The New Year Always Brings Change

It’s that time again – time to start reflecting on all the things you wish were different about yourself. HA! Kidding. Well, kind of kidding. We all kind of do that around the new year, right? We look at our lives, pick up a book like “Atomic Habits”, or resolve that we’re going to start going to the gym. And most of the time… it lasts about three weeks. Which is NOT long enough to change your habits, or long enough to change things long term. This is also something we do in our businesses though, it’s not just about US.

Our businesses also go through these kinds of phases in the new year, because we feel like it’s “time”. Now, I’m going through something that may or may not end up looking like a “New Year Brand Change” in the coming year, and when I was going through my reasoning, I thought it might actually be a good metric to share for people. That way, you have a starting point for whether or not it’s time for YOUR brand to change in the new year!

Is Your Brand Ready?

Thinking about whether your brand is ready to evolve means considering a bunch of different factors – and today, I’m going to walk through both the areas for you to think about, and my own thinking around how they contribute to my upcoming changes, to give you an example of what it might look like even if things are going super well in your business and it’s STILL evidence that it’s time for a bit of a shift!

1 – Are you attracting the right clients?

The first big question to think about when you’re considering a brand shift, is about your current clientele. Now, things are super weird at the moment, from an economical standpoint, so this question might be a tough one to answer fully. But you have to ask yourself – am I talking to the people I love working with? Is my brand bringing in customers who need what I do, or what I sell?

For me – the answer is yes. The families and businesses I work with are exactly who I want to be working with! You all are amazing. But that doesn’t necessarily mean my brand is perfect – there are tweaks I want to make because I know I can get even more aligned to the things you love, that will communicate parts of my process and the experience of working with me, even more clearly. So if you think about this question and the answer is “yes” – don’t just stop. Can you get even MORE clear in what your brand communicates? Can you take a step even further in the right direction?

2 – Do you love your content?

I’m going to share a hot take – are you ready? When it comes to your branding, you don’t actually HAVE to love your content. It doesn’t have to be 100% you, because… well, in a lot of senses, it’s not actually ABOUT you. It’s about your people. Your clients. Your customers.

But loving your content definitely HELPS, no matter what your business is. If you’re a small business owner, and you’re wearing a lot of hats, then you might be the person who’s managing your social media and website yourself. And working on those things if you DON’T love the content, can be a massive struggle. You’ll find yourself being less consistent, less engaged with your own content – and that can be a huge problem for growth. Consistency isn’t optional in business promotion, so anything that can help you be consistent is a huge win.

As for me… I do love my content. I have a team who helps me make that content happen, so it’s not all on me – but tweaking my brand in the new year isn’t just about how much I love my branding now. It’s about the fact that I could love it even more! So this is another question that isn’t just a “yes or no”. It’s a sliding scale. Could you love your content even more? And combining this with the last one – could you love it even more, WHILE getting even more clear on what will bring in your ideal clients?

3 – Is Your Brand Growing?

The question of whether your brand is growing is a difficult one, especially when we’re in economic circumstances that are… complex. So if I’m completely honest? Growth might not even be the best metric for you right now, and I think (especially if you’re a small business owner) maybe take this question with a grain of salt.

But… still think about it! And while you’re thinking about it, be practical about what other things are impacting your situation beyond just your branding, because right now there are other kinds of limiting factors that AREN’T your branding in that equation.

For me, thankfully, things are still growing despite the economy weirdness. And I owe a lot of that to being established, having processes in place to make sure I’m consistent, and having a really clear idea of who I want to work with. But like with the other two questions, I think now that I know even more about my clients, and myself, and the way that I work – I can bring in even MORE of the right people and prompt MORE growth with a little evolution of my existing content. So this is another question that I answer with a “yes” – but it’s not a true “yes”, it’s more of a “yes, and”.

4 – Have things Changed in Your Business?

The last question to ask yourself before you commit to a brand change for your business in the new year, is whether your business itself has changed. In the recent past, have you changed who you work with? Have you been pivoting to keep up with your industry? Making changes to adjust for the economical changes?

Are you offering more services than before? Have you honed in your product suite? If any of these things have changed within your small business, it might mean that you need to tweak your brand to line up more clearly with your service or product suite.

So what did this question look like for me? Well, if you know me, you know I’m constantly adding and removing things from my service and product suites – I mean, I’m always moving, adjusting, and making sure that I’m offering things that are relevant and helpful for both families and businesses. Now, what I’ve changed isn’t necessarily a big break from what I did before – I mean, it’s all photography, videography, social support, and printed art. So overarchingly, it’s still the same kind of things I’ve always done. Just… slightly different approaches to them.

That means for me, this question didn’t play into my decision to make brand changes nearly as much as it could have. But for you, it might be a big deal! So consider how things have changed since your last round of branding. Does your brand need to shift to accommodate those changes?

If Your brand needs a refresh… We should talk!

I know most of this has been about branding, and not strictly about photos. But you know what’s a huge part of the visual aspects of your branding? The photos you use to promote. So… if it’s time for you to tweak your messaging, your brand overall, or you just want to shake things up a little in the new year, it might be time to schedule some branding or headshot photography for your business promotion purposes.

And if it IS that time, then… we should talk! Just reach out, because I would love to talk to you about how we can create a package that gets your photos in line with any branding shifts you plan to make in the new year. Things are rough right now – I won’t lie. But being adaptable will help ensure the longevity of your business! And part of that adaptability, is pivoting your brand when you need to.

Bonus: Take a look at just a few results that my AMAZING team of collaborators and me have gotten for our social media management clients!