What is a Brand, Exactly?

Pop quiz: what is a “brand,” exactly?

Choose two of the following options:

Is it…

(a) Your company logo
(b) The color palette on your website
(c) The way you dress and present yourself to the world
(d) The promise that you make to your target audience
(e) The way people perceive you, feel about you, and talk about you when you’re not in the room

If you chose (d) and also (e), you’re totally correct!

Visual components, such as your logo, website, business cards, Facebook page and the way you dress are all elements that contribute to the development of your brand in the mind of the consumer, but they are not in and of themselves, your brand.

A brand is a promise you make to your target audience, and ultimately, how your audience perceives you.

Red Bull promises energy.

Apple promises beautiful design.

Mercedes-Benz promises luxury and speed.

SoulCycle promises a sweaty, uplifting 45-minute workout.

Amazon promises ease, efficiency, and reliable two-day delivery.

Oprah promises growth, spirituality, and a pathway to your best life.

Louis C.K. promises dark, edgy, “oh God did he really say that?!” humor.

Ellen DeGeneres promises lighthearted humor that’s family-friendly.

A successful brand is one that delivers on its promise, over and over again.

It is what someone will get and/or how they will feel when they engage with you in some way – go to your website, read your blog, buy your products, hear you speak. In other words, a brand is the real estate you own in someone else’s head – and you have to earn that real estate. Amazon business mogul, Jeff Bezos, once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Imagine a group of women chatting about Beyoncé’s latest album over brunch. What kinds of words would the use to describe Beyoncé? Probably words like independent, talented, mother, businesswoman, activist, feminist, goddess. That’s our perception of Beyoncé, so that’s her brand.

Now imagine a group of women chatting about Taylor Swift. What words would they use to describe Taylor? Most likely, words like pop, fun, catchy, guilty pleasure, dancy-y, angsty, heartbreak. That’s our perception of Taylor Swift. That’s her brand.

The way people feel about you, perceive you, and talk about you when you’re not in the room…that’s your brand.

The good news is that you actually have quite a lot of control over how people perceive your brand.

You might be thinking, “Well, I really can’t control what people think or how they feel about me or what they say about me, so….now what?”

But actually, that’s not true. You have a great deal of control over the way you’re perceived. More than you might think.

If you want people to perceive you as “bold, striking and surprising,” you might choose to wear bold, bright colors instead of black, and you could surprise your clients with unexpected gifts in the mail. You could host a monthly salon dedicated to bold, striking ideas, create bold, colorful business cards and marketing materials and you could fill your office with strong, bold artwork, and so on.

This is how you affect the real estate with your name on it in the consumer’s head.

Based on what you put forth into the world – your products and services, the language on your website, the way you speak and dress, the experiences you create for your audience, right down to the smallest details, like your Instagram posts and the fonts you choose – you can shape people’s perception of you.

Beyoncé does this masterfully. Do you think it’s an “accident” that we perceive her as an independent, talented feminist, and a living, breathing goddess businesswoman? It’s no accident. Beyoncé is very strategic with everything she puts forth into the world, because she wants to build and sustain a very specific type of brand. From the way she releases her music to the videos she makes to the clothes she wears and the images of she and her family she posts on social media – all are meant to create specific consumer perceptions. We perceive her a certain way, because she wants us to perceive her that way. She controls her brand – and you can do this, too.

The first step is getting clear about the promise you’re making to your audience and how you want to be perceived. Start there, before you worry about your website or business cards.

A strong brand starts with a strong sense of who you are, what you stand for and what you most want to be known for. It’s not about your logo; it’s about your legacy.