Building a brand is just NOT about logos, colors, fonts, and unique design elements. Branding is the way that you make people feel when they see, hear and use your product or service. Your brand doesn’t just happen by accident. Do you know how to brand your Virtual Assistant business? Or does the thought of it make you sweat?
You can (and should!) intentionally create and cultivate a brand that makes you memorable, likable, attracts ideal clients, and positions you as an authority in your target market. If you’re wondering how exactly you go about branding your Virtual Assistant business – here are some fundamental exercises that will help you get started.
Core Values
What values do you want to communicate to your clients when they see and interact with your company? These are qualities that you want to inform every product and piece of content you create, and every service you perform.
Imagine that you have a brand whose core values are: Honesty, Fun, Teamwork, and Motivation.
Can you see how a brand that projects those values might “feel” a little different than one that has: Efficiency, Innovation, Quality, and Professionalism as their values?
Why it matters: These core values are what will take you from a “random business owner on the internet” to a real person with a real business. Research shows that people buy from other people. Any exchange of goods or services requires some level of trust – and this is even trickier for online providers. The burden of humanizing yourself and establishing trust and authority falls on you, the business owner.
Messaging
Your messaging is not just what you are saying – on your website, in FB groups, or on your social media accounts – it’s how you are saying it. What unique position are you taking in this industry? This ties directly into your core values. When a prospective client visits your Instagram page or checks out your website, what are a few key ideas that you want them to walk away with? Your core values and personality should run like a thread through every piece of content and copy you create.
Here’s a few examples of a VA business that might say essentially the same thing, but in a different way:
We offer email list management.
I help online fitness coaches manage and grow their email list.
I help online fitness coaches grow their audience through strategic email list building.
If you were an online fitness coach, which of these messages would stand out to you the most? Good messaging not only communicates what (email list building) but also tells your audience how (strategic action), and why (grow your audience). Be specific, and sell the transformation your service provides.
Everyone has a unique way of communicating – embrace yours! The most important thing to remember is that clarity is critical. Always choose clear communication over cleverness.
Visuals
When you first hear the words “brand your business”, you probably immediately thought about logos, colors, fonts and graphics. You weren’t wrong – visuals are another very important part of your branding strategy. Visuals can help you set your content apart from others in your industry by creating positive associations, recognition, and trust.
When you are choosing your colors, creating your logo, and choosing a layout for your website, remember that they should support your core values and messaging. For example: If your core values communicate professionalism and efficiency, you probably wouldn’t choose neon or bold or bright colors. Your colors and graphics help tell the story of your brand.
The #1 advice that I always give my clients about choosing visual branding elements is to keep it simple. Less is more. Bold colors might be your favorite, but they can overwhelm and distract your prospects and make them miss your messaging! Stick with neutrals and choose bold colors for accents. Another critical piece of brand visuals is consistency. There should never be more than two or three fonts on your page at a time. And these fonts should complement each other. I suggest choosing one simple text font, and maybe a fancier font for headings and titles. Graphics should follow the same rules: Simple, consistent, complementary.
Putting it all together
Can I tell you a secret? One of the biggest mistakes that new VA’s make is spending way too much time on visual branding. Spending hours picking fonts, colors and creating a logo is not going to help you find clients. You are not a multi-million dollar brand (yet!) and you need to remember that cohesion and consistency are more important than tone right now. Put together brand guidelines using the techniques I’ve mentioned above and remember that you can pivot or shift as you grow with your business.
If you’ve found this blog to be helpful, I’d love to invite you to check out my totally FREE Branding training. This is a 35-minute video training that will take you from “what the heck is a brand” to confidently applying the things you’ve learned to all your online spaces. We’ll cover everything included in this blog (in more detail!) and lots more.
And for more support, connection and ideas – join my private Facebook community, The Virtual Assistant Club. We’d love to have you!
