005 Fighting Business CopyCats + Your Logo Is Not Your Personal Brand
This episode dives into the nuances of personal branding, business differentiation, and the impact of effective visual identity.
In today's livestream, the conversation centered on the importance of a comprehensive approach to personal branding, highlighting that a logo is just one part of a broader narrative. The host emphasized the necessity of integrating various elements such as color schemes, typographic details, and even the personal stories that shape the brand's voice. This holistic approach not only helps in making a brand distinctive but also in making it resonate more deeply with its intended audience.
Additionally, the episode touched on the practical aspects of brand management, including the need for consistency across all platforms and the benefits of aligning business practices with personal values. These insights are particularly valuable for business owners looking to establish a strong market presence and foster customer loyalty. The discussion underscored the power of personal branding as a tool for differentiation in a crowded market.
If you're looking to refine your personal brand or enhance your business's market position, consider these strategies for a more cohesive and impactful presence. Engage with us in the comments to share your experiences or reach out for personalized advice on navigating the complexities of personal branding. Together, we can build a branding strategy that not only represents your business accurately but also propels it towards greater success.
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0:00-5:00 - Introduction, acknowledgment of country, and reflections on personal health and mentoring achievements.
5:01-10:00 - Discussion on preparing for the festive season and advice for clients about business readiness.
10:01-15:00 - Exploration of personal branding beyond logos, emphasizing the integration of various branding elements.
15:01-20:00 - Insights into leveraging personal experiences and mistakes for learning in business settings.
20:01-25:00 - Tips on handling business conflicts and maintaining professionalism in challenging scenarios.
25:01-30:00 - Guidance on aligning your business operations with your personal values and mission.
30:01-35:00 - Strategies for effective communication and branding consistency across various platforms.
35:01-40:00 - Techniques for managing customer relationships and expectations in a digital age.
40:01-45:00 - Review of practical tools for enhancing online presence and customer engagement.
45:01-50:00 - Closing remarks on personal growth through business challenges and preparation for upcoming projects.
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Zoe G'day, everyone and welcome to Video confidence connect their weekly live stream with me, Your host. Video confidence coach. Zoe wood, I stumbled there a bit. That's okay. Welcome everyone to this weekly session that I hold as an opportunity to answer any public questions, as well as record some episodes of my podcast, or essentially, a weekly chance to catch up with people. I wanted to, first off, do an acknowledgement to country before I begin anything else. And then we'll go into some of the things that we have done this week at the video confidence coach, I would like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the wadawurrung people of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians and owners of the land in which I conduct my business. I pay my respects to the elders past and present. I stand with the traditional custodians of the lands in working towards a more equal future, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to face discrimination and disadvantage due to our country's colonial past. I stand with them in their fight against injustice. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land and again, welcome everyone who is watching us on the live stream or hashtag in the replay. Feel free to comment wherever you find this live stream. I always do my best to respond to comments as we go about our business. This week, just a very short one. This week has been a flurry of emotions and a few other things. Health wise, hasn't been the best for me, so I am doing my best to make sure that I'm here for you at this time and making sure that I can do what we need to do in the time that we have this week. I want to congratulate all my mentees for mentoring. This is specifically and for those who are mentoring them, adore this isn't you. This is the kids that I help out, who are around ages 14 to 18 who are currently going through an entrepreneurship mentorship. So I want to congratulate you. It's been really great to work with you for the past six months, and some of you are going to start doing your exams in October and November. So I wish you the best of luck break a leg with that. And for those who are moving on to further education. Again, I'm so proud of you. You've done so well in just the six months that we've been working together. So I really hope that you do your best. And again, I'm here for you. Oh, so the graduation was this week. It was graduation, but of course, it was really nice to see all of you off and hopefully I get to see you in future years when we when they run the course again, of course, on my end, we've been working on a couple of proposals for larger projects, because everything's kind of getting gearing up for the rest of the year. A lot of people are seeing out to December. It's currently September, and yet, like the next three months are going to be quite hectic, as they always are each year, because we're gearing up for festival season, for holidays, and there is a lot of work to be done. And for those of my clients who are wondering, yes, we probably you should have gotten your Christmas stuff ready by now. And if not, do not worry. There is still time. It's just we need a little bit more time run up, because as the influences of the world keep going and as the cost of living crisis still continues, a lot of people are doing their Christmas shopping in October and November, as opposed to waiting to the last minute to do so. So those of my clients who work with products or services make sure that you keep an eye on that. And of course, I've been spending the rest of this time recovering for myself. Health is a bitch, but we are here nonetheless. So I wanted to get on to today's topics. I'm going to be recording a couple of podcast episodes today. Today I'm going to be recording fighting business copycats. So some of you have been expressing interest in that story, so I'm actually finally telling it, and then I've also got my other topic, which is your logo is not your personal brand, which is a conversation I've had over the past couple of months that I want to reiterate here on the podcast today. And again, if you have any comments, feel free to reach out. Feel free to comment, and I'll do my best to respond. And in the meantime, we'll get ready for the podcast. You
