Let me ask you an important question. This one question and the way you answer it has the power to transform you.

A question that if answered ‘yes’ will change your business, change your life, change the impact you are able to make and, yes, it will change your bank account.

Do you dare to be seen? 

I’m not talking about great headshots, colors, logos and fonts. I’m talking about …  are you willing to let the world see your soul? 

Because what I know for sure is that if we are not authentic online in our content, we won’t create the connection necessary to make an impactful first impression.  

When mission-driven business owners take the time to build their brand story, they will:

• Feel aligned and more confident

• Stand out to those you are meant to serve

• Enjoy a growing bank account

In this new age of conscious business, broadcasting a clear, cohesive, and authentic message is actually the easiest way to grow your income and your visibility. 

In this post, you will learn the correct order of a brand journey to save time and money and how being authentic and real in your messaging can attract your ideal clients. 

What Is The Difference Between Branding & Brand Strategy?

“Branding” is a term thrown around like a basketball during warm ups! 

However, most people automatically think of logo, colors, and fonts when someone says 'branding'. This is actually the Brand Identity - the visual representation of a brand. 

The basic definition of branding is: 

"The process of creating a distinct identity for a business in the mind of your target audience and consumers."

At the most basic level, brand identity is made up of a company's logo, visual design, mission, and tone of voice, whereas Brand Strategy takes into consideration much more about the business: 

• Values, mission, positioning in the industry
  

• Revenue goals

• Offers & Services 

• Team resources

Everything must be considered in the overarching vision the CEO or Founder has for the future. This is where Brand Strategy comes in. 

Why is Brand Strategy important? 

It’s not the logo that creates connection. It’s a person’s ability to connect with your message and to know that you understand them. It’s about an invitation offered with the highest good intention. 

An important thing to note here is that people don’t buy the best - they buy the easiest to understand. 

When do I do a brand journey? 

It’s probably time to consider a brand journey if you: 

• have changed your Ideal Client Avatar

• experience website shame

• can’t find the right words to say what you do

• have offers that no one is buying 

• have spent money on marketing that didn’t pan out like you thought it would

Three Steps to a Soul Story Brand

The Soul Story Brand approach to branding is very different. It is a spiritual endeavor. We dig deep and we are thorough to emerge YOU, your vision, and your powerful Soul Story Brand.

Most brand strategists focus more on your ideal client than on your positioning.

But for us at Soul Story Creative, building your Power Positioning is key to standing out from the crowd. It also steps you right into Influencer Marketing, and to avail yourself of free or low cost marketing strategies. 

There is power that spiritual branding offers. We are emerging your brand from deep within to separate you from all the competition and get you the attention you need to thrive. 

There are 3 steps to a Soul Story Brand:

Clarify. Captivate. Communicate. 

When you follow these steps in order, starting with clarity, you come into alignment with your deepest self and can be in the flow of your business.

• It gets easier to talk to people about what you do.

• You are liberated to easily create good content.

• The people you want to work with are attracted to you.

• Everyone on the team is broadcasting a unified message.

• Your marketing is so much easier! Save time and money! 

Think of your brand journey like a tree. 

Clarify comes first and is at the core of a powerful brand. These are the roots, your foundation. Here you discover the Soul of your brand. 

Your online presence is informed by your messaging. All your marketing, website copy, emails, social media posts, what you and your team members speak, is built from your Brand Story & Content Library. 

Now your message becomes the soul of your business. This is what creates connection and builds trust because you and the team are consistent.  

The 2nd step is Captivate - this is the trunk that represents your colors, logos, and fonts. 

Then LAST, Step 3, is Marketing Strategies - the leaves and branches. There are three main branches: Website, email marketing, and social media. 

Build your brand like a strong oak tree --the kind of brand that builds momentum and makes you money.

This is where a Brand Strategist can help guide you to match marketing strategies with the bigger vision, leveraging your brand story messaging so you remain consistent throughout your marketing endeavors. 

Let's take a closer look at Step One: Clarify

How do you get clear... and why should you care? 

