Experience: noun
/ˌikˈspirēəns/
an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone.
Nowadays we live in such a media-saturated, time-sucking, over-stimulated economy. It seems as if everything is demanding your time, attention and resources, and there are not enough hours in a day to take it all in. Busy is the new black and our personal social media "highlight reels" become the platform for which we share with the world what we're learning, how we're living our best life now and occasionally accidentally airs our dirty laundry (#reallife).
Everything is competing for our attention, so what is it that sets a brand apart? People no longer want to just buy products or hire a company - they want to experience something that wows them in a way that they feel like it's worth their time and attention. So how do you get their attention in an authentic and creative way?
Here are our top three tips for creating your own brand experience:
1. Define your brand style.
Your brand is the world's perception of you, so why wouldn't you want to be intentional about defining it? Your brand style should essentially be an extension of you and of your product or service.
For author Kristin Fry, our goal was to help launch her first book, Beyond the Swipe. This book is a fantastic read for any single girl who is tired of being just another option in an online dating world that seems limitless. It's for the girl who has fully immersed herself in the chaos of today's dating culture and needs a little encouragement (and a good laugh) along the journey. Kristin's hope is to get this book in the hands of every single girl she can, so we partnered with her to help create a brand experience that's designed just for them.
Pulling from the book cover and the heart behind the content of Beyond the Swipe, we planned a styled shoot to help Kristin define her brand and bring it to life with these bold colors and a style that is young, fresh, modern and feminine...just like her book!
Because the primary purpose of this shoot was to create a consistent style between her website and social media grid, we also included lots of styled headshots of the author to help introduce her personality to her audience...because let's be real, no matter what you offer, YOU are at the heart of your brand. Your audience wants to know you, your story and your passion...let them in!
This shoot set us up well with tons of imagery for her custom website we designed, her social media, and also for promotion of her book launch event (that's part 2 coming tomorrow!).
2. Value your influencers.
One of the biggest challenges of making any impact with your product or service is your voice. Sure, you can scream from the top of your lungs on all your social media platforms, but unless you have additional voices backing you up, it's going to be really tough to get your message out there, and it's going to take you a heck of a lot longer!
Take the time to think through those strategic influencers in your network who align with your brand, and get their attention. Show them how much your value their influence with a thoughtful and kind gift that creates a WOW moment to get their attention.
Once we compiled Kristin's list of influencers in the singles community, we crafted these VIP swag boxes, complete with a copy of the book, a custom designed coffee mug that says "I swipe right for coffee." (because, duh. Coffee.) and even had some branding fun printing custom M&M's with the faces of the singles on the book cover on them, just for fun! (also because M&M's are the author's favorite candy, so just adding another personalized touch!) We sent them out with very clear instructions as to what would be most helpful from the influencers so that it was clear, concise and simple.
The boxes were a hit! In fact, we're still getting requests for the mug from people who saw them on social media! Don't worry, we gave some away at the launch party to some well deserving single gals.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Creating a Brand Experience tomorrow as we share our third tip and all the details from Kristin's fabulous book launch party! In the meantime, if you're a single gal or if you know a single gal, do yourself a favor and head over to Amazon to order a copy of this fantastic book for you (or them). You won't regret it!
Photography: Mary Hannah Harte
Brand Design, Web Design, & Styling: Sweetwood Creative Co.
Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links.