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How would you feel if you came across someone who was using your exact business name and running around and doing their business under your business name that you worked so hard to put together. Well, I'm going to tell you what that's like in today's podcast episode. Welcome to Video, confidence coach, cast with me. Your host, Zoe wood, your video, confidence coach, today we're going to discuss a story that I had. I have to breathe in a little bit because I think it was around about 2017 2018 I can't exactly remember which, but essentially, the full story is, I was doing my thing, usually, as I was as I was doing. And over a part of about, I want to say, over a month, I got a whole bunch of weird calls of people asking for a certain person who I did. I'm Zoe the video confidence coach, I currently run a solo operation, and at the time, was still continuing to run a solo operation. I did have a couple of PAs, but none of them went by those names. And I would always ask, Oh, is who? And then they would mention, oh, I, you know, went to a workshop you held up in Sydney. And I'm like, I'm sorry. I, you know, I haven't left Victoria, which is the state in Australia where I live, haven't left my, you know, haven't left Victoria for six months. I'm sorry. Or I haven't run a workshop in Sydney this year. Or, you know, this kept happening. So over this month period, I think I got like, three or four different calls like this, and it was very weird. And I kept chalking it up to, like, okay, maybe someone else is just, you know, maybe giving out my number accidentally, instead of, like, giving it their own. But that would be very bad, because if you're running a business and you're giving out someone's number, that's a no go. So ultimately, what I found out, and thanks to my website developer at the time, they came across an advert on Facebook for the video confidence coach, but it wasn't my face and it wasn't my branding. And when they clicked into the ad, they came across this full website with someone who was based in Sydney. And of course, that was very weird. So they, you know, clicked everything and sent me a message being like, hi, Zoe, just so you know, there's someone running around with your business name, which is weird. And of course, I researched when I when I had time, I researched this particular person, and it was very strange, because there was a lot of talk about, again, the same things that we did, but not exactly the same thing. So we had a very big differentiation on that front, in the sense that she very much did workshops. And of course, workshops is one of the skills that I provide, especially to my clients, but it's not my full fledged, you know, thing that I do very often. And I was going through the information and back end, trying to find an ABN number, trying to find any sort of information. And then ultimately I ended up contacting her, so I ended up calling her, and she didn't pick up. So I essentially called her and just said, Hey, there seems to be a bit of confusion. You know, my name is Zoe. I'm the video confidence coach. I've been running my business for about four years, longer than you have, and it seems like you don't have a business registration in Australia for this business name. I just want to call and confirm and have a chat with you about a few things, because it's a bit confusing. And of course, I've got a couple of clients who are coming to me, seeking you out. And of course, I don't want to leave them stranded. That was my mentality, and that's the message they left with, continue not to get any response. So I called back a week later, didn't get a response, and then called back again, and then she picked up. So then we had a very civil conversation. And of course, when it comes to matters like this, of course, I was first of all a bit annoyed, mainly because on her website, she touted that she has over 25 years of business experience. For those of us watching right now, you'll be able to see my face of utter Yeah, sure. What I mean by that is, in Australia, you need a couple of things to run a business. You need an ABN, an Australian Business Number, essentially, this is a number that you can give the government or give other institutions or even clients that you're working with, saying, Hey, I've taken the. Time to register myself and my business, everything's on the up and up here is the numbers. And if you are running a business in Australia, you have an Australian business name registration. So a, a, b, r, so Australian business name registration, which, of course, I you know, as soon as I started my business, and when I went to register my business, I had to make sure that there were no other businesses in Australia who had the same name as me. Yes. So I was running that through the registration, and I updated every three years, and I just paid the government for that registration. And of course, continuing continue business as I usually do now. You can understand my confusion as someone who, as I was talking to someone, I was trying to give them the benefit the doubt. I was trying to be nice and be kind and civil and just say, Hey, I've gotten a fair few people coming to me. One of them, I actually converted to being one of my clients, not out of malice, I want to stress to you, but it was because she came to me seeking out this other person. But then we talked about her problems, and then I ended up working with her, not knowing that this other person was in the picture, of course. And as I was talking to this woman, she kept defaulting blame onto her team, which, of course, is a very big red flag for someone like myself, where, as a leader, you need to take responsibility, even if it was a mistake of one of your team members, or a mistake that all of you made, you still need to take responsibility for the mistake being made. You can't just brush it off to your team. And, you know, hope it was fine. And of course, I again, tried to put the clients first, tried to put the customers first. And said, Hey, this is really confusing. Again, you established your business only in the past two or three months. You still have time to pivot and change the name of your business. Again, you can easily do by changing one of the words, and as long as and if I get any more people that come to me for you. Then I'll make sure to send them to, you know, your new address and your new business address. And of course, you know, we had the conversation. We hung up. And of course, as you can imagine, there's a lot of red flags. But then I just, you know, put that out of my mind. Put it to the side. Had a good Kiki with the girls and a nice chat about that, and they all just said, the gumption, the absolute goal. And of course, in my mind, I didn't have this as a malice thing. I just had this as a thing of, okay, we had the same business name. It's very strange that, again, when it came to Facebook, you would call yourself, you know, a video confidence coach when you because you couldn't get the video confidence coach page or any of the other profiles that you had set up, maybe that's something. So it's one of those situations where you definitely came across someone and which was my face, but then you proceeded to ignore that. That's a bit of a red flag. So when it comes to anyone who is listening or who was watching, who was interested in starting a business, I want to stress to you this now, it is very rare that people with common sense don't