How to Define Your Artistic Brand

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As an artist and business owner it is important to understand your brand. Your brand should speak to who you are, relate to the art you create, and help your ideal customer identify your business. Today I want to talk about the importance of brand identity and how to carry that across all platforms.

UNDERSTAND YOUR UNIQUE BUSINESS

First, let’s begin to understand our business so we can build our brand around that idea. Consider you, your art and your ideal customer. How can you build a business that encompasses who you are, what you create and what your audience wants to see and hear?

I find it helpful to first think about yourself. How do you speak? What are three defining personality traits? How would your friends describe you.

Next consider your art. How does it look? What does it speak to? Are you drawn to certain colors, textures, mediums, or subjects?

Now, consider your ideal customer. What are they drawn to? How do they spend their free time. Why do they choose to buy your artwork over other artists?

You can use our Ideal Customer Worksheet to better understand who this person is.

CREATE A BRAND IDENTITY

Now take this information and create a brand identity. How does your brand look, feel, speak, act? Your brand identity is how you will communicate with your audience both visually and verbally. The brand is more than just a logo, it is your entire visual look, your tone, and how you interact with your customer at every point of the buying process (discovery to conversion).

When determining your brand identity, I find it helpful to envision your brand as a person. Personify the business. How does it look, talk, act? Get as specific as possible and then determine how you will bring this brand identity will live across every touchpoint of your business.

CARRY YOUR BRAND IDENTITY ACROSS ALL TOUCH POINTS

Use photography that highlights your artwork and the interests of your brand. Use copy to speak in a tone that reflects your brand’s personality. Use social media to encourage customers to interact with your brand. Create a list of every place your customers interact with your business and determine how you can have them engage with your brand at each touchpoint.

BRANDING FROM START TO FINISH

You want your customers to experience your brand from the moment they discover you to the minute they have a piece of your artwork in their hands. This means every detail matters.

I recommend doing a little case study of one of your favorite brands. How do they carry their brand across their social media, their email, their website, their packaging and their messaging? Take some notes and create a list of ways you could incorporate more of your brand image into your art business.

It is easy to get lazy with our branding efforts once the website is built and we get in a social media groove, but there is always room to improve. Consider your packaging. Could you purchase custom envelopes or colorful ribbon that matches your brand colors in your next art supply order?

Could you purchase handmade paper to create hand-painted stationary to send to your clients with their paintings or as thank-you cards? Or you could purchase beautiful ribbon or custom stickers. Maybe you need to focus more on social media. Try using a tool like Tailwind to schedule your posts to create a feed reminiscent of your brand or to create a branded bio link. Use Canva to create custom posts with your colors and fonts. The options are endless, but there are always ways to improve.

I challenge you to write down three ways you can improve your brand right now and schedule when you will implement each strategy. I can’t wait to see what you do!

Want more information about defining your brand or building your art business? Sign up for our 1:1 coaching or our membership!