September is the month that usually marks big change in our calendars. New leaves and flowers make their appearance, while people also look to cleaning up. Cosy winter wardrobes are shifted to the back of closets, women lighten their hair and people tend to change things up. Our businesses and personal brands are often overlooked during this time, thanks to demands that arise close to year-end. I have compiled a list of areas in your brand that can probably do with some gussying up. It’ll feel like a fresh start even though the year is ending!

Perform an identity stock take

Take a step back and identify all the key factors of your brand identity. These elements are your assets and should reflect your business accordingly if you want to effectively manage your brand.

Elements to consider revisiting are your:

  • Brand values
  • Unique selling proposition (USP)
  • Voice
  • Brand elements – tagline, logos, graphics and brand colours
  • Business cards
  • Public relations

Evaluate whether these elements are still in line with the identity you wish to project to the world.

Social Clutter

Social media websites can quickly become either overcrowded or overly quiet. Spruce up your platforms by doing the following:

  • Change your profile photo.
  • Change your hero image or cover image to one that is branded.
  • Update your “About” bio on all platforms.
  • Which social media platforms are generating engagement?
  • Which topics resonate well with your audience?
  • Practice community management once a week – reply to messages, comments and queries.
  • Unfollow dead ends and follow new people in order to create an active audience.

 Wait, I have a website?

Company websites are probably the most forgotten tool of all. They’re rarely updated after launching and can quickly gather digital dust. This negatively affects your image, as you seem lazy and outdated yourself.

  • Spice up your “About” page
  • Is the homepage still relevant and eye-catching?
  • Change up your call to action button
  • Is your footer copyright notice showing the year 2018?

 Take Out the Trash

This is the fun part; getting rid of the things you don’t need. Can you feel the weight being lifted yet?

  • Get rid of any social media platforms that you have not used in over a month, be it Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. It does more harm than good to have an outdated profile. Rather focus on doing one platform brilliantly.
  • Work through your mailing list and remove any addresses that bounce or no longer exist.
  • Remove any content that no longer represents your brand or provides no value to your customer.
  • Throw away any and all unnecessary paper trails. This means physically taking out the trash. Drop it off at a recycling centre for extra points!

 Digital sweep

  • Sweep all information into the cloud. Backup all files to the cloud of your choice: Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive are all good options. This makes files easily shareable as well, score!
  • Clean up your desktop (unless you’re the type of person who places everything in grids, but if that’s the case, why are you even reading this?)
  • Upgrade outdated technology, be it your apps, laptop, operating system or programs. Working with the latest version often translates to better speeds.

 

By implementing these changes once off or daily over the course of a month or so, you could totally freshen up your brand. And who knows, it might just reignite your spark and motivate you to end the year on a high note.