Misconceptions About Brand Assets
What are brand assets?
Before we get into the misconceptions small business owners have about brand assets, let’s define what brand assets are.
Brand assets are any photograph, video, graphic, copy, or other file unique to your brand that you utilize in your brand strategy.
Now, let’s talk about the misconceptions.
POV: You’ve curated a few gorgeous photos of your product or for your brand as a whole, and are feeling very excited and professional. You cannot wait to share the photographs with your audience and anticipate an influx of sales due to the quality and authenticity of said photographs.
The reality is that, while it is incredibly vital to invest in quality brand assets, how you use your assets is what makes the difference between stagnation and sales. Simply posting one stunning photograph isn’t going to sway customers to make a purchase. However, effectively utilizing your brand assets in the best context will have a profound impact on your business.
A good photo or video is not how you get from A to Z, but it is how you get from A to B.
How you feel upon seeing a deliverable (asset) matters.
Lean into and evaluate that initial feeling to provide constructive feedback to your service provider (designer, photographer, artist, etc.).
Here is an example: A stunning and authentic founder photo puts a face to the brand, so customers come to associate your product with an actual person that they may relate to as opposed to a faceless company. An accompanying caption introducing yourself and why you believe in what you do helps your audience feel kindred to you–you become someone who cares about your customer and has the same struggles as opposed to simply another business out to make money.
Takeaway: The photo does not directly equate to an influx of sales. However, the photo used with authentic copy endears you to your audience and encourages them to stick around to hear more of what you have to say, which will then garner more sales.
Here is another example: A business just opened and they’re worried about the amount of assets they need to curate for their brand and marketing goals. So, they pay a designer and photographer to start their collection up without referring to their brand and marketing strategy.
Takeaway: It’s important that the assets you curate are intentionally made to further your brand’s vision or fit into your marketing strategy. It’s better to have 5 solid photos and 1 quality brand vision statement than to have 50 pretty, but useless photos, and 25 copywriting statements that don’t align with your brand vision. The brand strategy is what outlines your customer journey and the brand experience for them, this strategy is where you will reach new faces and turn them into customers.
Tips for effectively utilizing your assets:
Ask yourself what “Point B” is. The ultimate goal is, of course, to achieve “Point Z” aka making sales. However, getting there requires examining the customer journey from “Point A”, which in this case is your asset. So ask yourself, what do I want this asset to achieve? The answer to this could be anything from educating your audience about your product to increasing your newsletter subscribers to pushing a free resource.
Determine where they are best used. This could mean a lifestyle photo on a blog post that demonstrates product use, a video shared to social media that curates the experience your customer will have should they purchase your product, an informational graphic for your newsletter that answers an FAQ or educates your audience, or a product photo for your shop that clearly depicts what your customer is adding to their cart.
Equip your assets effectively. Ensure that you are including a CTA, thoughtful copy, appropriate links, available resources, etc. Your asset is intended to catch your audience’s attention, draw them in, and paint an experience. Make sure that, once they’ve been drawn in, it is not only very clear what their ideal next steps should be but easily accessible for those steps to be taken.
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