like come up with the same business name. Like I said, using the if you are in Australia, using the Australian business registration system, you can type in the business name that you're thinking of, and you can see all of the option, options that are available, not necessarily available in a domain sense, available in the what is already existing in the marketplace. And again, this is purely just so people don't confuse you, like you don't know what happened before, where I had all of these clients, all these potential clients, not wanting me, but wanting her, but were getting us confused, because when they Googled I came up because I was more established. And of course we had the same name. So of course they came to me, and it was, again, really confusing. So of course I did my usual. I put her on a regular rotation of checking in, both in my research, but also in contacting her, just saying, Hey, how are you going with this change? How you going with this change? And after, I want to say a month of about me weekly, reaching out via email and checking in. I had it on my list of things to do, to call her. I called her, and she sounded very flustered. And immediately again, blamed her team, which, please don't do that. And then proceeded to say, hey, we changed the name. And I said, Awesome. What have you changed it to? So I can send your clients there? And she said, Oh, we haven't, you know, confirmed it yet. And I said, well, then you haven't changed the name, have you? And again, I'm still at this point, getting people wanting to talk to her who are contacting me because my name exists. So at this point, I'm just like, hey, I'm just, I've got an automatic template. I just send the email to them. Now, of course, I could do the slightly unethical thing and just say, hey, you know this person? And there was a couple of people who I got on the phone hadn't quiet, and they had asked, Oh, so you do work with this person? And I said, no, there seems to be a confusion about the name. And again, giving my benefit for the doubt, not throwing them on. The bus, doing my best to again this person who was a stranger to me, doing my best to give them Ben for the doubt. Turns out later, they did not give me the same I had an email from one of these team members that they had talked about, saying
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some not so nice things about me that they had, that this person had mentioned to me. And again, it was sad to see that someone had to, again, cast this complete stranger down. So what I mean by this is that she had seen things internally. This person reached out to me and just say, Hey, we've, you know, I've had like, you know, I've talked to, so essentially, this person saying, Hey, I'm on the team of this other person. I have talked to, like five people so far who have really sung your praises. And you know, I want to thank you for, you know, getting people to come to getting making sure the right people come to us. And I said, that is perfectly fine. I'm again, that's okay, because yes, confusion is a bit like it's yes, it's a bit strange that you didn't do the thing of googling someone's name, but there is also a possibility that they probably did Google. They probably did do some cursory common sense research, and then proceeded to go ahead anyway, because they're like, Oh, she's based out in Victoria, and we're based in New South Wales, despite the fact that I work in New South Wales as well, and Queensland and South Australia. So I digress, oh, and also Tasmania. So I digress. So again, it's rather interesting to see what people think that other people it's interesting to see what youth that they think that other people can get away with. And of course, I proceeded to follow them up for another three months. They still had the video confidence coach name, and I proceeded to still get communications from people seeking me out. And then from there, it stopped after that, because I checked in and the domain had evaporated. The business, the website was no longer there, and I researched her and was able to find her new business name, which was different. And I'm like, Thank you. Thank you. It did take you four and a half months, but who cares? It's happening now, and I'm getting less people coming to me needing you when you know, for example, they might be useful for my services. So at this point, me and my pas, at this point, I just said, ultimately, if we can help them, just say yes, like, after the month and a half, I just, ultimately, just said, Hey, try and sell them on us. And if they can't, and, you know, if it doesn't work out, then just funnel them towards her. And it's annoying that I had to give up in that respect. And I don't, and I want to stress this that I don't want to say that I tried to poach any clients of theirs. I had just gotten sick of being this go between for something as simple as doing a cursory Google search when you're starting up a business. So of course, when you are doing the work that you do, or when you're starting a business, like I said, going through the Australian Business register, register, and seeing what other businesses are out there, and also taking that opportunity to cement yourself by purchasing a domain that you can consistently refer back to. Now, you don't need so many domains. You don't need all of the domains. You just need a name that you are going to be constantly referring to, so that when people reach out to you or find information about you, they can go to the right website and the right place, because there are always going to be bad actors out there, especially in business, but doing your best to become be civil, put the customers first and make whatever you can easier. So say, for example, my website, Vcc dot training is my website is where everything goes, everything is processed. And you can tell because it has oops, I lost the background. You can tell because my face is everywhere. So you can definitely tell it to my website and my personal branding, because it has the right colors and the right feels to my branding, and not just as well as my logo is also there. And for those who are listening or watching, feel free to check out the future, future episode. Your logo is not your personal brand. That is something that we'll definitely be talking about as this rolls forward, as the podcast rolls forward, I should say so ultimately, through this story that I have just told you, and I've probably waffled on a little bit too long for this podcast episode, but I ultimately want you to take that and take this experience of mine to heart, not necessarily that you're going to be starting a business anytime soon. Majority of the people who listen or watch the podcast are already business owners already, but taking that in stride when Yes, it was quite frustrating that someone with 25 years basic business experience was doing such a rookie error, mistake, and of course, with the common sense that you that I already had, of no, they actually did see my business, didn't think it was a threat, and proceeded to do it anyway, which. Makes it even more annoying. But of course, I did my best to reach out, to communicate, to be civil and putting the customer first, like making sure that the customers