WEEK 1: ESTABLISH YOUR PRESENCE

1.1 Steps to Set Up A Social Media Presence

A business needs to create a social media profile. You can think of it as a businesses' virtual storefront,
so to speak. It's where customers get a first impression of a business and learn more about what the
business has to offer.

A social media profile for a business is typically a page that holds all the information and activity on the
social media platform for that business.

While profiles differ a bit depending on the social media site you choose, they typically consist of five
elements.
1. Account name/username
2. Profile picture and cover photo
3. Contact information
4. Description of what the business or brand does or offers
5. Call-to-action - a button or a sentence that lets people know what the business would like them to
do next

Account name
 It's important to choose an account name that is memorable and can easily be recognized.
 Add a keyword that describes what you do. Think about what people will search for when they're
looking for products like what you offer and consider adding a keyword to reflect that.

The bakery Le Marais uses @LeMaraisBakery on Twitter and Instagram. Adding Bakery makes it
clear what the business offers.

 Add a location reference. Ice cream business Hometown Creamery's account name on Instagram
is @sfhometowncreamery, to show that they're based in San Francisco.
 Try to be consistent with your name choice across your social media channels. This way, people
can easily look for your business on whatever platform they're using.

Profile picture and cover photo

 Choose a picture that best represents your business for your profile picture. Your logo is usually
your best choice. It's the way people know and recognize you.
 For the cover photo, choose an image that tells people something about your business. Maybe it
shows your products, a behind the scenes photo, a reference to a current ad campaign, and so
on.

Contact information
 Depending on your business, you may want to add your physical address, your website, email, or
phone number, and maybe even opening hours. Just add all the information that can help people
connect with you.
 You should also add a description of your business, something that tells people what you're all
about. Here, you can talk about what product or service you provide, and you can even include
something about the people behind the business.

Call-to-action
 A call-to-action or CTA is a way to highlight what you would like people to do after seeing your
profile.
 A typical call-to-action would be, for instance, shop now or learn more.

1.2 Establishing a Presence on Facebook

To get started, you will first have to fill out some relevant information about your business.
 First, you choose a name for your page.
 You must select a category for your business. You should select the category that best
represents your business.
 Add a short description that tells people what it is you do.
 Add a profile picture, and as we saw, it's best to use your logo for that.
 You can add a cover photo or a video. This image will appear on the top of the page.
 On your Facebook business page, you can add a call-to-action button that will appear below your
cover photo.
 You could also invite current customers and fans to like and follow your page.

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1.3 Establishing a Presence on Instagram

Instagram's focus on images and videos can help a business or brand make their story come to life.
 To set up a business account on Instagram you'll need to start by creating a personal account
and then switching it to a business account.
 Once you have a business account, you'll be able to toggle between accounts, so it's easy in the
app to go from your personal to your business account.

Once you've created your account on Instagram, you can convert it to a business account to access
additional features.
 Go to your profile and tap the three lines in the upper right corner. Tap Settings, tap Account, tap
Switch to Professional account, tap Business.
 If you'd like, you can follow the steps to connect your business account to an associated
Facebook page. This step is optional and will make it easier to use all of the features available for
businesses across Facebook's apps and services.
 Add details, like your business category and contact information, and then tap Done.
 Use a branded profile photo. This should reflect your business' personality, and it can also show
your brand or your logo.
 Add a bio that tells people about your business. You can use up to 150 characters, so keep it
short.
 Consider using emojis to capture people's attention and key words that describe what you do.
 Make sure to also add your website link so people know where to find more information about
your business.
 It's also a good idea to add a call to action button to prompt people who visit your profile to take
action.

For instance, you can add a button that let's people book appointments through Appointy or
Booksy.

1.4 What is a Brand and Why You Need One

If you associated a combination of elements, a product, a color, an experience or an identity to any one of
those businesses, you have an idea of what a brand is.

Brands or branding originates with cattle ranchers who would brand their name or mark into their cattle so that
someone could tell one ranch's cattle from another's. They would put their name, signature or a logo on it, over time,
consumers would come to know and trust one producer's product over another.

Brand is a combination of elements or attributes associated with the business that make up an
experience about that business. A brand can consist of the:
 products or services it offers
 the feeling you get when you step into that business's location or log on to their website
 their logo and the colors or images they use
 the words they use and the voice in which they communicate.
 the stories they tell about what they do
 the business's principles or the values they stand by
 the connection they make and how it makes the consumer feel in relationship to them

David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, once defined a brand as the intangible, sum of a product's
attributes, its name, packaging and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it's advertised.

Creating a brand is creating a personality or identity for your business that differentiates you from your
competitors in the marketplace.

But we must ask an important question: is the brand wholly created by the business or is the brand
only what consumers perceive or think of a business outside of the business's influence?

Ans. A business must be deliberate in the brand it wants to create: from the story it tells, about how it
started, to the color pallete it uses, to its voice on social media, to the audience it wants to engage with,
but customers will create their own perceptions and judgments as well after interacting with your
business.

Customers are then attracted to a brand story and culture and want to be part of that brand's identity. A
brand's ultimate goal is to not only have consumers buy their products, but to identify with the brand so
much that they become an Advocate for it.

