6 Ways to Refresh Your Brand

If you’re reading this, that means you’ve may have identified with at least one of the five signs that your brand is in need of a branding refresh, but if you haven’t read my recommendations, go here first.

A refresh encompasses a tweak or two in what you’re currently doing to make your brand shine brighter. It means you’ve already got elements of your brand you love, but there are other elements you know could be improved to bring your brand full circle. 

Here are 6 ways you can refresh your brand to bring it up to speed with the times, differentiate yourself from other businesses, and move the needle on your audience’s perception of your business, which will turn them from members of your audience to your loyal customers. 

1.) Get professional photos taken

People gravitate toward people. You’re the entrepreneur, and your clients are hiring you. Did you know the About Us page is the most visited page on any small business site? Your customers are going to want to see what you look like because subconsciously they want to connect with you first, and then with your product or service.

So what are you going to show them? 

A poorly composed selfie because you needed to have a picture of yourself on your site? An old photo where your hair color and fashion sense is completely different than how you look now? A boring, corporate-style headshot that shows zero of your personality?

Invest in professional photography and not only will it clean up the aesthetic of your site, it will display you as the professional you are. 

2.) Modernize your logo

The greatest and most recognizable companies in the world have reworked their logos to reflect the advances and changes in their business, so you shouldn’t be afraid to modify your logo either. 

This update could mean switching up the font to something simpler but more reflective of the nature of your business, or reformatting your logo from a rectangle appearance to a circle for social media purposes. 

Slight changes are going to modernize your brand, not alienate it from your audience. And if you do lose a few followers with your new logo, well, that’s an example of knowing who your audience isn’t. If you’re reworking your logo so it speaks to your ideal customers, those people will stay. 

3.) Clean up your website

If people can’t figure out where to go within the first 5 seconds of arriving to your site, you’ve lost them. They will either close the window or bounce to another site.

Direct new visitors to where you want them to go and cut out the rest.

No one will sift through tons of pages or links to get to the information they want to see. Make it clear, make it large, and then they’ll dig deeper if they want to get into the details.

Get rid of dead links and absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors.

4.) Refine your vision

What do you do? What do you sell? Why? 

Whether it be a tagline, or a box leading people to your about page, you need to make sure your message is crystal clear. 

Of course, this is hard to determine when looking at your own site because it’s your site and you know what you do, but imagine if someone found your business card on the sidewalk that had just your name and website URL. 

If that person went to your website, would they know what you do in the first 5 seconds? If not, then you need to refine your messaging and vision. 

P.S. You can actually play out this lost-business-card-on-the-sidewalk scenario with Peek. It’s a free service that provides you with a five-minute video of someone navigating your site as well as their commentary regarding their first impression.

5.) Do a social media cleanse 

I turned off my FB page last year because it didn’t fit my marketing plan for the year. Consider where your audience finds you and focus on that. Cut out the rest of the clutter. 

6.) Do a brand overhaul

These steps are only a short-term solution. Branding is more than just the aesthetic elements, it’s a living and breathing force behind the emotional connection you make with your audience.

Eventually, all businesses need to dive in and investigate how their customers and clients are engaging with their brand. 

The inner workings of your brand, or the foundation, is what needs to be rebuilt before putting on that top coat with beautiful design. And that can only be done with a strategic process that serves as a long-term roadmap and plan to articulate your brand genuinely.

It’s called brand design strategy, and it’s powerful stuff. Ready to dive deeper?

Let’s hash out what’s working and what’s not working in your brand and your business.

 

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Hi there, I’m Lisa.

I’m a life, brand + business coach. I help ambitious entrepreneurs create a life by design with intention, experience, and insight. Interested in seeing what’s possible for you? Message me and let’s talk.

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