The Business Lounge Podcast with Kimberly Ann Jimenez
Welcome to The Business Lounge Podcast! Each week we'll share proven marketing strategies to help you build an audience of buyers, create impactful content, and grow a profitable business without compromising on your values with your host, Kimberly Ann Jimenez!
Kimberly is an Online Marketing Strategist, Educator, Founder and Thought Leader in the online marketing industry.
Having worked with 33K+ small business owners & entrepreneurs across an array of industries over the past decade, Kimberly and her business partner Chris Harris are obsessed with helping you level up your marketing game, and grow your bottom line.
They co-lead their flagship program, The Business Lounge, which teaches business owners & entrepreneurs like you how to navigate the confusing & often overwhelming world of online marketing and build an unapologetically profitable business on your own terms (and without compromising your faith, your family or your freedom).
Join us at kimberlyannjimenez.com/businesslounge!
The Business Lounge Podcast with Kimberly Ann Jimenez
S6 EP28: Build an Irresistible Brand: 5 Steps to Stand Out in a Crowded Market
Tired of feeling lost in the crowded marketplace? Learn how to create a brand that not only stands out but also leaves a lasting impression. In this episode, we'll dive into five actionable steps to help you build an irresistible brand that attracts your ideal clients and makes a significant impact. Discover proven strategies to differentiate yourself, connect authentically, and achieve long-term success.
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Grab The Content Calendar Playbook: http://contentcalendarplaybook.com
Grab The Content Calendar Playbook: http://contentcalendarplaybook.com
Welcome to the Business Launch Podcast. I'm your host, Kimberly Ann Jimenez, and we have a brand new show for you it's going to be a good one.
Speaker 1:Actually, today we're going to tackle a topic that I've been getting a lot of questions around, and for good reason. It's buzzy. We've been kind of hearing about it for the last few years, but no one really understands what it is and how to accomplish it, and that is building a brand. What does it actually take? What is a brand anyway? And how do you actually build a following that is so in tune with your brand that selling is seamless, because that's what all our marketing should look like, and brand and brand being is definitely an arm of marketing. So I'm really excited to be sharing this training with you. It's something that we haven't shared on the podcast, and I think you're gonna benefit a lot from it. So today I'm sharing five steps to building a solid brand that your fans and customers find absolutely irresistible in this year.
Speaker 1:I hope you enjoy it. Let's get into it.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Business Lounge podcast where each week, we unpack the hottest online marketing and business strategies so you can grow your business, increase your bottom line and make a bigger impact. And now here's your host, kimberly Ann Jimenez.
Speaker 1:If we're talking about a brand, we're really talking about each and every one of us. Whether you have a personal brand and you are the face of your company, you are the company or you're building more of a corporate brand. Regardless, we all need to build our brands and really, when it comes down to it, a personal brand or a corporate brand really all stems down to what is your core persona, right? What is your actual personality that your company takes on? And so, if we think about it, that your company takes on, and so, if we think about it, a brand is just how other people experience you or your company. It's your personality, it's your values, it's what you stand for, and building a corporate brand or a business brand is very similar to just having and showcasing your own personality in the online space. I know that can be a little bit trickier, especially when you're trying to decide things like what should your logo be and what are your colors and how should your voice sound like and how should you kind of present yourself in front of other people. All of those things make up your brand, and we're going to break it down in five simple steps Now.
Speaker 1:I love this quote that I'm going to share with you. It's from Naveed Moses and he says building a profitable brand online is not a sprint. It's not something that happens overnight. So don't aim for perfection early on. Instead, allow your brand to evolve naturally over time and focus on providing massive value and over delivering to your target audience. Then you will get more clear on your message and your brand, and I love that notion that this is just a process, right? Your brand will definitely kind of just develop as you develop your own personality, you find your voice, you figure out who you want to be in the marketplace and you follow through consistently on all of those things. So I don't want you to stress out or think that, oh my gosh, you know, if you don't get it perfect from the onset, you're falling behind. And then there's these all you know tons of other people competing for the same space. That is a scarcity mentality and around here we believe in abundance. So it's really important that you're just kind of understanding that this is a process and, just like your personality evolves over time and you become a better version of yourself, your brand will also evolve over time. You'll know and understand how to speak to your ideal target audience. You'll figure out how to kind of present your message in a way that's more attractive. You'll kind of step into your own as you design your brand aesthetics and you know kind of carry that over into everything that you create, not just your online presence, right, and your persona, but then also kind of how you interact with customers, right, and your persona, but then also kind of how you interact with customers, right, what your packaging looks like If you have a physical product, what your entire customer experience feels and sounds like. You know, whether you're selling online courses or services or physical products, it's all the same. And that's what we're really going to tackle in terms of building a stronger brand in the near All right. So step number one is to get real about who you are and develop a brand story. Now, one of the courses that we teach here in our company is called zero to branding, and it's how to create that visual representation on graphically, visually of who your brand is and kind of share that across different visual mediums, on social media, blogs, websites, et cetera. And inside that course, I walk students through the four pillars of creating and defining your brand vision.