and clients needs were met first before my own. Of course, there's plenty of red flags running in the background, but when it comes to situations like that, when it comes to any emotional situations like that, especially when it comes to business, I do recommend putting your customers first when and if you've got the time and breath to be able to think about that, of course, because sometimes you just react from the cuff and from the gut, and that's not always going to work for you sometimes, but that is okay, doing your best to put the customer first in all instances of the business and the transactions that you do, like communication that you do, I should say, is going to reflect better for you in the outset than anything else that you do in your business. So of course, as I mentioned, making sure that, for example, if you come across the situation yourself, and you've got someone who is operating a website or is operating a social media page that is definitely not you, and say, for example, there could be other business names internationally. For example, there was a couple of there was someone who was based in the UK who had a very similar name to me. But again, we were very different people, and you could definitely see that in the branding, and definitely see that in the messages and the audience that we've tried to target. So it was perfectly fine. And again, I think honestly, I've only had one or two people reach out for them. And of course, I just do my best to funnel them to them. And yeah, again, being civil and being polite. But of course, the names are similar, but not entirely close, so but when it comes to your personal brand and the work that you're doing, of course, making sure that everything is consistent and making sure that you're showing a united front. So when people come to a social media page and then go to your website, the branding is the same, the faces are the same, and ultimately the wording is still the same, mainly for SEO search and capability. But when you are working on your personal brand, trying to keeping everything cohesive is the best step forward, because a story like that, like I said, Yes, there are going to be bad actors out in their world. And yes, it is a little bit annoying where you're trying to do your best for these people that you have never met, and they proceed to walk all over that goodwill. But that is okay, and I hope that their business is thriving and doing the best that they can from now on, with the knowledge that you need to Google people before you do your business, or, you know, check out the Australian Business register, or the ABN, the Australian Business Number, to get an idea of what other people are in the sphere and who also have the same name as you. And one thing that I will touch on to the end of this podcast episode, be careful about venting to strangers online without support, without human support. What I mean by that is be careful about eventing maybe any emotional frustrations that you have in a public setting. Yes, there were situations, so say, for example, this particular story did get me riled up a little bit, mainly because I have was having to do that. That was the part that was annoying me. Not like, yeah, that she'd, you know, taken my business name. Sure it wasn't great that she had started a business with using the name that I had already registered, that I had already bought, that I had already had, like websites for that had already established myself four years before that she had done that, but she had done Facebook ads. And it was like, Okay, you have a team behind you. Have a team behind you, but your team didn't advise you to start a website. Your team didn't advise you to have a cohesive branding strategy. Your team didn't do a cursory Google search, right? Cool, and when venting two people, that's why I like to do it in person, especially with trusted business owners that I have in my you know, my groups and my associations and stuff like that, is because it is okay to vent. It is okay to feel angry about a situation, especially one that you don't have full control over, but making sure that you vent that frustration out with someone who is understanding and sympathetic, and then when it comes to the actual object or focus of that
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anger, making sure that, again, you put those customers first, that you put those clients first. Hey, I'm reaching out because I'm getting people wanting to contact you, but they're coming across me because. A more established business, can you please change your business name because you have no leg to stand on legally? That was the niceness. Obviously, there was a little bit of anger in there, but that was a nice way of putting things. So when working on your business name, making sure that you do and when I say common sense research, I mean just simply googling in the business name that you're coming across. And if in the country that you're working with, if you're planning to just work nationally, then awesome, you know, work with what you've got. If you're planning to be international, then making sure that you check out other options out there. Because, again, there are going to, you know, there are so many people in the world, some people are going to have the same idea for a business name, or they're going to slightly change it or tweak it for the spelling of their particular country, for example, and that's okay. Again, your branding should stand out. Your your domain should stand out. The work that you're doing behind a business is not just the business name idea. It's more than that. It's the work that you're putting out there and the work that you're doing to constantly bolster yourself up over time, to boost your personal brand. So it doesn't matter if they have the same name as you, just making sure that you're able to differentiate yourself. Say, for example, like Zoe would the video confidence coach, that's how you people usually find me. They also find video confidence coach, video confidence, connect. Video confidence, cast like. Video confidence, coach, cast like. There's all these things that are around again, the same name that I have registered, that I have AB end, that I have made sure that I've got legal tenuant rights to and because I've been running my business from I think I registered officially in 2017 and yeah, from there, I've been consistently running my business with the same name and the same mentality from there. So if you are doing that in your business, you are already 10 steps ahead of the potential competition. You are doing so well, and you will continue to do so well. So I'm going to leave you today with the podcast. Make sure you check out the website as we slowly launch it out Vcc dot training, as I mentioned throughout the website, and also check out the show notes, where you will get a direct link to the register if you're ever intrigued, or just seeing what other options are out there of other people who maybe have similar names to you, if you've ever gotten any weird emails or calls or any of that sort check out your business register and the other options that they have that are related to your name, just to See what other people have done. All right, bye. You.
