EP 8: What does it to take to Build a Brand’s Foundation Overtime? – TOP 3 BRAND ADVICE W/ BAPTISTA (BONUS WEEK EPISODE)
From a Brand Strategist’s perspective
- Listen in on Baptista’s TOP 3 pieces of advice on Branding and Business. Baptista is a Brand Strategist focusing on Brand Clarity for businesses; she’s passionate about helping small businesses online, find their essence using brand Strategy. She has worked with both local and international businesses; specifically health coaches, language tutors, consultants, relationship coaches, content marketers, etc. She’s been called “the Clarity Queen” as she’s helped many business owners emerge with testimonials that inspire more to hop on a session with her.
- TOPICS WE DISCUSS: Brand Execution Vs. Testing, Building your Brand’s Foundation Overtime, Pinpointing the Brand’s Passion and Purpose, How to Build Authority Overtime, Consistency Tips, The Foundations of Brand Building, The Importance of a Clear Brand, Engagement Built Overtime, Essentials of the Brand’s Foundation, Redefining Overtime, Consistent Clarity
TRANSCRIPTION:
First tip: 0:03:52.6
Second tip: 0:11:41.9
Third tip: 0:16:00.5
[0:00:00.0] Baptista: Because I was long in that, I got more attraction over time. I got more people who were confident in me because they had seen me do this thing over and over, so it was a no-brainer, “Oh, I need to work with her,” or “I need to go on a coaching call with her.”
[0:00:17.0] Peggy: You’re listening to the Branding Gems podcast, a podcast that’s not just interviews and conversations. It’s to bring you guys the best of the best women in branding and business to answer this question: What are your top three valuable tips and lessons that you learned along the way? And then, we discuss it. To fuel your passion-filled lifestyle business, I promise to bring you the best of the best women in branding and business and together, we can grow and learn from the extracted advice that they provide. I’m Peggy Bree, and let’s get growing!
Hi! Yes, you are right. There are two episodes this week, and yes, I do post every other Friday. There will be times where I post special episodes like these on the Friday after. And sorry, I did miss last week, but I’m going to be consistently sticking to every other Friday, so be sure to know that now. And also, today’s guest is super special to me. I’ve talked to her on Instagram for a really long time and she is just awesome. And she’s been in the community for a long time as well, so I’m excited to finally have her and share how awesome she is. And before we dive into her episode, I wanted to quickly mention a podcast shoutout. It is with Dreams to Plans Podcast, and it’s hosted by Cat and she helps small and creative business owners take their big scary, scary dreams and turn it into a future business success. And like she says, “There are other ways to skin a cat,” which means that there is more than one way to get the job done. And they’re all about offering different perspectives so you can pick a path that works for you. So without further ado, I am going to introduce the guest, so stay tuned.
Hello, hello! Welcome back to another episode of Branding Gems. I’m super excited to introduce this guest today, and she’s calling all the way from Nigeria. And we’ve been talking for a really, really long time on Instagram and she’s been there since day one since I started this agency about, I think, two years ago. And I really wanted to highlight her because she has such awesome tips and she is so awesome, and without further ado, today we’re going to talk to Baptista, and Baptista is a brand strategist who focuses on brand clarity for businesses. She’s passionate about helping small businesses online find their essence using brand strategy. And she’s been called the “Clarity Queen” and has helped many business owners emerge with testimonials that inspire more to hop on a session with her. So welcome, Baptista!
[0:03:23.8] Baptista: Thank you! [Laughter] Thank you.
[0:03:28.1] Peggy: Yes, we talked on Instagram for a really long time, so I’m super excited that right now, we have a chance to speak with one another, and I can share your tips and that we can do this together, so I’m excited!
[0:03:40.6] Baptista: Yeah, so excited to be here. Thank you so much.
[0:03:44.0] Peggy: So let’s dive right in. What are your top three tips on branding and business? And let’s start with number one.
[0:03:52.6] Baptista: Okay, so my first tip is identifying your brand, which is what I like to say, the brand discovery or the clarity stage. So no matter what level you are in business, if you’re new in business or you’re an existing business or you’re just about to start, this is a very important stage that you must cross first of all. And it’s something that I’m focusing on right now more. So what this means, really, is to be sure that you, to get clarity for your brand, for your existing brand, or for your new business, what are the things that you want to do with that business? Who do you want to target? How do you want to achieve your goals? What is your 3- to 5-year vision? Who do you want to communicate with? Who are your target audience? Who do you want to sell to? Who do you want to help? I prefer to use the word “serve”. Who do you want to serve? Who do you want to work with? So this is the first stage, for me, if you’re looking at branding your business, whether a small business, a new business, or an existing business. It’s to identify what your brand is, what it’s about, why it exists, where you’re going, and all of that.