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WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A BRAND

1. Brand builds trust. Brands tend to have a history associated with them, with established
consistent stories, products, and experiences. Customers who've had positive experiences with the
product or business trust it to be reliable as well.
2. Brand builds connection. A brand connects through believes it communicates and draws in
customers who share the same beliefs.
3. Brand enables recognition. Brands are a signal to consumers about what they can expect from
the product and who it belongs to. A good brand is readily recognizable.
4. Brand creates ease of selection for a consumer who has had positive interactions with that brand
before.
5. Brand can be a signaling device. Brands communicate certain values, and they can present a
certain lifestyle. Consumers may identify with those values and lifestyle or they may aspire to those
values. Consumers may buy the brand because they want to signal that they have the values or
lifestyle that a brand present.
6. Brand can foster loyalty.
7. Brand reduces price sensitivity. If a customer perceives that they're getting value and the ride
branding can convince them of that, they'll always be willing to pay a premium.
8. Brand facilitates company decision making. As all decisions surrounding social media
communication website. And in store experience, the way they interact with customers and even
new product packaging is filtered through their branding framework.

1.5 The EPIC Brand Framework

There are four areas where a business can build their unique brand:
 Existence
 Purpose
 Identity
 Connection

Facebook uses it, to help its clients develop strong brands and prepare them for their social media
presence.

 Existence. A business's existence is how that business got started, and why the world should
pay attention.
 Purpose. Not only what you do, but why you do it, including articulating a set of values for the
business.
 Identity. The visual look and feel from their logo, to their color palettes, to the images they post
on social media, to the typography they've chosen.
 Connection. How a brand connects with its customers through the written word. This includes
picking the right voice for the business.

1.5.1 Brand: Existence

Existence focuses on why your business exists. There's brand value to be found in the reason why a
business was created, not only when in where it was created, but what problem do business was
trying to solve and who the people are who created it.

An origin story is simply an account of how a business got started. And a great origin story must include
a few key elements: the people involved and a problem to solve.

Example:
Intelligentsia Coffee's origin story reads like this. The story begins in 1995, Doug Zell and Emily Munch
just wanted fresh roasted coffee, it was really that simple. After moving from San Francisco to Chicago,
they found that great tasting coffee in their new city was surprisingly elusive.

 First, the founders Doug and Emily are named, so immediately we have a connection to real
people.
 Second Doug and Emily encountered a problem, they couldn't find a good coffee in Chicago.
 Third, they went about solving the problem. Instead of settling, they created Intelligentsia to solve
the problem they had.

Storytelling has the ability to create connections in a way simple facts can't. If a business can get
storytelling right, they have a huge advantage over their competition.

We as humans are wired for stories, we love hearing stories, we love telling stories.

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In fact, studies show that more areas of our brain light up when we're hearing a story than we're just
hearing information. And that when we hear stories, our brains release certain chemicals responsible for
empathy and connection.

There's a powerful, I've been there to, elements that the origin story can present. That connection can be
solidified by having real people associated with the business instead of a mysterious 'we', or worse yet,
an impersonal the company.

By telling a story, a customer comes along with you for the journey.

1.5.2 Brand: Purpose

Today, customers are seeking to engage with the brands they use, so it's important to articulate what you
stand for.

Most companies don't articulate a why or purpose and expect to make sales just based on the what and
how. Sinek then explained that Apple does it in reverse.

Apple begins with their purpose, to think differently. Then they move to their how, "We think differently by
making beautifully designed products." Finally, they end with a what, "We happen to make computers."

If a consumer has already connected to their purpose of thinking differently, they'll buy the computers,
and any other product Apple may produce.

By clearly stating your business' purpose, values, and what you stand for, you're not only further
connecting with your audience, but you're further defining your audience, people who align with your
vision.

How does a business actually articulate a purpose?

 Many businesses use the prompt of, "We believe that" so if you're trying to create a purpose for
your brand, jot down some ways to complete that sentence.
 Brainstorm keywords around the ideas or topics you care about, like clean eating, wellness, or
even good design.
 State what your brand isn't and what you don't stand for, which can help you articulate what you
do stand for.

We can now make branding decisions about Calla & Ivy through this lens. Images chosen for the brand
will focus on beauty and aesthetics. Flowers and packaging will be chosen based on sustainability
options.

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The voice of the business will be friendly and approachable, and there will be an underlying sense of
creativity and design innovation in both the products offered and in their online presence.

1.5.3 Brand: Identity

Identity refers to the visual look and feel of the brand. This includes the logo to color palettes the
business chooses. The aesthetic of the images to business users, and even the typography they choose.

A logo captures the sense of the brands in one image, but logo creation combines all the things we've
looked at. Origin story, problem solving, purpose, values, and keywords associated with the brands. And
uses those deeper elements to inform the design.

A logo must also communicate other aspects of the brands like innovation, tradition, or whimsy. Finally,
what will a logo or a brand be without its signature color.

There's a lot of psychology behind colors and color choices, and a color palette can set the tone for your
brand as well. Red is excitement, blue is trust, orange is fun, brown is natural, and black is prestige.

Pick a palette that feels right for your business. And use it to influence site design, advertising,
packaging and more.

Imagery is another aspect of creating a brands visual identity and this can include the types of folders,
visuals, or illustrations a brand user on its website or in social media feeds. This will not only evoke a
feeling but create a kind of ecosystem for that brand.

Typography or the selection of typefaces and fonts that are business chooses helps communicate its
visual brand. Like a logo typeface is trying to capture the feeling and association of the brand in lettering.

1.5.4 Brand: Connection

Connection refers to the voice and style your brand adopts in written and verbal communication.
Your brand voice is built from understanding your brand story, purpose, and values.

The voice of your brand is the way in which your brand speaks the words it uses, and feel it
communicates.

 Should your brand voice be authoritative and confident, friendly, and personal, fun, and quirky?
 Would your brand suggest you peruse its website or check it out?
 Would your brand use short, pithy sentences or long, more stylistic sentences?

Instead of thinking about their audience as a demographic, many businesses create a persona or an
example customer so they can think about one person when they're creating content.

To personify the audience, helps to have everyone in the company imagine the same person when
they're working on marketing and it helps to give you a persona a name, and a face.

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