How to Elevate Your Brand.

Inject your brand with a little charisma, and make it stand out from the rest.

Branding is everything.

Ever stumbled across that startup company that seems to have it all together? You know the kind I mean: their logo is on point, colour scheme consistent, merchandise on trend and they have a brand personality that shines brighter than Kristen Bell?

Suddenly you’re nine months deep into their instagram feed and you find yourself thinking, these guys are cool. You completely disregard the fact that you know nothing about the quality of their product or what the reviews all say because all you want to do is jump headfirst on their bandwagon and buy the thing they’re selling.

Why are we all guilty of this?

There’s a reason why concise copy and consistent hues attract the most loyal of customers: brand.

Good companies build products, great companies build brands.

You could invent the world’s most incredible butter, but no one will have a clue unless you brand the heck out of it. There’s a reason why people pay $6 for the shiny stuff from Denmark when they could be spending $2.50 on the home brand equivalent.

Think of brands like celebrities: they exude personality, and people tend to know what they’re all about.

Whether professional, passionate, passive or pretentious, every company tells a story through the images, wording, colours, and materials they employ. The more cohesive these elements, the stronger the brand.

So what sort of ‘brand personality’ should your company aspire to have? This is really up to you. You can have your niche qualities — be playful, creative, serious, environmental or dynamic — but there’s one characteristic that usually shines way above the rest: charisma.

The definition of charisma can seem a little intimidating. Not every Tom, Dick or Harry can whip out their “compelling charm and attractiveness and inspire others to devotion”. But, I promise you, with the right motives and the right know-how, any brand can be charismatic.

“How can you have charisma? Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are making them feel good about you.” — Dan Reiland.

Charisma stems from a strong sense of self.

Who would you rather be stuck on a deserted island with? The last Miss Universe or Will Smith? Looks attract attention; personality attracts loyalty.

Charisma has very little to do with physical appearance and everything to do with depth of character. An innately charismatic person knows who they are and what they’re about; they care about people genuinely and without a hidden agenda; they’re consistent and they’re un-phased by the latest trends. In fact, they create their own trends. Charismatic people carry themselves with the most attractive kind of confidence, and it’s magnetic.

How does this apply to branding?

The good news is, adopting such a demeanour for your brand isn’t rocket science, but you do have to be in the right headspace. It’s about knowing your vision, values, sense of style and personality, and communicating that in the best possible way. Real talk: if your main motive is to gross as much money as humanly possible, that’s okay, but your brand is more likely to flounder. Dishonesty and trickery always leave a bad taste in the mouth- nobody likes that kind of funny business.

“The reason so many people struggle to sell is because they don’t believe in what they’re selling” — Gary Vaynerchuck, VaynerMedia

Know your why.

Be passionate about your product or service, care about the people you engage with and be excited about what you can offer them. This shift in perspective changes everything, and your target audience will thank you for it.

A little more on the practical side: keep a consistent tone of voice by being you (there’s nothing more awkward than a forced written persona), stay true to your colour scheme, fonts and style, nail your company vision and mission, consistently remind yourself of why you started in the first place, and the rest will flow.

“If you’re not making someone else’s life better, then you are wasting your time. Your life will become better by making other people’s lives better.” — Will Smith

Stay focused on the brand you want to build and don’t get caught up in what others are doing (brand envy is a real thing), give value to your audience without expecting anything in return, and great things will come.