Building Your Brand as a Creative
There’s that word, brand. Can an artist even be a brand? There have been good arguments in favor of this idea, and even some artists and writers such as Chuck Wendig, that don’t agree. However, we do feel there are some positives to thinking more like a brand.
Many designers, especially those in apparel, know how to think like a brand. Although creatives of all types can benefit as well. The following topics will give you some new ways to consider yourself as a brand. An artsy brand that spreads creativity, and doesn’t have meetings. Ah, that sounds dreamy.
Presence & Visibility
Successful brands have a solid and widespread presence. They’re easy to find, and easy to connect with. Your art may be filled with complex imagery and emotion, but it should always be accessible.
Dinomike is a great example of an artist that has a solid presence and is easy to find.
With this in mind:
- Make sure your name is consistent on everything you do, and every social media profile you have.
- Link your accounts to each other so that your work is visible and easily traced back to you.
- Consider having your own website. Social media is great, but it’s not the best for archiving work.
Promotion & Social Media
Thinking like a brand gives you the ability to filter what you post, and share only the the things that will positively affect your marketing efforts. Ideally everything you share on social media should contribute to your overall story as an artist. Not only will fans understand you better, it helps a great deal when developing content to share.
Medusadollmaker is a great example of an artist with a solid and engaging social media presence, and a promotional strategy that fits seamlessly with the rest of her posts.
With this in mind:
- Keep your posts consistent and high quality. It’s your brand, have fun but be critical as well.
- Craft your content in a way that encourages fans to engage with you. The best brands have a vibrant community associated with them, and for artists this is a major benefit.
Style & Re-Branding
What happens if you decide to change your style at some point? Variety is nice, and getting stuck in a rut is a bummer. No matter how you see yourself, brand or not, engaged and lifelong fans will notice style changes. In that regard, they do look at you—to a certain degree—as a brand. Thinking like a brand can help you decide how to make changes, and prepare you for the way your fanbase might react.
Nicebleed is a prime example of an artist with a diverse style that still very much represents his brand.
With this in mind:
- The best brands are honest, transparent, and follow their hearts.
- If you do want make a drastic change in style, consider using an alias. This way you can avoid any potential confusion with fans, and it allows you that variety and freedom.
- Be aware of your style and how to direct it. Great brands have a mission, but are still flexible when needed.
Conclusion
There have many successful artists that integrated branding elements into their process, and the results are clear once you look. While it’s still very possible to become successful and never think of any of this, it’s a good idea to think of branding like a tool, or paintbrush. You can easily paint without one, but it sure makes it easier when you have one around. Create your brand like an artist, not the other way around.
Learn some more branding tips from Redbubble Artists
(Header Image: The Optimist by Laura Graves)