Speaker 1:Number one is what do you stand for? And I think that asking yourself that question can really have a big impact on how you show up right in the world. So what do you stand for? Are there specific values you know that you share? Is there something that you really believe in? Is there kind of, you know, a mantra or a life lesson or some kind of value that you really want to put your stamp on and share?
Speaker 1:These days, businesses need to stand up for something. We're in a totally new era of business and the internet has really shared and has amplified what customers really want, and more and more customers want to do business with brands who stand for something. So what do you stand for? Number two what are your core beliefs? Right? Do you believe in you know making sure that your customers have the most excellent experience? Do you believe in empowering people through education and technology? Do you believe that you know there should be a shared economy? There are so many things that you should be addressing and that you should be talking about if it's something that you actually believe in as a company.
Speaker 1:So here in my brand, in my company, we're really strong proponents of really giving our all to our customers, over-delivering in every aspect that we possibly can. And while we're not perfect and we don't claim to be we're constantly striving to improve every single area of our company, not just in the way that we deliver the content, but also how our customers experience it. So we don't believe in mediocrity. We stand for really over-delivering in every aspect, and that's something that we talk about all the time. So I want to make sure that you are kind of tapping into this power and also sharing what you believe in, and there's so many things that doesn't have to necessarily do with how you, you know, kind of treat your customers. There's, you know, apple, for example. They really believe in creators and creating amazing tools for that specific type of people. So there's so many things that you could totally kind of use as inspiration to figure out what you believe in and then communicate that in your branding.
Speaker 1:Number three is how are you different? How are you standing out from the competitors in the marketplace? You want to make sure that you're positioning yourself as a unique value proposition and that you're a unique brand. So thinking through these questions will really serve you. And number four is how do you want your customers to experience your brand right? Do you want to evoke feelings of kind of comfort and security, or do you want them to feel excited and totally hyped? Do you want them to feel like you're relatable and kind of easygoing and relaxed? There's so many emotions that you could or could not evoke in the way that you express yourself that make a huge difference. So how do you want customers to perceive you All right?
Speaker 1:So, now that you have the four pillars of your brand vision, the next step is to communicate your brand right, create a communication strategy, and the first way of doing that is to think about okay, so you're building this brand right, whether it's a personal or a corporate brand. Where are you going to build it? And there are so many platforms these days, right From social media to kind of long form platforms like podcast or video. There's many places where you could be, and while we have a whole video that I highly recommend that you check out on how to select the right social media platform, I just want you to get super clear and think about where are you going to be sustainably? Where do you love kind of hanging out? Are you kind of a video person? Are you more of an audio, behind the scenes person? Do you love to write? Figure out exactly where you thrive on, what platform you really really kind of you can totally own and be consistent on, and then also figure out where your people hang out.
Speaker 1:The next step is to really just think about auditing your entire content strategy, right? So are you actually in alignment? Is the content that you're creating in alignment with who you are as a brand? Here at the company, we've done this many times full-on brand audit. It's something that we almost do every single year because there's so many moving pieces and as you grow and evolve, you'll notice that you can get very distracted and not kind of come back to the core of who you are as a brand and as a company. So we're constantly redefining who we are kind of moving back into alignment with the content that we're constantly redefining who we are kind of moving back into alignment with the content that we're creating and making sure that it ties into what we stand for, what we believe in, and also that it's something that can be communicated in a way that aligns with our brand voice. So highly recommend doing a quick brand audit and figuring out if your content is in alignment, and the last thing in the step is just to commit to a strategy right, you're not going to get your brand across, you're not gonna stand out, you're not gonna build a strong brand in the new year if you're not consistently putting out content that aligns with who you are right.