[0:05:18.0] Peggy: Hmm. It is so important, and I love that your first tip is to highlight the importance of having the brand identified because it essentially needs to be established and that foundation has to be in place. And that essentially will help you determine your audience and that clarity is so important.
[0:05:40.7] Baptista: So for instance, I personally, [laughter] I have to be the guinea pig to learn this. So yeah, I personally went through a phase of not knowing what I wanted to do as a business. So I started out as just a random content creator on Instagram, just sharing tips, helpful tips and all of that on Instagram. And then, I got to learn over time what I really wanted to do. But to avoid all the sleepless nights, all the tears, all the confusion, all the questioning, “Who am I even serving? Why am I not selling? Why don’t I have clients? Why can’t I do this? Is my content valuable enough? Is this blah, blah, blah?” To avoid all of that stress, you need to address it first. That’s the reason when you’re building a house, you need a foundation. You can’t just jump right into the house. If you build a house without a foundation, give it two years – two years is even too long – maybe a few months, the house is going to go down. So yeah, it’s the same thing with business, it’s the same thing whatever it is that you do online on social media, you need to first of all, address, identify what your brand is going to be about. Not just knowing what it’s going to be about, but also knowing who you want to communicate with because that, again, affects how you sound online. It affects the way you attract more people because if you sound like a confused brand, you would be attracting a confused audience. If you’re a confused brand, you’d be attracting tons of different people from different niches who don’t know what they want, they’re just on your page, but there’s just something fuzzy about your page, about your brand, and that isn’t a good testimony. So you need to identify your brand, to know what you really want to do, who you want to serve, and how you want to go about all of that. You need to address it.
[0:07:46.4] Peggy: Mm-hmm. So true because going with the flow can only get you so far. At a certain point, there needs to be a foundation established. And you can keep going to figure it out, but there will be a time where you have to hone in and craft those floating pieces together so that you can have a clear brand because that is so important. Like you mentioned, it will help attract people who know exactly what your brand is instead of attracting people to what it kind of is, so I love that.
[0:08:25.4] Baptista: Yeah, it’s so important, and I really love that you said this because I know I’ve gotten a question where someone said, “So what if you really don’t know what you want to do?” So there’s a difference between not knowing what you want to do, so if you do not know what you want to do online, at least you know what you’re passionate about. I’m offering brand coaching sessions for people who are like this, who are confused, who don’t know what they want to do, or who have been doing something but they’re stuck somehow, their brand is fuzzy and all of that. So the truth is, you always know what you want to do. Sometimes, you just need someone to resound those things in your ear. The reason you need someone to resound it is the reason you need a strategist, someone who’s an expert at this. And I remember I had a conversation with someone through DM and she was like, she had this issue, she stopped, she’s this, she’s that, she finished saying everything, and at the end of the day, there was no new thing. It was just me re-emphasizing what she said, but she felt so much more confident. So the thing is, you always know what you want to do, it’s just to really pull it out and redefine and being intentional about it. So for instance, let me pick myself as an example. When I started out, the truth is I was always headed towards branding, but I never started out as a brand person, a “branded person”. But one thing stood out for me. I was really passionate about helping people and I was also passionate about aesthetics. [Laughter] People make fun of me and they call me Aesthetics, so I always loved those two things. I loved helping people. I loved aesthetics. And then I started out taking social media mentoring jobs and helping people transform their “Instagram pages”. So that in itself was a smaller version of where I was headed. So there is always a smaller version, even if you do not know how to go about the big picture. Or if you don’t even know what your big picture is, you have something you’re passionate about, so ask yourself these questions. I made a post yesterday about some questions that could help with all of these. So ask yourself these questions and it would help you identify what it is you really want to do. I believe that everybody’s passionate about something and you would find it. Yeah, so identifying your brand is my first tip.
