This is definitely in the top 3 of the most common questions I get from people just like you who are building their personal brands.
Question
Should my business brand be about me or about my client avatar?
Answer
When people ask this question, what they’re really asking is: How much of “ME” should I infuse into my brand?
And here’s what I say. Your brand should be about you AND your ideal client avatar. How much of “YOU” you choose to infuse into your brand is up to YOU.
Your brand needs to strike a balance between two things:
- It should accurately reflect your personal energy
- It should be engineered to attract your ideal client
Even though your visual identity should primarily be crafted to attract your dream client, you also want to make sure that the energy of your brand matches your personal energy.
If your visual identity is moody and calming with dark colors and monochrome shades, your ideal client is going to be expecting to work with someone who is calm, quiet, and even-tempered.
So when you hop onto your first Zoom call with them and greet them with a big warm hello and splash your big, bold, colorful personality in their face, your client will be taken back by it.
There’s a quote by Jeff Bezos that says, “Your reputation is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” I say:
Your brand is how people experience you before you walk into the room.
Just like a movie trailer, your visual identity is supposed to be a preview of your personal energy. Your visual identity is how your prospects experience you online, before they meet you in real life.
There should be a seamless transition between the two and any misalignment between your personal energy and your brand’s energy will confuse them.
So you might be thinking, “Okay Nadine, that’s all fine and great but how does that translate into actionable things I can do today?”
Here’s my rule:
- Choose your brand colors based on your ideal client avatar.
- Choose the shades of your brand colors based on your personal energy.
(Recommended Reading: The Right Way to Choose Colors for Your Personal Brand)
Examples Based on Your Brand Season
Let’s say you want your brand to exude intelligence and confidence and attract an audience that values trust, expertise and loyalty.
A perfect color to help you embody all those things in the eyes of your audience is the color BLUE. But the exact shade of blue you use should be different based on your brand season.
(Not sure what brand season you are? Take our 5-minute quiz.)
If You’re a Fall Brand
Use warm shades of blue that will match your personal warmth and passionate nature. You may choose to combine that blue with other warm colors to support your Fall brand energy.
If You’re a Winter Brand
Use cooler tones of blue that feel more grounded and calming. You may choose to combine that deep navy blue with some brighter colors to create a more dynamic, high-contrast look.
If You’re a Spring Brand
Use bright shades of blue that will make your visual identity burst with energy and enthusiasm to match your lively personality. You may choose to combine that blue with softer pastels.
If You’re a Summer Brand
Use faded, delicate shades of blue that will give your brand a sense of grace and harmony. You can pair your shades of blue with another muted neutral brown for a more grounded look and feel.
That’s how you can combine elements from your ideal client avatar and your personality to engineer one cohesive, super-aligned brand identity that matches your personal vibe and attracts your dream tribe. (Love me a good rhyme.)
