Branding and Headshots in Buffalo, NY

Branding is EVERYTHING! ?
This video series explains why everyone needs coherent messaging throughout their social media outlets. ?
Whether looking for a job or promotion, rebranding, or starting a new business, you need a plan!?
Today we talk about what branding is and what you are competing for! ?

I am so excited to get started on this next series of videos for you!
I have been deep-diving into branding. All types of branding. My clients are in a ton of different fields, and I need to keep up with what's working for bigger companies, how to get in front of the right people, and how raw my clients should be to get the attention of their ideal client.

Let's start with the idea of attention. This topic has been coming up for me again and again. I am an introvert verging on recluse. It's a huge hurdle for me to put myself, my art, or anything else into the void of social media. Networking is physically painful for me. If left to my own devices, I would live on an island in the south pacific alone with my camera, and no one would ever see my content because it would never be perfect. I do not like attention. 

I know most people do not feel the same way as I do about putting themselves out there, but there is always a little fear for people. What if someone doesn't like me? What if someone I'm avoiding is there? What if, what if, what if... There are a million excuses!

I'm old! I didn't grow up with social media, email, or even the internet. When I first had the term blog explained to me, I couldn't understand why anyone would want to put their private thoughts out into the world. What value could it serve? I had a long and hard road ahead of me when I decided to open a business. Not only did I need to sell myself and overcome self-esteem issues, but I also needed to sell my art. This terrified me and manifested in headaches, stomach aches, and sometimes dizziness. Especially if it meant going out into groups of people and talking about myself. I am NOT a mingler. I know plenty of people who can expertly work a room and optimize their engagements at events. I am a sit in a corner and wait for people to talk to me kind of person. I also have a bad case of RBF and a lot of people see me in a corner and assume I'm an asshole, when really, I am just trying not to throw up. 

When someone does talk to me, I am the person who wants to know all about them. I want to know why you chose the field you're in, what your experiences are, and who your friends and family are. I am fascinated with people's stories! I also know that this kind of conversation is time-consuming, and most people want to make small talk and move on. So I bring my BFF Angela along to as many of these events as I can and let her help me act normal. She has a tough job!

So why is attention so important to understand when we talk about branding? It's important because it's everything! Branding, by definition: "the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design." Promotion. When you promote anything, you are asking people to pay attention to it. If your messaging is off, you will not be attracting the people you need in front of you. 

Big tech understands that getting your attention is the next big move in making money. There is a TED talk I am going to link to in the description that goes into detail about how all of this works, but the one quote that stood out for me when I saw this a few years ago was this from Tristan Harris, a Google design ethicist: "when we talk about technology, we tend to talk about it as this blue sky opportunity. It could go any direction. And I want to get serious for a moment and tell you why it's going in a very specific direction. Because it's not evolving randomly. There's a hidden goal driving the direction of all of the technology we make, and that goal is the race for our attention. Because every news site, TED, elections, politicians, games, even meditation apps have to compete for one thing, which is our attention, and there's only so much of it." 

This quote hit me hard! I was always just posting randomly with no goal. "If you build it, he will come." mentality. I thought, I'm a good photographer. People will see my stuff and want to book with me. There's no need to bother them, flood their timeline, or message them. I don't want to be a bother. 

I couldn't figure out what I was missing! I'm going to be real here for a minute. I am an award-winning portrait artist. I have been working in a darkroom since I was eight years old. I have decades of experience. My work is well above average, and I know how to critique it. So why do I continue to struggle? 

It was branding. I needed to connect with my ideal clients. I was expecting people to come to me, much like I was doing at networking events, and then I couldn't understand why that wasn't working either. When I changed my mindset, got out of my comfort zone, and started to plan my engagements with a purpose, everything changed.

When Tristan Harris said that there is only so much attention people are able to give, it hit me that what I was doing wasn't working because I wasn't eliciting connection from my posts. People are driven to brands that believe the same things they do, do the same things they do, and say the things they are thinking. 

Don't wait for your perfect client, perfect job, or perfect economy to come to you. Put your shit out there! Show your "ideal" who you are. If something's not working, pivot. 

I would LOVE to talk to you if you think you need new messaging and content for your brand. This goes for anyone! Whether you're looking for a new job or promotion, launching a rebrand, launching a new brand, or just need to change things up for yourself or business, I can help! Creating content for businesses and individuals is my zone of genius. 

Thanks for watching this! As always, CONTACT me here if you would like to learn more!

LINK to TED talk mentioned earlier!