Strong branding is often at the core of a successful business but how does branding affect freelancers? When it's the individual who is the face of the service, should one use one's own name or develop a company brand name?
To answer this question, it's important to understand why branding is important in the first place. Not only does relatable branding attract new clients to your freelance business but it also provides a potential sales with a clear understanding of your services. Everything from your choice of font and colour to your homepage slogan will reflect on your service, professionalism and quality.
Now to the question of branding for freelancers. The general rule of thumb is that it's more advantageous to use one's own name if you plan on remaining a one person band. Your name, personality and image will often form a major part of your branding. Should you decide to use your own name as your brand there are a few areas to consider.
ABOUT ME / BIO
We recommend having an About Me or Bio section on your website that tells your story. Some good questions to answer to help form your About Me are:
- Why did you start freelancing (your story and motivation)?
- What experience do you have?
- What are you passions and aims for your business?
- What make you different from the rest?
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media bios are generally short but should include your USPs and link to your site. The image you use for your social media platform is generally going to be a picture of you or your logo.
Should you use a photo of yourself, make sure that the image is clear, professional and represents who you are and what your service is about. A profile image is often the first thing a client sees and can often determine whether they click on your link or not. Social Media profiles with no profile image receive far less engagement so take advantage of this opportunity.
Choosing to use a logo instead of a photo is perfectly fine and will offer the viewer something different. A (well designed) logo will show professionalism and a level of competency. Your profile should stick with the colour scheme, font and tone throughout. In Twitter for example you can choose which colour to design your profile with. When uploading images or text, consider the fonts that you've chosen to use on your site.
BRAND MESSAGE
Branding is more than just a pretty logo and your message is as important to offer a clear picture to your audience. Open up your website in a new tab, look at it with fresh eyes and ask yourself if the branding, text and imagery on the homepage truly reflects what it is you offer. You should be able to write your brand statement in a Tweet ie: under 140 characters. An easy to read, clear and concise brand message is always going to make it easier for your audience to say 'yes'.