We’re jumping into example brand values and how to implement them in your messaging when you are creating content and putting things on social media so that you can successfully and cohesively run your business.
IE 320: Example Brand Values & How to Implement Them in Your Messaging
Be sure to check out the previous episodes of this series, episodes 318, 316, 314 and 312.
This series follows along with my book, Influencer Entreprenenurs: The 4 Step Framework for Building Your Audience, Growing Your Business and Making Money Online.
Also, make sure that you grab the free coordinating workbook.
So far in the series we’ve talked about everything that has happened to you up until this point in your life has actually made you who you are.
That means that the good and the bad have formed your opinions and you continue to make decisions today based on those past experiences.
Example Brand Values
Now, some of you are probably parents and some of you have probably dealt with bullying, whether it’s with your own kids, whether it was yourself growing up.
I recently dealt with some bullying issues with my oldest, who is a seventh grader.
Last year as a sixth grader, we dealt with some crazy bullying that happened on social media, and it really opened my eyes to what we can think about and how we can apply what we learned from that.
When I was a fourth grader I was an easy target with pink, thick rimmed glasses and braces.
I was bullied by the boys in my grade up until about ninth grade while the rest of the girls in my grade developed, I stayed stick skinny or as flat as a board, as the boys liked to say.
In ninth grade the bullying stopped though.
I know you’re probably thinking I finally developed, but if you’ve met me in person you know that’s not true.
That’s when the boys finally realized that I didn’t care.
I was too involved with playing field hockey, basketball, and soccer.
I made all of the varsity teams as a freshman, even starting over some of the seniors.
Instead of being incessantly teased by the boys in my grade, now I was threatened in the halls by seniors on my team because I was taking their playing time.
That stopped soon too though, because they actually got to know me and realized I didn’t do anything on purpose.
I just love to play and compete.
Some of you are probably thinking that my bullying was mild compared to what you endured or witnessed others go through.
I am so sorry for the pain that you went through.
Now stick with me here, and don’t throw this book across the room.
That pain actually needed to happen to make who you are.
You are stronger because of it, and it’s more likely that you are an advocate for young girls enduring bullying.
You believe in taking a strong stance against it because of what you endured.
How to Implement Brand Values in Your Messaging
Now here’s how this relates to authenticity.
I want you to talk about it.
If it is in line with your brand, your beliefs, whether they are about bullying or eating vegan for the sake of animals, people are going to relate to those stories and beliefs.
They’re going to feel connected to you.
They’ll make you human to your audience.
If you only choose to show the perfect, you’re not giving your audience a chance to truly know you.
About three years ago we had a horrific event happen with our dog Charlie.
He ate over 80 Advil while we were out celebrating my friend’s 40th birthday.
At that time, I questioned whether I should share it on social media.
I thought, was it in line with my brand?
Would my audience think I was irresponsible?
It definitely was on brand for me because part of my morning routine is always something with Charlie, and I was missing him terribly during that time because he did have to spend a handful of days in the emergency vet.
My audience knew this and responded and rallied around me.
So many members of my audience sent me messages and shared stories on how they too went through a similar situation.
Being authentic created that connection with my audience.
Now, before you go jumping on Instagram stories and telling everyone your deepest, darkest secrets, think about how you can share your belief and connect it to your brand.
I don’t talk about my bullying because I know it was mild compared to others, and it has nothing to do with me helping female entrepreneurs grow their business.
But if at some point in the future, I pray that this never happens, but if my daughters were to endure cyber bullying, it’s likely that I would talk about it because you, as my audience, need to help protect our female entrepreneurs of tomorrow from the very technology that many of us use to grow our outreach and businesses.
I will absolutely not get on the second it happens.
I will get on with a very clear messaging about what you can do to help.
There will be a lesson learned from it.
I’ve watched grown women get on Instagram stories and make a mockery of their own children or their husband.
Recently, a local teacher went on Instagram stories to share how she was frustrated with teaching.
The problem is, she did it with the child she was frustrated with in the background.
She belittled the child and then publicly shared it.
We can share our stories with others to relate to it, but please think before you do it.