It’s about establishing a relationship in a digital world, and you do that by coming into alignment with yourself, with your soul purpose. 

Being authentic is key to a powerful brand story! 

Amber, our client, who has a vibrant thriving equine-assisted therapy program in Pennsylvania, went through our program. 

Let’s look at how to start…

The Three Most Important Questions to Ask

In uncovering our authentic brand story there are three questions to answer: 

1. Who am I / Who are we? 

2. What do I / we stand for? 

3. Why should they care? 

Who are we? Where do you want to be in 5 years? Who are you meant to serve with the talent and skill you bring? What revenue streams / offers are best for this audience? What is your social personality and brand voice?  

What do you stand for? This is your ‘why’, your thought leadership - how you roll. This is the basis of your Power Positioning that emerges your company’s distinction in the marketplace, thus making it easier for you to stand out in a noisy marketplace. 

Why should they care? In the first two questions you’ve emerged your distinction - your Power Positioning. Now we must give attention to and research your Ideal Client. Who is your Ideal Client? What do they really want and need? What is their core problem? Are you uniquely qualified to solve that problem?

When you get clear on the answers to the questions, you emerge your authentic brand messaging, and can then build out your marketing content from this messaging - your brand story & content library. 

We don't tell you who to be, we show the world who you are. 

So come out of hiding and jump in! The water is fine! 🐬

When you get clear on the answers to these 3 questions, you emerge the soul of your business and your brand story. You feel good about coming out of hiding ;) 

But it requires us to embrace all of who we truly are. When we do, we naturally attract to us those who are like us. They see characteristics of themselves in us as we broadcast our thought leadership content from our Brand Story. 

They want to work with us because they like us. Like attracts like. 

But how do we know what is authentic for us?  

Growing up everything was confusing to me. I didn’t feel connected to anything. I was brought up in Durham, NC in a perfectly manicured neighborhood, groomed to be a debutante, go to Duke, marry a doctor, have a family and live a Country Club life.

But my open, wild, playful spirit was lively and bothersome and subsequently, squashed: 

“Come down here.” “Put that down.” “Sit down.” “Calm down.” “Settle down.“

On the outside, our home looked like a Norman Rockwell painting to everyone else but on the inside, it was chaos and mixed signals.

I spent my childhood learning how to hide, to stay small and invisible. 

And as I grew up, there was a battle raging inside me to be someone I wasn’t. I rebelled. I resorted to escape and numbing myself out.  I felt more and more disconnected from life. I had no idea who I was, much less what I stood for.

Then something wonderful happened that changed my life. In a High School elective class, I discovered photography. I discovered I could learn about life through the camera lens! I LOVED the idea of freezing moments in time. I finally had hope of a career I could love. And this began my search for truth—my authentic nature. 

I discovered that I had a gift to anticipate those fleeting moments of connection and love. 

I could feel poignant moments before they even happened, and I’d capture it on film. 

My clients loved it! I became very successful serving people with this gift. 

Even today I am guided by this profound truth by Brené Brown: 

In the end, the easier way is to love ourselves enough to show the world what we are offering in a way that creates connection in a digital world. 

More Truth: 

• There is a unique inner essence in each of us that is unlike any other.  

• When we embrace this essence, we can put ourselves out there naturally. 

• You will stand out in a crowded marketplace...

• ... and naturally attract the people you are meant to serve.    

It took a lot of growth and introspection for me to come out of hiding to share my life experience through my work serving others. It’s a way to reap what I’ve sown, to stand up for what I believe in and the words to articulate it. 

It pays to come into alignment with your company and the message you and your team are broadcasting.

Whether you are a solopreneur, or have a large company, emerging an authentic brand story and content library will make your marketing so much easier and way more effective. 

When you take the time to emerge an authentic brand story, you will: 

• Discover your truth and share it with the world
  

• Feel connected to yourself and your business

• Enjoy a growing bank account

If you want help uncovering your distinction, your power positioning, sign up for my FREE Clear Powerful Brand Mini-course program. 

Ready to get started NOW? L Schedule a call and we'll chat!