Speaker 1:I really want you to think about this from an authentic kind of space and like a soul level. Are you creating content that you're actually excited about, that lights you up, or have you kind of fallen into a funk and you're not really committed to the strategy? Sometimes and this has happened to me many times, including this year sometimes our heart and soul isn't aligned right With what we're pushing out and you have to kind of fall back in love with your mission and your purpose and that'll really seep through into your content. You'll see a massive difference. I know this happened for me. I hit a huge funk this year with producing content, just felt like this is no longer in alignment with who I am. I'm just kind of putting out content because I want to stay consistent, but I don't really feel that magic, that passion, that power behind it, and so I gave myself permission to create content that's a little bit more in alignment with who I am, that I'm excited about. That really speaks to me and, wow, what a difference I think your audience can totally tell our audience sure can when there's content that we're just kind of, you know, not really passionate about. Um, they can hear and feel it, and I want to make sure that you are doing the exact same thing. Right, look back through your content. Maybe the last 10 content pieces that they speak to you Do they let you up? If yes, awesome, keep doing more of that. If no, how can you pivot a little bit and find that sweet spot between content your audience really wants to hear and something that's totally up your lane and that you're passionate about? All right.
Speaker 1:Step number three is to fall in love with your people, and this means so much to me. I am a huge believer that in order to succeed in any type of industry, in any type of niche, no matter what kind of business model you have, you have to fall in love with your people. You have to fall in love with your customers and constantly connect with them, try to figure out exactly what they want and need and deliver that to them. So I love this quote. Jeff Bezos said this and I thought it was brilliant. He said a brand for a company is like a reputation for a person you earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.
Speaker 1:Hey you Sorry to interrupt this episode, but did you hear? We have fan mail on the podcast, which means that now you get to text us your questions, your suggestions for future episodes, and you also get to give us feedback on what you like and don't like about the show. So from any of the episodes on your favorite podcast app, you'll see in the description right up top it's going to say text me a question. You can follow that link and send us a text message and we'll get it right into our podcast app, which is so amazing because now I don't have to tell you guys hey, go follow us on Instagram and DM us your questions. You could do it right here from the show. So what are you waiting for? Ask us the question, ask for recommendations or give us feedback on what our next episode should be all about. Like our friend from Tyler, texas who just wrote in and said hey, I would love to see what it looks like to work with Kimberly. I have products that are not selling. They're great products and we can get them to the cart, but abandon it. Need help with the offer and the process. Is this something you offer? I need eyes on the price and listen, friend from Tyler Texas. Yes, we do, and we're going to do a whole episode just answering your question, because it was that good. And hey, if you want to be shouted out, if you want your questions answered, or if you're just curious about a specific topic that we cover on the show, all you have to do is follow that little link below each episode that says text me a question and you can text us right from your mobile device. All right back to the show.
Speaker 1:What you earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well and bam, that really spoke to me. Really, when it comes down to it, right. Falling in love with your people means that you're trying to offer them solutions that no one else has. You're kind of diving in and digging deep to do very difficult things and do them very well. I know this is so true for our company. There's so many challenges behind the scenes that we don't always get to share with you guys. There's struggles and there's ups and downs and there's moments when we're like, what do we do? We're constantly trying to push the envelope and do very challenging things well and sometimes it works out. Sometimes we totally fall flat on our faces, but it's about constantly trying to be better and doing it for the right reasons, doing it because you wanna love on your people and serve them well.
Speaker 1:When I first started my company the online side of my company, right Kind of shifting from freelancer into consultant and then later into course creator I created this Facebook group for people who bought my first kind of intro level offer and there wasn't a lot of people in it. There was maybe like 7,500 people and I showed up for those folks so hard. If you were part of that group many years ago, you probably remember it, but I was just showing up there. I didn't really have a lot of direction in terms of what courses they needed, what content they wanted to learn more about, and just showing up doing live videos and constantly connecting with them in that group it just gave me so many ideas as to what I needed to be creating, what kind of solutions I needed to be creating, what kind of solutions I needed to be offering, and it made the biggest difference in my company. That's how the business launch came about, and I tell this story inside the membership all the time, because it made all the difference in the world.
Speaker 1:Getting to know your people on a deeper level and really connecting with them can make all the difference in the world. So if you want to build a stronger brand, if you want a brand that stands out, if you want to position yourself as a go-to person, as a leader, you've got to be in people's heads. You've got to connect with their challenges. You've got to understand their pain points. You have to provide solutions that resonate with them. The only way you're going to do that is if you connect with them on a daily basis. So how can you leverage social media? How can you leverage your email list? How can you book appointments with people? Just chat right Via Skype if you're doing it online, or how can you even meet with some of your customers in person and ask a little bit more about their challenges, their pain points, how you know different solutions in the marketplace are voting for them. All those things are so important. So I really wanna encourage you to really fall in love with your people this year. All right.