[0:11:06.5] Peggy: I love that first tip. It is so important to have it be identified and super, super clear. And I love that you learned it and that you’re passing it on to help other people and that it can help them save time, but also if they want to test it themselves, they can too. It’s really about each other’s journeys and each other’s path and carving out that brand that works for them and their audience, so I’m super excited. And what is your second tip?
[0:11:41.9] Baptista: Okay, so the second tip is basically building your brand. So it’s one thing to identify what it is, build a foundation, gaining the clarity for your brand and all of that, but there’s another thing called the brand strategy. And this isn’t just brand strategy, it’s more about what it is that you’re going to be doing, how you are going to achieve those. Okay, let me use myself as an example. So the moment it struck for me that this was it, that I wanted to hone in on helping people gain clarity for their brand, that was my clarity stage, right? So that was the part where I got to identify what I wanted to do, who I wanted to do it for. Now, the stage that I’m at is building my brand. So now, you’ve put down all of those things. What are you doing with what you’ve put down? Because it’s one thing to have it, “Okay, this is what I want to do.” But what exactly are you going to do? What actions are you taking towards building that brand? That’s where the strategy stage comes into play. Are you going to be creating content, valuable content? Are you going to be doing freebies? Are you going to be doing challenges? Are you going to create a service? So whatever it is that you’re going to be doing, specific tasks: Am I going to create content? Then do it. Am I going to create a service? Then do it. Have a structure, have a plan. That’s why I said strategy, so it’s not like, “Oh, I’ll do this, I’ll do that, I’ll do this, I’ll do that.” Having a well thought-out plan, “This is what I’m going to do because I know that these are people I’m communicating with, so henceforth I’m going to be in this position. I’m going to be heavy on Pinterest,” or “I’m going to be heavy on Instagram,” or “I’m going to be creating more newsletters and sending out more newsletters,” or whatever it is that you want to do. What is the strategy behind it? How are you going to be viewed as an authority? View yourself as an authority in what you decided to do, the foundation that you’ve thought out and you’ve put on paper. So first of all, you put it on paper. This is now breathing life into it. First stage was identifying your brand. It’s more about you knowing yourself, you knowing what your brand is about, what your business, knowing it fully, totally. And then second stage is really about taking action, it’s really about executing, it’s really about also testing the waters because even the first stage, even when you say, “Okay, I’ve launched, blah blah blah.” You go out, you start creating content, start doing stuff, you also get to know what works and what doesn’t work for your audience also and for your business. So yeah, it’s also a test stage. So that’s the second tip, building your brand intentionally with strategies, a thought-out plan, and all of that. So yeah, that’s my second tip.
[0:14:46.6] Peggy: Mm-hmm. I love that. It’s a good second tip to be reminded of the importance of being intentional in the action moves when it comes to building a brand or business, or even when you’re at the stage of deciding what to do for your next stage in your brand and business. So it is so important to put that time into actually executing that plan because there is a lot to it than just putting it out there. You have to actually grow it, which means action steps into place, and that does mean planning and creating that set flow that works for your brand and business. And I love that reminder because it’s so important to take that time into brand-building and actually executing it to be real in action, so I love that tip. And I love that tip because it’s such a grand tip to remind yourself when it comes to brand-building and the pursuit of it, so I love that. What is your third and final tip?
