The Pillars of Branding

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Lesson Info

The Pillars of Branding

This is what we've talked about, so this is just a recap. What do you stand for? Literally, what is it that you are all about? What is your brand? What is it that you want people to understand about you, if they were to walk into your first gallery show and see your work on the walls, and see your artist statement, and see you standing there, what should they feel from that? What should they take away from that? What is it that you are trying to put out there? How do you want to make people feel? That is so important, is it not? The idea of making people feel something. You know, sometimes we get so all about us, me, me, me. What am I trying to do? How am I gonna make money? How am I gonna get clients? What about those people? How do you want them to feel when they walk away from looking at your work? So important, and then what is your story? What is it that you're trying to tell people? What is the narrative that you're creating over time? I mean, this is the beauty of social media, ...

is that we can create a narrative arc. We can create a story for ourselves that people are interacting with on a daily basis if we want to. This is how I answer these questions personally. I stand for free imagination, for people to tap into their most creative selves. That's what I want. I make people feel like their weirdness is worthy. This is what I want to make people feel, that darkness is okay, that whatever you're feeling is okay, that you need to express that and my story is about expressing my imagination so that I can live in my own reality. So when you see me posting online, this is the story that I'm telling, that this is my world. I'm making up the rules and I'm creating this art and I'm doing this because I love it, and what better way to create that because you love something so much. I believe that if you communicate these things, then those who are in alignment with you will be loyal to you, and I have found that to be true over and over again, that if I can look back at these things, standing for imagination, being my totally weird, freaky self, whatever, and then, creating my own reality. If I am true to those things, then the people who like those things, who are into what I'm doing are so loyal. It's like we're all best friends. I suppose I do have friends. This is, this is so great, okay. I wrap this up very nicely. So, action, I think, is how we do that the most. Through what we're selling is how we put that out there. We've got our persona, who we are literally, and then, the services that we can provide people, and if you can infuse who you are and what you do and how you want people to feel, into all of those things consistently, it's very likely that you're going to have a brand and a business that's just pulling in the exact right target audience. Finding your target audience is all about creating expectation for them. It's about creating original works for them, and for yourself, and for finding people who are like you. I mean, that's what we're really trying to do here. If you create from within, if you speak your mind, that's how you do it. So just to recap this Content Plan. Hone in on what you love, first and foremost. Find where those creations are being celebrated. Share yourself openly, as much as you can. I never would want to tell you to do that if it's not good for you. Engage with others who have a similar opinion, and I really mean engage, like actually engage with them, not just like, okay, I'm gonna post my photo in this group and then, run away and not say anything. No, no, no, engage with those people. Create on a schedule that works for you. Create backup materials, while you're making your main content, I should say. And share a few different types of content. I recommend three. I share videos all the time. I share photos of myself creating all the time. I share a lot of stuff, but I think three is pretty good. And then finally, care about the people that you're interacting with. Really care about those people because they matter so much, and sometimes we forget that. Show them that you care in any way that you can. I mean, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes you lose track of things, but you know, write them a message, or give them something that you have to offer that maybe they could benefit from. Surprise your audience, which I think is great. Do something unexpected every once in a while. Do something that keeps them on their toes, because here's the thing. People can steal your images all the time. People can say whatever they want about you, but if you're one step ahead of everyone, then you have nothing to worry about, and I really am empowered by that thought, that if I can just be one step ahead by being authentically myself, then you'll always be surprising your audience in some way. Okay, last thing that we're gonna talk about. Sample branding questions. List three of your greatest interests. I think that I was going to use the word, passions, but I don't know that everyone has three passions, and in fact, some people get really scared of that word, and they don't want to talk about that, so interests. What are three of your greatest interests, and then, which of those three has the most valuable audience? I know that this is a really terrible word, valuable, but what I mean is if you have three interests, if you love three different things, and you're like, you know what? I don't even know which one to pursue because I love all three of these things. Well which one has the audience that's going to allow you to keep creating that type of work in the most authentic way possible? So really, who's gonna pay you for it? What type of work is going to allow you to keep creating, and if you don't have multiple interests, then pick the one that you love the most and just go with it and it doesn't matter who has the most valuable audience. How can you turn that interest into revenue? These are questions that you'll ask yourself. How can you bring yourself into your work in a unique way? So how can you actually infuse who you are into what you do? And how often do you think that you can realistically create art? Like, what is your timeframe? What makes you feel like you can do it? And then, these three questions. What do you create? How do you create it? And why is it important? I think that those are super, super important questions to ask yourself.

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