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Your logo is not your personal brand. What do I mean by this? And what else is there in a brand other than your logo? Welcome to Video, confidence coach, cast with your host, me, Zoe. Video, confidence coach, we are going to discuss some a question that I do get a lot in the personal branding space that I am in, when for people who are not necessarily new to business and branding, but for people who are new to the personal branding space, they may have run a business or been in careers for a very long time where they have been, I don't want to say shadowed, but for example, maybe you've worked in corporate for a very long time, and you've always been behind a logo like you and everyone else in your company has always just been behind a usually dull, no offense logo, and that has been the face of your brand, maybe some colors, maybe some flares, but that's essentially it. And moving to a personal brand, especially your own personal brand, it can feel comfortable to rely on a logo to be able to represent your brand entirely. And I'm going to say, and I'm going to caution you against that, not necessarily as a be all and end all, but I'm just saying when it comes to representing your brand, standing behind a faceless logo can do more detriment than good for your personal brand. So what I mean by that? So when it comes to your personal brand, there is more than just a logo. There is your face, your colors, the words that you use to describe yourself. And your brand, and the words that you use to describe your customers, the colors that you use, the additional images that are not just you and your face, but the images of your customers, of your products, of your services, the air and feel, or the graphic design that supports your brand, those are just some of the things that your branding is wholly inclusive of, rather than just your logo, and also your logo can also just be something that you've hired a graphic designer to put together, usually with very minimal direction, because, of course, you're starting this out for yourself, and you're not entirely sure what you need to do. All you know that is just like, hi, I like these colors, and this is the target market that I'm working with, and that's usually it, and that is okay. Having a logo to start with. It's great. Gives you something to start off with, so then you can work your way up, because you may not have any experience with graphic design, with branding yourself, or with choosing what options to go with. When it comes to, for example, creating a social media post, do I go with the square, the triangle, the circle, like it, can become quite overwhelming if you don't have a direction in mind. But when it comes to your logo, where exactly do you see the logo? So in recommendations. Now, of course, I come from experience with working with corporates and working with corporations where logos are kind of necessary, in the sense that I need to have it on, like any documentation that I give them, I need to have that in any like booklets or any work work pages, sometimes on my website, or corporate pages of my website, where most of my branding is fairly light and fairly carefree, usually has my face in it somewhere, just so you know that you're talking to the video conference coach. And lot of bright colors. When it comes to corporates, most of the time, they just need the information up front. And I'm like, that is fine. Here is my logo. Here's the information that you need. Boom, boom, boom, done. When I'm working with corporates, I try and streamline that process for them, for other people who maybe are coming to learn about their own personal brand, or what options they have say, for example, when it comes to mentoring or coaching for their business, or podcasting or live streaming or other things that I do with clients, I like to be able to want to ease them into the process, while also giving them the opportunity to take what information that is best beneficial to them as they go along, reading through or Watching the videos or podcasts that we create here. So when it comes to your brand, it's not just a logo. Everything that I've described so far, you can visually see that in your mind. Or if you're the type of people that aren't able to see that visually in your mind, you can kind of get the idea, though, that a brand is not just a logo. You can base your personal brand around a logo, but that's not necessarily going to make it easier to connect with the type of audience that you want to bring on board, because if everything is behind that logo, yes, after a while of communicating with people and reaching out to people, they might be able to see Your logo and go, Oh, I know who that is. I can put a face to the name. Would it be easier just to show your face and provide your face? Now, of course, when working with a couple of clients that I work with who are faceless in their branding, that is okay. Like I want to stress, you don't have to put your face out there. And of course, with the rising security issues and threats. I totally get it. You do not need to show your face when it comes to personal branding, everything else can support it, including your logo, but not just your logo. So say, for example, I'm working with a client at the moment who loves to Yap, very much like myself, very much likes to talk, but is not a fan of putting their face out online, so we're looking into virtual avatar options so they actually have some sort of visual representation of their brand when they're communicating via podcasting or video or live streams. And they can also use that as an opportunity to then base their the visual part of their brand on that light, fun, go, Happy, lucky, as we like to call it, side of their brand, because that can work cohesively. To say, for example, they like to use a lot of bright colors. They're very much the work that they do is bringing out the inner child within mothers or people who have been very much, been catering to their own child's sense of wonder and whimsy, as opposed to their own. And they're feeling a bit burnt out, as you could probably imagine, having that color and liveliness and but also with that adult twang of you know, being able to swear is something that gives people the giddiness and the feeling and also gives them a chance to then mentor. Or coach those people with that in mind, because looking at their website, looking at the videos, looking at the fun that they have together, they can see like, I want to be a part of that. And even though she may be not showing her face, you can still hear her voice. You can still regularly consume her podcasts. You can see the virtual avatar that she's having a lot of fun with, even though it keeps breaking, and we're currently working on that at the moment. But again, you don't have to show your face to build your personal brand. But again, back to the topic at hand, Zoe, when it comes to logos,
