The 5 W's of Branding with Robyn Graham

Robyn Graham is a Brand Marketing Strategist, Personal Branding Coach, a Headshot and Branding Photographer, and Host of The Second Phase Podcast. Robyn started her career as a Pharmacist until about ten years ago when her husband told her how she lit up when taking pictures, and she should do something with it. She transitioned by starting a blog to create content, allowing her to follow her passion for photography. Her first client was for a branding shoot. She fell in love with creating branding images so that people could emotionally connect with their clients.  Robyn focused on branding and creating content for female entrepreneurs and taking corporate headshots after taking the long road around. She realized so many people start a business without knowing how to brand themselves. In this episode, we will dive into how branding tells a story, the 5 W’s in branding, why you need to niche down, and how repurposing your content attracts clients. Let's get inspired by branding and niching down to create more abundance in your business!  What we're talking about Why Your Brand Should Tell A Story The 5 W’s Of Branding Why You Need To Niche Down How Repurposing Content On The Right Platforms Attracts More Clients Why Your Brand Should Tell A Story  When you launch a business, there is so much that goes into it that branding can get overlooked. Robyn shares that while people know they need images for their website and marketing, they miss the strategy to take the pictures and use them to tell a story. Your online presence differentiates you, and it positions you as an expert and an authority in your space.  Robyn explains the importance of having a brand. The reality is you don’t have anything to market if you don’t have a brand. She explains that marketing is communicating your story and your story is your brand messaging. It’s attracting clients by telling your story. Robyn comes at branding from both a scientific and creative side. She combines the two to help female entrepreneurs tell their stories, and she helps their audiences emotionally connect to them.  The 5 W’s Of Branding Robyn explains in detail what each of the 5 W’s mean and how you come about defining all of the different categories to create your brand. She covers the Who, What, When, Where and Why of Branding: Who - Who is your ideal client? You have to know what your niche is so that you know who you are serving. Talking to your ideal client must be defined so that your audience will start hearing you. What - You need to know precisely what you do and how you do it. When - When do you show up, and when do you work with people? You need to be consistent so they know when to expect to hear from you. Where - Where are you going to show up for your audience; what platforms? Where are they going to find you? Where can they work with you?  Why - You need to be incorporating your core values into your business. Why do you do what you do? Your brand strategy needs to tell the story of your business. I shared that I’ve recently had a photoshoot in my closet, where I record my podcast. Having the full picture of who you are, how you live your life, and sharing your work environment gives you authenticity. Since relatability is key to branding, you want to make sure you are recognizable, memorable, and shareable. You need to show up as who you are so your audience can see behind the scenes. They can get to know you and connect with you emotionally. Why You Need To Niche Down  Robyn tells us that you need to strategize to get clear on your messaging. Take your vision and passions and fine-tune your messaging so that you connect and resonate with your audience to attract more clients. You don’t want to be putting out generalized content. It’s important to realize that when you niche down, it won’t limit your opportunities. You need to be speaking to “Who” your ideal client is. You need to identify what is fueling you and where you can make the most impact. By fine-tuning your message and narrowing it down to attract your ideal audience, you can gain clarity. Your messaging identifies to your audience “What” the problem is that you will solve. How Repurposing Content On The Right Platforms Attracts More Clients As Robyn explains, you want to be showing up on the platforms, “When” your audience expects you and “Where” your audience hangs out. Repurposing is the key to drive traffic to your website. You don’t want to spin your wheels coming up with new content. Your messaging should be clear about who you serve, what you do, and how you do it. When you are consistent in showing up when they expect you and where they are, you can take that evergreen content and repurpose it—showing your audience that you are consistent. As part of the “Where,” Robyn shares that Pinterest and LinkedIn are underutilized. She shares that you should be taking advantage of these platforms. They are both basically search engines, so to be an expert and authority in your space, you should be using them where appropriate.  LinkedIn is online networking.  You can build genuine relationships, make contacts, and engage in increasing your audience and referral base. You can repurpose content by creating an article out of your blog post. Pinterest is a powerful search engine. Whenever you blog or repurpose content, Robyn explains that you need to make sure that you are putting your content on Pinterest so you can drive traffic to your website. She shares how it’s essential to tell the story about where you work and to prioritize those platforms where you provide value and show up for your audience. Robyn describes the importance of narrowing down who you are serving and sharing “Why” you do what you do. Incorporating your core values into your business gives you your who, what, when, where, and why.  Discovering all of these helps you move forward to tell your story, connect with your audience, and grow your client base. She shares that niching down is like an hourglass. You start with your broad ideas and work towards clarifying your message. With clarity, you attract clients, and then it opens to allow you to add multiple passions back in. If you look at who you are serving, what fuels you, when and where you show up, and why you do what you do, you can make the most significant impact for your audience. How will you niche down and define your brand? LINKS MENTIONED Robyn Graham’s Website https://therobyngraham.com Robyn Graham’s Podcast - The Second Phase Podcast https://therobyngraham.com/the-second-phase-podcast Robyn Grahams’ Podcast - The Second Phase Podcast Episode #62 https://therobyngraham.com/branding-versus-marketing/ Robyn Graham’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-graham-brandographer Robyn Graham’s Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/therobyngraham Robyn Graham’s Facebook Group - Brand Marketing Insider https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebrandmarketinginsider Pia Silva’s book - Badass Your Brand https://amzn.to/2Ztjym7