that. You know, you're showing up consistently and cohesively on those marketing channels where people are getting to know you. Choose two, right? Choose three. You don't have to be everywhere at once.

[00:24:45] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: So when you say the, the showing up, well, consistently, I mean, I think, I think we kind of get that, but like cohesively. So let, let, let's, can we illustrate like with an example? So, well, why, why don't we go meta and say podcast, right? Cause that's what we're doing right now. [00:25:00] So how do you, how do you do that?

That cohesively, if say like right now we're doing voice, right? Cause it's a podcast. But then, you know, there will be like some reels and some static posts to promote this episode of you and me. So what does that look like if we're going from like, you know, this platform to this platform, but also what is auditory?

One is visual. Like.

[00:25:24] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: I mean, so they're basically in my mind, there's kind of the same because it's your podcast, right? So like you have a container that you're talking about a specific type of topic, right? Or like topics within this larger container of like, you know, the coaching industry and people that are moving from corporate into the business world and sort of like, you know, so, so you're in that content pillar, right?

And you were talking about, We're, we're staying on brand by, by niching down the topics that we're talking about. And so the content and like what you're serving up is very similar, different [00:26:00] issues, but topic wise, we're still, we're still in there. then when you go to promote it, Your images around the podcast are all going to be consistent, right?

You're going to have your sort of main logo around like the cocktails, coffees and conversation. your captions are going to talk about the conversation that we had over cocktails. And here is the topic that we covered. and you know, maybe the call to actions are all going to be very similar throughout, you know, the podcast.

when, when we end this podcast, you know, there will be a call to action that will probably be the same on Instagram. and so I think, you know, even just sort of when you are introducing the topic of on the podcast, when you're introducing the guest on the podcast, you're bringing it around. It's like, why, you know, why you invited me on the podcast and what we're talking about and how it relates to your audience, that's all. Messaging around your brand, right? Cause you're talking about like your business, your audience, the topics that you talk about, how you are infusing your brand values into it [00:27:00] by making sure that there's these transparent conversations. you know,

[00:27:05] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I'm like, yeah,

it's a perfect meta illustration. So it, it's, it, this, this cohesiveness, you know, even though we're moving from an auditory to a visual platform, it's still because, because brand versus branding includes like all of those pieces that, that is the wordy bits and it is the visuals and you know, then you get to have that through line all the way.

[00:27:32] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah. And you know, even though we're listening on audio, right, I still have to go to Spotify where I'm seeing your name, I'm seeing your tagline, I'm seeing the image, right? And so, and then when I see that image pop up on Instagram, I'm like, Oh, I listened to Tracy's podcast. I know that image. That's her podcast.

Like, let me, that reminds me to go back to Spotify and listen to it. Right. So it still is all connected, even though we, you know, even though like once they hit [00:28:00] play, they're just listening. They still have to go find it. And they, when I scroll through Instagram, it is the photos that are catching my eye of like, Oh, that's the, you know, this podcast that I want to listen to.

[00:28:10] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Yeah. Yeah. So there, there is still that, that visual connection, even if it is like just a little thumbnail, you know, in on, on the play next episode kind of thing, right? So that, that can be the same, whether people are platform hopping, like a LinkedIn, Facebook, situation, or whether they're going video versus static versus audio.

That's Then, then it all kind of comes in. And I, and I think a lot of it that hopefully people have heard, but we can be a bit more explicit about is how we keep distinguishing between branding versus brand, right? Cause branding are kind of those elements and then the brand is that overarch.

[00:28:48] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: The branding is like the crafting of the brand, right? And it is the, it's all of the things that people see, touch, you know, read, but it all comes together as a brand. [00:29:00] Mm hmm.

Yeah.

[00:29:01] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Yeah. And, and I always try to be very, I have little, what I call jargon busting moments because it's, it's like, we hear these words and they get to this point where people don't really, they, they lose their meaning. Right. They just get said over and over again. And, and people just kind of quote, unquote, assume that, that, you know, that they know what you mean.

And it's like, no, it's like, let's actually take the time to go back and define them so that we can all be on the same page and make sure that we're going back to like source material. Right. So I take little, um, jargon busting moments to, to make sure that,

[00:29:37] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: When we are marketing our brand, we are trying to bring in new people, right? Like reach new audiences who are going to get to know us. And then they're going to, you know, engage with us and they're going to buy from us. And. We need them to see our brands and our branding and our marketing, [00:30:00] you know, posts and emails and whatever many times before it clicks in their brain.

This is who this is. I want to learn from them. Now there's the rare thing of an ad pops up, a real pops up, you get an email and you're just like sold. Right. And, and those people are really great at moving them down that client journey really fast. But for a lot of people, it takes. Time and they need to see us over and over to slowly build that, you know, jargony, no, like trust, having consistency around your branding elements and across all of your marketing helps with that. And that's sort of like one of the biggest things that, You know, before I'm going to buy from someone, I'm probably going to be hounded by them via email or seeing them on Instagram or Tik TOK or whatever. Several times, right. It's how like Instagram ads work. Like I am a sucker for one, but like, if it's showing up in my feed, like five times a day, eventually I'm going to click on it, and, and I know [00:31:00] it's them because it's hard to scroll without like, it's that same brand, right? It's the same photo. It's the same colors. It's the same message over and over. And so that's what we're talking about. And just sort of like, if your marketing strategies aren't working, make sure that you are really attracting that audience with a cohesive brand first.