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having a logo for like I mentioned before, corporate situations, or situations where maybe it may be not appropriate to show your face, say, for example, something like a letterhead, or something like an email signature, where you got to make it as small as possible to make sure that you fit within guidelines within either a corporation that you're working With or that you're working alongside, making sure that you give yourself that opportunity of different options. For example, with my branding, I have my logo, the video confidence coach logo with a play button in the middle of the logo. And for example, I get a lot of people who see my logo for the first time and go, Oh, I don't know you had a logo. Zoe, like, yeah, and that's okay, because my logo is clear enough for you to be able to say, oh, what's it for? Video, confidence coach, ah, I know who that is. So that that look that ease of recognition is fairly easy. People are able to see the play button, and slowly, over time, they're able to recognize that that play button is, oh, that's, that's Zoe. That's Zoe's play button. You can see that that branding is working together again, with the everything else around it, the colors, the use of language, the use of facial expressions, the use of effects that are either on the visuals or on any of the graphic design elements, maybe some certain shapes or flares, or maybe some particular animations. Again, everything can work cohesively to create a brand. And if you are unfamiliar with that, I would recommend looking at some of your competition collaborators, as I like to say, or some people who are in parallel fields to you. So what I mean by this, for example, you may be a makeup artist, but you, for example, wouldn't exactly be a fashion designer, but the type of clients who come to you think of you in the same sort of field. So look at the work that they're doing. See how every post that they put together has the same fonts, has the same colors, has the same image uses. Even though they're different images, they're definitely part of a whole theme. And ultimately, these decisions make it easier to make decisions when it comes to branding, graphic design or anything like that. For example, I have a business associate of mine, who was recently doing some photos, and we were chatting a little bit about how or what positions do I use? How do I Where do I put my hands when trying to take these professional photos that she is going to use across a whole plethora of things to do with her own personal brand and the brands that she works with. So I said, Okay, again, thinking of the customer in mind. What do the customer needs? The customer wants to be able to see your face cleanly. Possibly see a smile, to know that they're welcoming and you are welcoming them in to the work that you're doing. And to have both a fun possibly have photos of you laughing, as well as photos of you like showcasing presentations and other things like that, as well as being able to sit there calmly and cool, pretty, but like with a straight back and presenting and leaning forward a little bit again, these type of photos are being used across all of their branding, website, emails, social media, everything is going to be used for at least the next two years, arguably, so they want to make sure that they've got all of the options covered for their needs. And eventually, when they go through and find and go through those images, they might find that like, hey, the part where I'm sitting there at a desk leaning forward doesn't really look like me, so it doesn't really feel like me, then don't use it. That's okay. Photographers are there to work with you. They have the audience in mind. They have the idea of who you're working with in mind. So they're going to work the photos to to work with that. And of course, they're going to do the best to keep you happy as their customers. So again, when it comes to the work that you do, and the branding that you have being able to showcase this, not just in your logo. And again, Your logo can be quite boring, can be quite plain. Arguably, I get a lot of people saying, Zoe, your logo is quite plain. I'm like, that's fine, because it's there to do a job, and it's there to be able to clearly read video confidence coach, maybe with my little logo, or that played. Button in the corner, so then I can use that in other areas of my website. Again, my face and my branding and the energy that I want to bring to my graphical elements most of the time. You know, does the job I do use the the logo as a way of just making sure that everything is consistent. But again, I don't always use it, and that is okay, because people usually find video confidence coach and where that is useful for them, but again, making sure that your customer is what's in mind. Do you work with a lot of corporates? Do you work with a lot of C suite or a lot of no nonsense? Hey, I'm just here to get the information I need and get the hell out. So utilizing a letterhead logo information on one a four page so you can either print it, email it to them, send it to them, whatever. And if that's what you need, then have a logo. Do not neglect other aspects of your personal brand. But when it comes to the first steps, yep, getting that logo done is something that you can do relatively easily, relatively straightforwardly, and if necessary, create it in Canva for free. I don't usually recommend it, mainly because a graphic designer brings a lot of wealth and knowledge to a project. And if a logo, like I said, if you are working with corporates and people are going to see the logo a lot more before they see you, then investing in your logo makes sense. Again, it's not the be all and end all. Want to stress that just because you've done one thing does not mean you don't have to do everything else. But the logo is not necessarily going to represent your whole personal brand. It's just going to be the first step for you, especially when working with corporates, when working with, say, other small business owners, or working with the public, then utilizing your face and utilizing, for example, a set of colors or maybe a couple of shapes, something simple and easy for you to do, then that's going to be a lot easier. I'm going to stress that now it's going to be a lot easier for you to be able to do that, because you don't have to think about, okay, I have to think about what like images I'm using, and I have to think about exactly like what like Photoshop files or filters I'm using, like, Don't over complicate it for yourself. Being able to have that vision in mind of, okay, this is how I want myself to come across to an audience. Then, yeah, use the same photo of you people. Sometimes I have had people mention that they can get bored of their own photos, and that's okay. It's not for you. It's for your customer, especially new ones that come across you. Another element that I come across with branding that a lot of people usually forget is the use of music, music that you have access to now, I do recommend using royalty free libraries. Royalty Free is essentially music that is available for you to use in a commercial capacity. So for your business or your personal brand that will not incur a copyright strike, will not, you know, you know you won't put up a video that you worked really hard on, and it's got two seconds of a Bruno Mars song, and your entire video is put or they run ads to it like way too many ads, arguably, to the point where your video is almost unwatchable. So of course, a lot of these people who own the rest of these