How To Make Your Solo Brand Look Professional
In an over saturated market, it's important to do everything possible to make your brand look professional online, in order to stand out.Branding is how you present yourself to the world, and if you want your business to be taken seriously you have to have a consistent and professional brand.Making the right impression is key, and with these tips your brand will bring you more authority and credibility in no time.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR solo Brand LOOK PROFESSIONAL ONLINE
WEBSITE/BLOG
Own a professional domain name Your website will not look professional if you don't own your domain name. Joleenalouislaw.wordpress.com does not look as professional as joleenalouislaw.com. You can get great prices on domains at GoDaddy. Use a reliable web host If your website is down or slow, potential clients will leave immediately and never return. The way to prevent this is to have a reliable webhost that will keep things running smoothly. All of my sites are through WordPress and hosted by Bluehost. Make sure your website is mobile responsiveOver 60% of web traffic is mobile, so if your website is not responsive you are missing out on most of your traffic. Keep branding consistent throughout the siteHave a nice logo and use consistent colors and fonts throughout the site. Your site will look more professional if it's consistent.Use a faviconA favicon is an icon that associated with your URL that makes your site look more legitimate. I like Favicon Generator. You just upload the image you want and they compress it to the right size.Make sure there is a photo of youPeople need to see your fave before they decide to work with you. As a solo you are your brand and your brand will look professional if website visitors know who you are. Make sure contact information is clearMake sure that the various ways to contact you is easy to find. If a website visitor can't quickly find your phone number or email, they will move on.
Write Great content There is no point in having a blog if you don't provide useful and unique content. If you want to make your brand look professional, it's important for your site to be a source of knowledge. Allow people to leave comments on your blogProfessional brands encourage comments and discussions. If you don't have comments enabled on your blog, it becomes a one way conversation and readers wont return. Be sure to respond to all comments.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
32. Use the same photo for all platforms This helps create brand recognition. As a solo it's better to use a photo than a logo since you are the brand.Prominently link to your website The primary aim of social media is to get people to your website to learn more about you. Make it easy for them by providing a link.Use cover images consistent with your brandFor example, these are my LinkedIn and Twitter cover images.
Indicate your city This makes your brand look professional and prevents confusion. I had to add nyc to my Instagram name because I kept getting contacted by people from other states.Keep your social media accounts activeNothing looks less professional than a Facebook or Twitter account that hasn't had a new post in months. Use Buffer or HootSuite to schedule posts so your accounts are always updated.
EMAIL:
Use a domain-based email addressNothing looks less professional than an @yahoo.com or @gmail.com email address for business. You can get email with your website domain.Have a professional email signatureHaving an email signature helps your brand look professional. I use wisestamp, but you can make a simple one on your own.Brand your Newsletters and mass emailsI love using MailChimp for this. It's easy to use and makes your brand look professional.