Entrepreneurship: Creating a Successful Brand

 

How to Bring Your Purpose and Image To Life

By Emily Kulinowski

It’s 2022, and one of the most important things a musician can do for their career is create a successful brand for themselves. Sometimes it can be overwhelming figuring out how you want your brand and image to look. Having some tips on how to create a successful brand will help you bring your purpose and image to life.

Building Your Brand

Every musician should have a brand and image that encapsulates who they are as a person. You want your audience and prospective employers to understand who you are and what your message is through your branding.

According to a survey by Stackla, “86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.” It’s important you create a brand that authentically expresses who you are, and in turn allows your audience to see themselves within your brand.

As an emerging musician, I’m in the beginning stages of creating a brand for myself. I’ve found it takes a lot of ideating your purpose before you can start planning your brand. 

Understanding what you want your purpose to say is important in conveying the right message to your audience.

Utilizing these tips for success can help you bring your purpose and image to life, and create a brand that speaks volumes for you.

1.Define Your Purpose

Your brand is how you present your purpose to other people, so it’s important you create an image for yourself that effectively expresses that.

Make sure you take the time to sit down and write down your goals. Writing your goals will help you plan out your purpose and brand because you will have a clearer description of what you’re building your brand for.

Defining what you want to be known for may seem tricky, especially if you want to be known for multiple things. For me, I know I’d like to be known for my musical abilities as well as my arts management and lifestyle skills. 

Assessing what your strengths and weaknesses are will not only help you define your purpose, it will give you a chance to learn more about yourself. This will allow you to see where you want to improve in order to reach your goals, as well as the skills you’ve already well established. 

Purpose and image are your identity is your way of advertising to the world who you are; make sure your purpose and goals align so your brand message can be as effective as possible.

2.Do Your Research

When creating your brand it can be helpful to compile research on other successful brands; notice what works for them and see what could also work with your purpose.

Take note of what similar brands are doing. What trends are they following? How large is your area of the music industry? Who are some key names in the industry?

Staying up-to-date with current trends and news can keep you on top when it comes to your branding. Since promoting your brand includes a range of marketing tools, it’s important to research which tools could work for you.

It can be helpful to complete an analysis of 3-4 similar brands and see what they are offering, who their target audience is, and what they’ve been successful and unsuccessful at.

Once you’ve researched a few similar brands it’s time to look at your own. Taking the time to learn what separates your brand from others is key because you want to make sure there is something that helps you stand out from the rest.

Effective Branding Tools- The Den Collective

Effective Branding Tools- The Den Collective

3.Build Elements of Your Brand

Your brand is essentially your identity you share with your audience. If you can’t create a brand that authentically expresses who you are, it will be hard for your audience to engage with you.

Elements of branding include anything from images, videos, logos, and advertising. Along with creating engaging and authentic content, it’s important to create a brand identity for yourself.

A brand identity will be a key way for your audience to identify you, especially on physical merchandise and digital designs. 

Design a brand logo and advertising that aligns with your purpose and goals. Building the elements of your brand identity will take a while, so be sure to take the time to create something that not only is authentic but something you enjoy.

4.Effective Marketing Tools

When creating a successful brand you want to use marketing tools that could be most effective in reaching your goals. Take the time to see what tools you already have and work well, establish new ones, and plan out ways to use them effectively.

Here are some common marketing tools:

  • Your Website

  • Search Engine Optimization

  • Content Marketing

  • Audio & Visual Branding

  • Event Branding

  • Social Media Marketing

  • Email Marketing

  • Paid Advertising

Using all or a combination of these tools can help bring your brand to life and reach your audience more efficiently.

Utilizing branding tools such as these are a great way to highlight your purpose, what you offer, and connect with others authentically.

5.Live Your Life With Purpose

While it can be easy to get caught up in the current trends and popular topics, remember that it’s still important to stay true to yourself. 

Your audience was with you at the beginning, so don’t lose them because you’ve strayed away from your true purpose. Keep in mind your purpose and goals you’ve created because if you ignore it your brand won’t be as authentic.

Everyone is unique and so are their brands. Even though following trends can be an effective tool, do it because you want to not because you think you should.

Stay true to your purpose and your beliefs. If your heart is telling you to do one thing but you have someone telling you no, trust yourself that you are doing what;’s best for you.

You might be fearful of what others think, if you’ll fail, or afraid to try new things. In order to grow and make changes you have to face your fears and do it anyway. Don’t let fear control you- use it to motivate you to push towards your goals.

Expressing Your Purpose

Creating a successful brand might feel overwhelming at first. However, don’t be afraid to plan out your goals and take things one step at a time.

Having some tips on how to bring your purpose and image to life can help you create a brand that is authentic to you and your vision. Remember to live your life with purpose and don’t let others bring you down. It’s important to define your purpose and use branding tools that work best with your goals in mind.

The Den Collective partners with Resources Shawn Cote and Sara Noble to provide musicians branding, career development, and musicians empowerment sessions. The Den also partners with Coach Alex Campbell to provide life coaching sessions for musicians. More information on our resources can be found here.

Understanding tools to create a successful brand are important when establishing your career as a musician. Myself and The Den Collective are here to support and help in any way we can!

 
Entrepreneurship, Music Industry, Tips & AdviceEmily KulinowskiEmily Kulinowski, creating a successful brand, branding, marketing tools, building your brand, purpose, bring your purpose and image to life, expressing your purposeComment