Don’t ever share something when you are raw with emotion.
Thinking about how it can be a lesson for your audience rather than a life altering 15 seconds that could change the course of your life like it did for that teacher who actually ended up getting fired.
Let me give you an example of how that teacher actually could have handled it, so you better understand what I mean.
Let’s believe that the teacher also has a website where she sells her lesson plans.
So she has an audience of teachers that most likely are also frustrated from time to time with the behavior of their students, or even better yet, are frustrated with administration because they feel like their hands are tied when it comes to helping their students because of their lack of resources.
In the video the young teacher was in her classroom, her school ID on, and the child was in the background.
First thing, we’re going to make sure that there are no children that are not ours ever in a video we post.
Second, we’re going to make sure that we’re not showing anything that shows what district we work for or where we live.
Third, we’re going to make sure that it’s not during school hours because you’re supposed to be working.
Okay now, instead of whining about how a child misbehaved and ruined our day, we’re going to share what happened, but then explain why we believe it happened and how we can relate it to a product that we offer.
Or you could even share what happened and ask your audience if they’ve ever dealt with it and how they actually overcame it.
Get advice from them, even if you think you can come up with your own.
In order to be authentic, we need to share more than just surface level information with people. If we share what we believe in, we give people a look into who we truly are.
We’re providing them with an opportunity to connect with us because it is likely that they have a similar belief or know someone that does.
After the incident with the local teacher, my husband and I were talking about it at dinner and he was flabbergasted at her life altering decision.
What we couldn’t get past is how she didn’t realize that what she was doing was wrong, and she absolutely would get called out for doing it, or in this case, fired.
Importance of Brand Identity on Social Media
Social media is a dangerous tool if not used properly, so think before you use it.
If you’re sharing something that you wouldn’t want your mom or grandmother to see, then for heaven sakes, please don’t share it.
And we need to teach our kids this.
Our kids need to understand that they can’t say things that are inappropriate, even if they are lip syncing a word from a song that is being used over and over and over again, and it’s trending on TikTok.
You can’t say certain words and we should know that and we have to teach our kids this.
You have to be very clear that whatever they put out on social media, can come back.
I don’t care if it’s on Snapchat, those snaps can easily get saved by someone else and then be altered or used against them.
So please make sure that if you are sharing things or your kids are sharing things that you are making sure that it is part of your brand for your business.
And if it’s your kids sharing things make them understand the importance of their personal brand.
Would they sing that song in front of their grandmother with that type of language or those words used?
They have to start thinking this way because it is life altering when it comes to social media.
And it is something that kids can lose scholarships over.
Both academic and athletic!
There was a New York Yankee that lost his Yankee pitching contract because of something that he put on social media 10 years prior to getting his contract.
These things don’t go away, and our kids need to understand that.
Even as kids, they should have their own values and that is part of who they are as a brand.
If you have kids that are potentially going to be college athletes, they are a brand and you have to be thinking about that.
They need to be represented that way, not only for athletics, but also for college acceptance.
If we think that their colleges are not checking kids’ social media profiles then we are delusional.
Parents are checking kids’ social media profiles before they even let them hang out with other kids.
We need to be making sure our kids understand that social media is a way in which they can express who they are and they want to keep it at a level that if a college administrator was looking at that, it’s not going to potentially not allow them into that college because of something they posted.
I have a tendency to try to apply the principles I teach not only to your business, but also to a lot of your lives.
Many of you listening may have children of your own and you’re trying to navigate social media and it’s hard to navigate, especially as they get older and they see you on it.
How can you tell them to stay off of it, when all they see is you on it all day long?
I am here to tell you that you absolutely can!
You may be hated, as my now teenage daughter often will say she hates me sometimes because she’s not allowed to have social media, but I’m okay with that.
I am not going to allow a 13 year old to make decisions about what she posts that can affect her future when her brain is not fully formed.
Now, that is up to you to be able to decide for yourself what you want to do, but going back to this whole idea of this episode, brand values, that is what they should be sharing and showing because they themselves need to look at themselves as that brand.
Action Steps:
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