[0:16:00.5] Baptista: Okay, so the third tip is, so I like to build, I like to have stages to things, so it’s the reason my tips are following each other like this. So the third one, it’s a no-brainer, it’s consistency. So you have already thought about your brand, identified your brand and all of that, put it on paper, or whatever it is that you’re using to identify, and then you started working towards building it and all of that and testing things and doing, taking action, executing. Now, the third tip is to remain consistent at it. The reason so many people give up and the reason I’ve gotten people send me DMs saying, I mean, even for this clarity thing that I just talked about, people have sent me DMs that they’re stuck, they’re this, they’re that. And then when I talk to them, I find out that it’s because they stopped along the way. They didn’t wait to see the results. For instance, I just pivoted into “branding proper”, right, a few months in. So if I start complaining that I’m not getting anything, I’m obviously getting something, but if I start complaining that I’m not getting as much as people who have been there, then I’d be lying to myself because you know that you have to remain, you have to be steadfast there for you to build authority. Yes, you are putting out content, you’re doing all of that stuff, but you need to be heavy. You need to be present. You need to be active. You need to engage with your audience. You need to know them. You need to, like I said, yeah, build authority over time. So, like I said about the lady, she was complaining about the fact that she wasn’t getting anything, so she decided to switch. So if your reason for switching is that you are not getting anything from there, was it even something you wanted to do in the first place? Which she didn’t address, but let’s even imagine it was something you wanted to do and then you give up along the way. I always say this, Instagram is a long game. Even running a business online is a long game. It doesn’t just happen at once, so you have to be consistent. You have to keep at it because this is what will bring more people. I was focusing then on content creation basically, just content creation, and sharing Instagram tips and all of that. Because I was long in that, I got more attraction over time. I got more people who were confident in me because they had seen me do this thing over and over, so it was a no-brainer, “Oh, I need to work with her,” or “I need to go on a coaching call with her,” or this, this, this because they’ve seen me doing this over time. And it also leads to referrals. People start referring you to other people. Now, since I moved to branding, all my conversation patterns has been about branding, no longer what I was doing before so that it’s also clear to your audience it’s no longer about content creation and Instagram tips at all, but it’s now more about small businesses, helping small businesses build their brand or gain clarity for their brand, blah, blah, blah. So the communication pattern is what I say my niche is, right? And I’m heavy on it and I’m consistent, so you won’t find me talking about something that isn’t, well, because I’m a personal brand, I can actually switch sometimes. I could talk about what I feel is personal to me, but still, you feel my core being branding, and the consistency is really it. You can’t just give up. Instagram is a long game. Running a business online is a long game, so you have to be at it every single time. So these are my three tips for building a brand online, specifically for small businesses.
[0:20:07.3] Peggy: Yes, I love that you put your tips into stages. You’re definitely the first one to do that, to have it interconnect like that, so that’s awesome. And I love that it is in stages because it really essentially lays down the foundation of what it takes to build and grow a brand, and what that foundation even looks like and why that foundation is important to have, so I love that. And you’re so right. Remaining consistent is so important. You have to keep going and put it out there consistently, and it’s not ever going to be an overnight success and consistency is going to keep you so far. And we have that consistent plan into place and set, that’s even better, and have it all systemized. It really helps keep up with consistency, so I love that. And I love your top three tips. Thanks for coming on as a guest! It was so good to hear from your perspective from a brand strategist because it is good to rethink about your brand’s foundation from time to time and at whatever stage you’re in in your branding and business journey, so this is awesome! So thank you again for being a guest on Branding Gems!
[0:21:31.1] Baptista: Thank you!
[0:21:32.8] Peggy: I want to know what’s next for you.
[0:21:36.8] Baptista: [Laughter] Okay, so currently, like I said, I just pivoted into branding a few months back and recently just rebranded again. I’m focusing more on helping people gain clarity, helping small businesses gain clarity for their brand, so if they’re stuck, if they’re fuzzy, they’re feeling confused, they don’t know where they’re going, all of that stuff. Because I’ve been through it, so I’m able to really help them better. Yeah. And yeah, I just launched my service. It’s a one-on-one service called Brand Clarity Session, so it is just where we go on a conversation. It’s even broken into three stages also. It’s broken into three stages, so it’s more like, the first session we’re going deep into your brand. The second session, we’re going to build a strategy for you. And then in the last session, it is more like homeworks and follow-up and all of that. Yeah, so that’s really what’s in for me for now [Laughter]. But for next year, I’m working on something that, a project rather, that would also help businesses on a larger scale, but I’ve not yet put that out. So yeah [laughter], this is just it for me for now. Yeah, and also, I worked on a mini brand cartoon workbook that is going to be available from Monday, so anybody who’s interested could go to the link in my bio and download it. It’s free. So yeah, that’s it! [Laughter]
[0:23:27.1] Peggy: Amazing! Well, thank you so much for being a guest on this podcast. And where can people find you?
[0:23:35.4] Baptista: Thank you so much, Peggy, for having me here. It was really fun. I loved that I got to do this and share some tips with you and your audience. Thank you so much! This is Baptista, Instagram @thisbaptista. You can follow me and message me. I’m very open. I chat with people a lot. Yeah, so this is me signing out. Bye!
[0:23:57.8] Peggy: Bye!
Hi, guys! Before we end off, thank you guys so much for tuning in to this episode. Make sure you rate this podcast and also subscribe to it. That would be so awesome and be sure to tag me when you guys think of this episode. And if you know anyone in mind to be a guest, let me know. So bye, everyone! I’ll talk to you soon!
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