[00:31:20] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: And, you know, and it's one of those things where like, if The vocabulary kind of tricks you up, you know, if it's the kind of thing that, that makes you, that makes you nervous. And, and that's when, when you feel that extra pressure, because it's like, Oh my gosh, it's the brand. And that means I have to get professional photos.

Wait, do I have to do that right now? And, and, and, Oh, do I have to, you know, get, get color schemes and make mood boards and charts and, and, uh, and if that's something that sends you to it down a spiral, then let's just like, like, just give yourself grace. And, and give that a reframe and just think about it as familiarity,

[00:31:56] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah. Yeah. That's a great

[00:31:58] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: like, just as, as Kristin was just [00:32:00] saying, it comes down to that. No, like trust of people recognizing you, of people seeing you over and over and over again, that is. What, what in IRL world we would call familiarity, right? These are the people in your neighborhood, like that old Sesame street song.

Right. You know, it's like, you see them over and over again. You start to feel comfortable with them. You know who they are, at least to like, you know, give them a nod or a wave as they pass. Right. It's, it's like, you know, it's not stranger danger. It's like, Oh, okay. Yeah. It's safe to interact. So let's start dipping our toe in interaction.

And that is, is what we are doing with, with the, these pieces is where we're just bridging that gap where we're not seeing each other, walking our dogs because we're online. Right. So instead we're just, you know, we're scrolling through the streets of, of a stream, you know, and we're just trying to create familiarity.

With each other. Um, and so hopefully that, that reframe can kind of help because, um, I mean, it, it actually, [00:33:00] it makes me feel better. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:33:02] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: But you're so right, you know, like, and I think, you know, when it comes to an audience and, and sort of building that know, like, trust, they need that, like, personal connection, even if it's just sort of, like, in your mind, right? Like, I, I follow them now, I feel connected to them somehow, and you want to sort of, you know, Get there quicker, right?

And I just think when you, are showing like you don't want to miss one of those times where they're scrolling and they don't see you, right? When you're walking down the street and they're on their phones and so they don't see you. And I think When you sort of jump around with that sort of different feel of a brand and you haven't really like gotten nailed it yet. to where you are really consistent, like you, you have to work harder to get their attention and that's why things may not be working for you.

[00:33:52] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: Right. Yeah. Yeah. And it's kind of like, you know, to, to what you were saying about them, like looking down as they're walking, but if you're always the person who walks [00:34:00] by at 4 PM and you're the one in the purple shoes,

[00:34:02] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Right.

[00:34:02] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: it's like, then they'll know, Oh, okay. Yeah. You know, even if they're doing something else, they'll be like, Oh, that, that was her, you know?

Yeah. And they'll know to, to like, look up and to see you at that point. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And, and it just kind of gives, gives that, that nod moment and. You know, everything, everything that we do in our business, it has to serve the essence of the business, the bottom line, the mission, the purpose, right? So whether you're a nonprofit or a for profit business, you have, you have, you have a purpose.

And, and so like, as Kristin's talking about all of this, we, we brought that connection back to this familiarity is so that way people feel like that they can connect to you. They can do something with you. Right. And what are you wanting them to do? You know, for most of us, it's, we're wanting them to buy from us.

You know, we're wanting them to, to have that

kind of, enhanced life because we, we've joined them in their lives. [00:35:00] You know, because. We've worked together because they, they have learned from us. Um, we've learned from them, you know, we, we've had some sort of, of, of interconnection and branding isn't branding is not just for, for, you know, the colors and and the photos looking good or the feeling like I've got a fantastic website or even that comfortable talking about my stuff.

Like it has an actual bottom dollar purpose. You know, it is there for revenue and it is there for,

part of the whole like business and sales aspect is like, I'm always telling people that if it, if it doesn't directly line that, like come back and that's, that's where, you know, that you can either edit it out for now.

You know, and look at it as like a nice tab later. Right. or like you need, you know, that like, you just don't need it yet. Right.

[00:35:49] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: I mean, I would just say, you know, I was going back to, you know, so I call myself a marketing mixologist but I talk a lot about branding and it's because like to market your brand, [00:36:00] market your business. You need to sort of build that know, like, and trust with your audience. And I think it does start with the brands because it's how they're first interacting with you.

It's how they're consistently going to see you and how they're going to connect personally with you. And I think that. When you have it, it also makes marketing your brand so much more effortless because everything's sort of in place. It eliminates decision fatigue. You're not going into Canva and saying, you know, Oh, what colors am I using today?