songs will not let you use it willy nilly, so in those moments, being able to use something like so the YouTube Audio Library that is royalty free, I highly recommend using that, just because it's already pre vetted stuff. Obviously, it's not going to be your Taylor Swifts, but it is going to get the point across. And say, for example, with the work that I've used, I have my motif of trumpets. They are loud, they are attention grabbing, and they are fun, and I just enjoy listening to trumpet music. So I'm inherently going to use that a lot in the branding and the work that I do. I like electronic So as you've been able to see or listen to in the podcast, in those intros and outros, you would have heard some of that music that I like to use, and I have licensed that, and paid a lot of money for that license, despite what YouTube thinks. But in those ops, in those opportunities, I like to use brass and the visual aspects of trumpets, as well as actually showcasing the music itself, to be able to provide another layer of my personal brand that's not again, not just me and my voice, or the way that I present myself, or the makeup that I put on my face, clown makeup, as some old, sad white men have commented, I like to do that. I like to have fun. I like people to be able to wash my face and go, Wow, there's a lot there. Uh huh. Welcome to my life. So when it comes to your branding, as I mentioned, and as I wrap this podcast episode up for you, your logo should not be the end of your personal brand. It should be the one. One of many steps regarding a personal brand,
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you should use it as an opportunity. In an instance, you should use a logo in opportunities, for example, when maybe it's not appropriate to show your face, but I'm going to tell you now, as your business grows, you're going to be more likely to use your face if you're using your face, or you're going to use your avatar, or some other visual representation of you and the work that you do, or over your logo, and again, your logo is still going to be there, still going to be useful, but you're going to start using it less and less. And I'm not saying that just because of my own personal experience. I've seen this a lot with other clients that I've worked with on their personal branding journeys, that they start off very much holding onto their logos for dear life, mainly because they paid a lot of money for them, but also it's that feeling of just like, This is me. Zoe, this entire thing that I've spent a lot of money on is also the thing that is representing me. And as we work to build up their personal brand, the graphical elements, everything coming together, the sound, the look and feel of their brand. And again, the way that a personal brand works is because it makes it easier for you to make decisions when it comes to putting together a template, putting together a page on your website, or putting together something else, like a social media or email, you don't have to think about what images do I use? You've already got a library of images that you've already approved, approved to use that had the same filter, that had the same styles and work well with your brand, so that the customers, again, customers, at the end of the day, are the ones that you're doing this for. Know exactly who they're talking to, because it's the same type of colors, same energy, same faces, same emotions being used throughout your brand. And of course, this all happens consistently. You have to consistently use this, of course, like very much like myself and with customers that I work with, we like to experiment. We like to try things out. And that is okay, just be prepared that you may not get full support from your audience, especially one that you've been growing with for a long time, because they're like, Oh, this is new. This is interesting. I'm scared. Don't worry. It's okay. We're trialing and testing things out. It's not the end of the world. So back yourself up in that respect, but it's okay to keep a consistent look and feel when it comes to the work that you do. I Yeah, and this use of your logo, or branching out beyond your logo, is also very useful in old methods of advertising as well. Is my last note here is, I worked with a client a couple of years ago who was doing a lot of billboards and a lot of really big, your big honking billboards that are on the sides of the roads, and people were able to consistently notice that it was him, not because of the logo that was in the bottom left hand corner, despite the fact that everyone could see the logo, people were remembering his face. People remembering the colors that he used. People were remembering he also had like, wacky facial expressions as well. That's what people remembered and all and especially on billboards when you only have like, I think some sort of statistics said you only had like, less than a second to be able to get people to recognize what's going on. That is very useful to build up your personal brand. He brought more people into the store because people were able to recognize his consistent personal brand, and people were able to clearly see, so say, for example. One that stays off the top of my head is he had a very bright, I think it was either an orange or not a yellow. That's another Australian thing you don't need to worry about. It was very bright background. You would have him. He was dressed up in a butler suit, and he had a cloche that he had above his head, and he had a platter that had the words, had some sort of word that he was pushing at the time that people automatically saw. And people then googled that word, and then he his face showed up like he was one of the first like top five results, people clicked his face, and then immediately he got a lot more tangible people coming to his business, because he could actually track that and see that. Now, of course, billboards are definitely growing up again in popularity. A lot of old forms of advertising are definitely making a comeback, and that is awesome and good to see. I'm going to say that there's, there's a reason why it worked. Then the only problem is now is that obviously we are very much overrun with advertising. Because, of course we are, and when it comes to your personal branding, it's not necessarily all on all the time. You are allowed to take your feet off the accelerator for a second, but when people find you if they're able to see it, consistency in the visuals that you use, in the sound that you use, in the words that you say, they are more likely to trust you and inherently buy from you. Okay, that's all that we're doing here, is to build up trust so people can buy from you. And hopefully I thank you so much for listening to me and building trust with me. Hopefully, as I've been ranting throughout this podcast episode today, if you are interested in having a chat with me or picking my brain, you can also book in those sessions with me, either mentoring or coaching at Vcc dot training. You can find more information on the homepage as I'm building it right now. I look forward to seeing hopefully you there and building a personal brand with me. So video, confidence coach, enjoy The rest of Your week. You
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music.
