Brand Positioning, Your Business's Secret Sauce to Clarity
Written by: Kate Spitz
The buzz of branding is all over social media in the small business arena.
If you’ve watched even one piece of content about business branding, I’m 99% positive that half of your explore page on instagram or your fyp on tiktok has been curated with tips, tricks, trends, and never ending hacks to conquer the quest of building a better brand.
This is where we’re I’m gonna gently take your hand, and together, we’re going to put your phone down.
In another room.
Mayyyybe a different continent.
Because unlike anything you’ll see on the internet (or can buy as a “branded” graphic pack on Etsy), what we’re doing is getting to the heart of the real stuff that creates your brand identity.
Think of this blog post as the blueprint to building your calling card. What makes you different, a better fit, a more qualified human, for your work or what you do, than anyone else.
Your brand isn’t just a set of aesthetics curated to fit an instagram grid. It isn’t a list of the top ten ways to support a small business. It isn’t the latest AI generated trend or ChatGPT prompts for generated copy.
It also isn’t always building solely a personal brand as a one and done strategy for every CEO.
The magic of your services, your product, your skillset, is so much deeper than that. Don’t sell yourself short when you have that kind of power just waiting to bubble over into the world.
The staying power of what you create, how you stick around in customers minds, how those same customers come back…and, bring new people with them, that’s what makes a brand strong. And it’ll carry you a heck of a lot further than a ten second reel with trending audio.
So how do we get there?
It starts with finding your brand position.
Ask yourself this:
“When I connect to the people that I work with, what is the recurring theme that shows up in conversation as a point of connection for why MY work is for them?”
And then, ask yourself:
Do I…:
Consistently offer lower priced services or products than others in my industry (value/price)?
Point out differences with the competitor and fill those gaps with my work (competitor)?
Emphasize the quality of the service, craftsmanship, or experience over a cheaper competitor (quality)?Offer a very succinct and specialized solution to a problem (benefit)?
Only work with a select group of people as a leader in my circle (leader)?
Promote connection and community with my work and invite people to build with me (lifestyle)?
Flip the status quo on its head by disrupting the market with a new innovation (disruptive)?
From here, you’ll want to identify which of these seven brand positions you feel most aligned with.
Here’s the thing.
This isn’t as much as finding out what IS your position, a good chunk of this is figuring out what ISN’T your brand position.
If you’re looking to other brands for guidance on how to explain what you do, even if it is a similar service or industry, you’re going to get lost. Other people in your industry can have similar offerings, but you cannot use their voice as a guiding light for your position. Their reasoning will always be different than yours.
Always.
That’s the kind of stuff that is under the tip of the iceberg of a business. This is what drives a big part of the business engine, and this position drives the biggest part of a business. Your mission and your values.
That is also exactly why you have to think, “alright, what I do is XXX. I offer it to XXX market. It connects with my audience and STICKS with them because…”
You fill in the because.
Do you stick with them because:
It was low cost, easy, reliable, and accessible?
You solved a VERY unique problem for a niche population?
Are the undisputed best because of 50 years of experience?
Provided a tailored experience or service that is full service concierge that leaves absolutely no detail missed?
They became a part of a lifestyle that supports them long after the sale closed or service was met?
Created a one of a kind solution that booted a competitor with your out of the box thinking?
Now let’s think about building content AROUND these positions.
If you are value based, how can you SHOW you are accessible for MANY? Maybe this looks like an insider look at your process on how you create 50 candles in less than an hour with speed and agility. Can you pair this with a trending audio on instagram as a reel? Sure. But the key piece here is not the music. It’s your position.
Peel back the curtain and show your super power. With this example, the superpower is price, bulk, and dependability. Think about HOW this helps the vendor you are selling to.
Think about how it might look if a bulk goods business rooted in value and price, curated a bespoke campaign around a one of a kind candle using only the finest hand crafted wax and materials. How would this speak to the customer who has ordered time and time again for a reliable product at a stable price point?
A lifestyle based reel perfectly curated may be gorgeous and aesthetic…but that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense to your audience.
Your position = clarity in the market. If your content doesn’t support that position, your message is muddy. And if your message is muddy, your market will question your authority.
If you’re ready to ask more questions that help you create content that fits your position, I’m here with resources that encourage you to dig deep and get creative.
Thinking outside the box is what we do, and we’re here to show you just how much your unique perspective can energize your brand voice and personality in a whole new way.
Wanna break the cycle of the blinking cursor meets doom scrolling? We gotchu. You can get your brand positioning guide here!
Kate Spitz, owner of Kate Spitz Photography, has worked predominantly with female founded businesses for over a decade. She firmly believes that half of what makes your brand imagery, shows up before any photos are even taken. Operating from the lens of creative strategy over replication, Kate takes the concepts she works through with her own clients, and shows you how you can use them to find your own genius.
Freebie: Brand Positioning Guide
Social: @katespitzphotography