What template am I using? Or you're not, you know, writing out a caption or even using chat GPT to write something out. because it already knows your brand voice because of like, you have that strong brand. It just makes things so much easier on you and on your audience to like, get to know you better. So I think just like I don't want anyone to come out of this conversation feeling like overwhelmed about branding. I think it actually is really simple because you just need to make sure there's like a few little like check marks around, you know, like a post that you do an [00:37:00] email. That it feels like your brand, it feels like the email you sent out the week before, and it feels like the email you sent out the week before that. and that can evolve right slowly over time. but it just like, you really want that audience to have a sense of who you are, your brand values, like what they're gonna get from working with you or buying from you. and that when you're consistent with that, then like you really build that trust that way too.

[00:37:25] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I love that. And it really builds that momentum, right? The momentum that, that we're trying to, to go through, which again leads to that familiarity, you know, and, and that all comes together. And so, you know, as Kristin said at the beginning, it's like, if you, Like you, you've been at this business and you're at this point where it just feels like you're doing all the things and you're like, well, what am I doing next?

Right. You know, your offer might not be broken. It may be, it is, maybe it's not. Your messaging might not even be broken. It may just be the fact that, that people aren't seeing it. The same,

right? [00:38:00] It may be a time where we have to stop the experimenting

and, and let it and let it play out a bit longer, right?

Maybe the experimenting has been a bit too frequent, right? So people can't even recognize that it's still you, you know, it'd be like, like finding your favorite yogurt shop. And then the next week it has a whole other sign and it's like, wait, is this the same yogurt? It's in the same place. I see this in employees, but.

I don't know, is this the same shop or not?

And they don't even know whether they want to go in to taste the yogurt to find out.

[00:38:31] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Right.

Exactly.

[00:38:32] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: And while, that, you know, that's the same thing that like people are seeing online, whether like they're searching for you, it's like, Oh wait, does she even do the same thing if she's calling it something else now?

You know, and, and anytime people aren't sure about that stuff, well then they just have that opportunity to get distracted and move on. Right. It adds that extra layer of friction, which basically just means more work for them. And so they have to be super motivated to go for it. So a lot of times

they just get [00:39:00] distracted and keep

[00:39:00] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Right. Which is then more work

[00:39:02] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: when you yeah, yeah. So when you're really loving what you're doing and you're like, I just can't figure out what needs to click, then this could be what, what is that missing piece? So. What Kristin is a way that people can figure out if this is that piece that needs to click is like, is it the brand that that needs to like really fall into place?

What's something that they can do with you to figure that out?

[00:39:24] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah, definitely connect with me. I actually, I have a, a subscription with, with daily marketing tips, but with that comes my brand and marketing foundations course where you actually can build it out and make sure that everything is sort of like Aligned and aligned with your strategy unique to you all of the good things but the best way to you know I'm, i'm so happy to like do a quick audit of your brand on instagram if you want sort of that quick initial reaction, but yeah, the best way to connect with me is on instagram at district brand [00:40:00] bar and There you'll get the links to, my fun quiz and my subscription. and yeah, otherwise, uh, district brand bar is my website as well.

[00:40:08] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I love that. Yeah. And, and I have sent the, um, the subscription out to my subscribers to the list, uh, a couple of times because While doing something every day is overwhelming to me. I'm more of like a bulk doer. I'm assuming that it's like, yeah, you know, you can let, you can do it like once a week,

[00:40:24] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Totally. I actually,

[00:40:26] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: like to break it down.

[00:40:28] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Yeah.

I recommend starting with just one or two a week and Tuesdays are my favorite day because it's the brand polish day. And it's where we make sure that your brand is refreshed and up to date and not sort of like back in, you know, two years ago, because again, we have to actually. Keep our brand up to date as well.

[00:40:47] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I love that. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, whether you're somebody who needs to piece it out daily and feel like, Oh, I'm so accomplished. Look at me taking this off, you know, or whether you're somebody who's like, I've dedicated this time, I'm going for it,

Then, you know, that [00:41:00] that's, Yeah. yeah, it's like, that's a resource that you can go for.

So thank you very much for being here again and hanging out with us through, um, all, all the fun conversations that we have. Um, cause it, yeah, good, good. And yeah, cause branding is something that I theoretically understand. I mean, I, I, one of my degrees is in marketing, but because of my just personality and lack of wanting to be out there, it's just something that I just stare and go.

Okay.

[00:41:27] kristin-lawton--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_150702: Right.

[00:41:28] tracie--she-her-_1_05-28-2024_140701: I love that. You could like come in and bring like a new spin and a new perspective on it. Cause it's like, I can tell people the nuts and bolts all day long. And then I'm just like. Yeah. it's like, there's a reason I play in sales instead of in, in this world, you know? Yeah. And, and it's, and I understand that.

Right. And that's why I bring in people like you, because it's, it's like, I want this to be a holistic container. And, you know, we answer people's questions and we bring up concepts that people want to know. so thank you very much for [00:42:00] being here and, uh, it's been fantastic talking to you.