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Good day, everyone, and thank you so much for joining us for today's video, confidence Connect. You'll find more information down in the show notes of this video, whether you find this on LinkedIn or YouTube, and you'll find more information on that web page about the information from today's live stream, as well as information regarding about all the offers that we provide, as well as again, link to that Australian business registration page. Again, I don't use it a whole lot, but I mainly when I work with clients. I definitely use it a lot, just to again, see what other options are out there that can possibly conflating with your personal brand. So we are definitely going to finish off today, because I am quite exhausted. It has been a hell of a week and again. Thank you to all my mentees. You have done a really good job over the past six months, and I look forward to seeing what you guys can accomplish. Best of luck. Break a leg with your exams. And for those who are not doing exams and are moving on to either future educational training or maybe moving over into TAFE again, I'm here for you. Totally get it. I did both. Did both exams and then TAFE again. I made my life what it is because I tried
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so again. Thank you so much. I will be here again, 10am next week on next Friday. Next Friday, from what I can tell, is the 13th, September.
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The 13th 2024 I will have more podcasting things probably, at the moment, seems to be the flavor of what I do at the video confidence connect this month is definitely recording my podcast episodes. So I've got plenty of podcasts as they come out. You can find that at video confidence coach cast, I still haven't found a better name for the podcast. Honestly, yes, I can change it and can update it, but to be perfectly honest, it just works, like video confidence coach is the name, and then video confidence coach cast just kind of keeps everything together and branding wise, I'm still, honestly, I'm still, like, playing around with the name, still figuring out what exactly want to do with that, because I do feel like I want to change it, not necessarily because the name is a bit but mainly to make it easier for potential clients, but also customers who may need to listen to the podcast, or may find useful and beneficial things from the podcast to make it easier to find. So that's what I'm trying to figure out. What I want to do with the title, when it comes to podcast SEO, is quite important. It's not the be all and end all, because there's a lot of what are known as meta tags. Essentially, these are descriptive words that the podcast algorithms and the podcast players, like your Spotify and your apple podcasts use to find podcasts that are related to what you're listening to at the current time. And the podcast title and the podcast visual is actually quite useful for people just saying, hey, is this the right thing for me? Should I be listening to this again? The reason why I chose video confidence coach as my business name is because it captures those three things that people when they come to me, they want. They either want confidence, they want the video aspect of what I can do to help them with or they just want coach, someone who can help them through the process, who can guide them, who can support them. So again, I think it kind of works. So again, I'm still figuring out what I want to do about the name, but that will definitely change. Should probably over the next, say, month, I might change that title, and we'll see how we go. I do intend to edit my podcast episodes a little bit more honestly, over these past couple of weeks, I've just been focusing on client work while also trying to build this consistent method of marketing myself, because as many other people who are in the same position as me, or when you're building a personal brand, you have a tendency of working in your business, as opposed to on your business. So that's why I'm taking this opportunity once a week to work on my business and to help and to help those people and to help my audience, and potentially get more leads. If that helps, and if not, that is also okay. I don't mind um here as a way to be able to submit and cementify is what I'm trying to remember, the word forgotten, what the word is to be able to cement the work that I do in a consistent format, which, again, I use in live stream, which you're watching now, or if you're watching on the replay, feel free to comment. I'm also using this in podcasting. I'm using this in social media. I'm using this in a whole factor of other different things, and it allows me to focus on delivering value while also being able to work on the client work that makes me money. So I'm going to leave you guys off today, I'm going to finish it off and wish you all the best with the rest of your week, even though it is Friday next week, Next week's the whole thing. Best of luck. Bye.
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Who is your host?
Zoë Wood, your Video Confidence Coach connects the dots between personal branding and video marketing. Helping women and non-binary folk in small business, find their way in the world of marketing their passion without the energy drain.
Find out more about how to grow your personal brand with the power of video right here on vcc.training
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