4 Lessons We’ve Learnt About Brand Identity, 2 Years In.

It's really difficult to take the vision you have, and accurately bring it to life.

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Particularly if you're an entrepreneur developing a company or venture solo. Shaping your brand mission, vision, and tone is one thing - translating that within your market is something else entirely.

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It's difficult not to get stuck between the brand that's in your head, and the one your audience sees. But, every day's a school day, and building a brand (alone or not) comes with very specific learnings.

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We've gathered 4 of the biggest takeaways and observations from the past two years - about our own brand, and about those around us.

#1. Brand communications is severely underrated and chronically underused.

The why won't they call me back? of branding. The I can't quite figure them out. Here's the ugly truth: we're pretty shocked at how poor some brands' communication is.

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Hearing about a brand is helpful. But your outreach - from stakeholders to talent - wants to hear from you too. A huge part of brand building is about your target audience connecting with your venture in a way that's uniquely relevant and personal.

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Our take? Placing all of your business objectives on client loyalty, social media, or just dumb luck is pressure. Without comms, you're losing out on a pool of potential across the board, whether that's with your retention or reputation.

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Moral of the story… plan your comms just as you would any other marketing tactic. Introduce it on your owned channels first, then diversify based on interactions. Benefits without internal comms will go unused, long-form offers without direct email are pointless, sales goals without PR won't be exceeded.

#2. Forget engaging - you need memorable brand content.

Content will always be one of those a-thousand-and-one-opinions topics. On any given day, you can log on to LinkedIn and see an eeeeextra long post that starts off with something like:

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"Stop Making These 6 Mistakes In Your Content"

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The one word that pops up time and time again is 'engaging'. We talk about it all the time with our clients, and it's perfectly valid. It's the best way of describing content that captures your target segments, persuades an action, and supports SEO.

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Our take? Engaging doesn't always equate longevity. It's an in-the-moment action often determined by behavioural tricks: short paragraphs, white space, trending phrases and so on. All great things. But not the final word.

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Moral of the story… there's no point in creating washed out versions of oversaturated topics (sorry to everyone who posted generic AI blogs). If you want to create recognisable brand content that drives long-term loyalty, you need memorable. Edgy angles. Distinctive ToV. Consistent formats.

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#3. Actually, you're allowed to agonise over fonts.

Any miniscule design or copy detail, for that matter. This one really goes out to our sole traders, our emerging brands, and everyone desperately trying to get it just right.

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We're not etymologists, but 'entrepreneurship' was supposed to describe new adventures, new undertakings. Now, the expectation is for entrepreneurs to have all their ducks in a row and logos in a line before even setting off. Oxymoronic.

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Our take? Everyone will tell you to focus on what matters, but that's a lot when you're in the first throws of building a brand. From how you position yourself in the market, all the way to connotations of certain words.

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Moral of the story… spend however long you deem it necessary on the tiny details. If that means testing 42 different fonts or slipping down a rabbit hole on Thesaurus.com, so be it. Those are the moments that shape a brand, and decisions do get easier over time.

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#4. It's [highly] likely your clients aren't thinking about you.

Or not as often as you may assume. This one can be a difficult pill to swallow (trust us…) but your brand simply isn't going to be as important to your clients as it is to you.

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If you're an entrepreneur, chances are you'll spend so much time thinking about that RFP or contract renewal. And rightly so. But your brand are a comparatively small part of your clients' day, and the hours you spend on your outputs may not always reflect in how it's perceived.

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Our take? The twinge of disappointment when your client doesn't rave about your presentation, or that new article doesn't land in the way you'd hoped is real. But that in no way makes the dedication you put into your brand any less important.

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Moral of the story… negative feedback often shows itself one way or another. Normally, it comes through in a feeling of hesitation from your client or a decision to "go down a different route". Putting in effort will ultimately cement the success of your venture long-term.

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That's all, folks.

Over the past couple of years, we've had some pretty incredible feedback from some pretty incredible clients. Much of which can be reduced to a common theme: how the Goldline brand makes our partners feel.

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In all the technicalities and insights and market data, how you want your outreach to feel when interacting with your brand is the beginning and end of all pursuits. The message that your tone conveys, how your visuals drive connection, the way your services fulfil a need.

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So the last moral of the story… rely on your instinct when it comes to your brand. If a message doesn't feel right, if a graphic doesn't feel right, if a PR campaign doesn't feel right, your brand won't feel right. And chances are, your audience will pick up on that.