Speaker 1:Step number four is something that I've had to learn the hard way, and that is to inject more of your personality into your brand. Whether you have a corporate company or you have a personal brand, the exact same strategy applies regardless, and it's so much easier for me to tell this to my clients and kind of guide them through that process than it is for me to do it myself. So I'll tell you a little backstory. But it's been the hardest thing for me to share more about who I am and what I do outside of business. It feels overindulgent and just totally unnecessary and like too much information if I share anything around my personality, and it's been so freaking challenging to figure out how to inject more of who I am into my company. But you guys totally asked for it. All the time You've been basically demanding it.
Speaker 1:So this year I decided, hey, I'm going to start sharing more of my personal life over on Instagram, created a girl talk segment, kind of woven some more health and inspirational kind of posts on our Instagram account, and you guys went crazy. So it just really showed me that I had been missing out on this entire segment of kind of like my audience and connecting with them on a more personal level, because I was so afraid to turn them off by just sharing personal stuff that wasn't totally business related all the time. I'm a very practical person, as it is, so I kind of have these standards for myself on how much I can share and how much I shouldn't share, and so I just want to encourage you to not be like me and actually go out there and share more, inject more of your personality, a little bit more about the behind the scenes, and pick the right platform to do that right. There's a reason why I'm not like reviewing makeup and skincare on this channel, but on Instagram I have a little bit more leeway and I can share a lot more about my life, and you guys love it. So how could you inject more of your personality, more about who you are, into your corporate brands right, being the face of a company or into your personal brand, so important for this upcoming year?
Speaker 1:And finally, it's time to up-level your branding game. That means that you're going to be taking everything that you've learned of in this video, right From defining who your brand persona is to figuring out who you stand for and what you believe in, and then kind of conveying all of that in a visual aesthetic. Perception is everything, especially these days, and so few brands actually position themselves as, like you know, legit on the internet. That means up-leveling your photo quality right, taking some time maybe to take a branding course like Zero to Branding, or going to Udemy or Elinacom and figuring out how to take better photos, better video right. Create more beautiful, aesthetically pleasing graphics up-level kind of the shots in your website. Figure out how to create, you know, more professional looking lead magnets or coupon codes, whatever asset you're using for your marketing and for your business that your clients are interacting with. How can you kick it up a notch right? How can you make it even better than it is right now? That might mean, you know, planning on a little bit of a website redesign or upleveling your logo or redesigning your business cards.
Speaker 1:You really want to make sure that your branding and the perception that people have of you online aligns with who you are, and I can't tell you how many times inside the business lounge and when I'm doing one-on-one coaching, I'm working with a company or a personal brand, someone who has an amazing solution to a problem the market really needs, and they've kind of gotten away with shoddy website, not so great aesthetics, less than professional looking photos, and they're still making sales and that's awesome, but they wanna get to the next level and one of the first things we work on is can we please make sure that you look as legit as you are online as you are in person? You have this amazing product, this amazing service, and you're totally kind of shooting yourself in the foot by not having professional looking, kind of entire branding and visuals online. So, so important for this new year, and I'm totally going to hook you up with my branding toolkit. It's a full PDF that you can download for free. I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite tools to uplevel your branding game.
Speaker 1:Hey, I hope that the episode was helpful. I hope that you have a much better feel or grasp on what brand is like, what branding that process of building your company, of building an actual relationship with your customers and setting up that story behind your business that they can relate to. If it was helpful, come over to Instagram. Let me know that it was, and, of course, I'd love to see you inside the Business Knowledge Membership very soon. Go over to jointhebeeloungecom that's jointhebeeloungecom so that you're the first to know whenever we open up enrollment.
Speaker 1:Next. I love you, I mean it. I hope that you're stepping into everything that God has in store for you in this season. I hope that you're stretching yourself and getting a little bit outside your comfort zone and really going for your dreams. As a matter of fact, we were just talking about this how literally we all have God-given talents and God-given assignments that only we can accomplish in this world to build his kingdom, and so I hope that you, whether you're a believer or not, are actually working towards that goal of serving others, making a bigger impact and building legacy and wealth for your family as well. I love you. I mean it, un beso. Bye for now.
