13 fresh ideas for growing an irresistible brand this year

It’s the start of a new year, and we’re all making to-do lists and setting our business goals for 2022. Double our sales; revamp our website; post to Instagram twice a week.

But is one of those goals Grow an irresistible brand this year?

If you want to #crush your new year business goals, it all starts with an aligned brand: one that is irresistible to your dream customers or clients.

If your brand needs to go from forgettable to unforgettable in the new year, this unique list of 13 fresh ideas is for you.

Why 13? Well, one for each month—plus a bonus for you overachievers out there!

So without further ado (after all, I’m sure time management is somewhere on your goals list like it is on mine)—

Let’s dive right into these 13 fresh ideas for growing an irresistible brand this year:

January: Simplify your offerings

Let’s make this the year of doing more by doing less.

This doesn’t mean slashing your services or products; this means becoming known for one idea.

Maybe you do niche by offering one specific type of product, or maybe you niche by an idea or approach. For example, at Author we niche by offering brand strategy and brand design for small- to medium-sized businesses, but brand storytelling and brand strategy is a philosophy that runs through our other services such as website design, brand photography, and more. We provide several branding-related services, but we offer brand storytelling in each of them.

February: Create an audience persona for your brand

In the coming months, brands are going to be expected to be even more tailored to their customers than they already are.

As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to grow by leaps and bounds, where Netflix greets us by name and suggests new shows tailored to our viewing history and your Function Of Beauty haircare products now have your name printed on the label, personalized brand experiences are going to become more and more irresistible.

And the first step to tailoring your brand experience to your ideal customers or clients is to get to know them.

But the best audience persona is not one based on demographics, but psychographics.

Go beyond Jane Doe’s age, education, and suburb; go beyond her favorite stores, favorite movies, favorite music. What drives her to seek your products or services? What keeps her up at night? What problems—internal or external—is she most frustrated by, and how can your brand help make her life easier?

We find individuals irresistible when they take time to get to know us, listen to us, and empathize with our concerns. Make sure your brand is just as irresistible by doing the same thing.

March: Add your brand promise to your Instagram bio

One of the biggest secrets of branding is that your customers don’t care what you do: they care about what you can do for them.

This year, add your brand promise—what your brand will do for your customers—to your social media bios to quickly let them know you’re the right brand for them.

Most of us use our Instagram and other social media bios as a place to sell, sell, sell: list our offerings, tell our customers about us, and how they can contact us.

But we rarely use our social media bio as a place to let them know why they should care about our brand.

What results can they expect from working with you or using your products? Take your bio from what you do, to why you do it for your audience.

April: Audit your marketing

With the start of a new quarter, it’s time to repeat January’s task of simplifying your brand by auditing the next big element of your brand: your marketing.

This month, take stock of what’s working well—and what isn’t—in your brand marketing.

Which platforms are clients finding you on? Which ones aren’t attracting anyone? Which platforms do you love marketing on the most, and which ones just feel like a drag?

Next, analyze your specific posts: which posts performed the best? Which ones didn’t do so well? What about those successful posts do you think was attractive to your audience?

Consistency is a key element of branding. Make sure you’re showing up regularly, consistently, and offering the same brand experience every time.

Auditing your marketing to find recurring themes and to identify obstacles or opportunities for growth is crucial information you’ll need to establish an aligned and authentic brand marketing strategy.

May: Invest in custom packaging

Brand experience is more important than ever before. Your brand is so much more than what you offer, it’s the experience you have to offer.

The quality of your branding—and subsequently, your brand packaging—reflects the quality of your offerings.

Think back to the last amazing experience you had unboxing something special. We’ve all received a gift or a product that came exquisitely packaged, with custom brand details left and right to stamp an indelible impression on your mind. So much so, that you’re recalling a specific brand packaging experience right now.

Even if you have to do it on a budget, make this the year your brand invests in custom packaging, whether for your products or for your client gifts.

June: Create a unique lead magnet

If you haven’t created one already, make this the year you begin offering a unique lead magnet to your clients and customers.

A lead magnet—a free, high-value offering given in exchange for an email address—is a great way to not just grow your email list, but also to establish brand trust and establish a positive brand experience at the same time.

July: Align your social media messaging with your brand messaging

In our oversaturated digital world, those “Hey, check out our latest product!” Instagram posts aren’t enough to cut it anymore. 

Social media marketing is about much more than posting things at random and hoping they stick. A strong brand marketing strategy will include your brand strategy—your brand messaging, brand positioning, brand values, and more.

Your brand messaging will inform your social media messaging.

This year, craft a social media strategy that’s built on your core brand pillars: what you want to say, to whom, and how. Take your brand story or brand message points and craft engaging content around those message points. Make sure that your content is offering something of value in a way that is aligned with your brand.

August: Find a brand cause to support

Nowadays, finding a brand cause to support is more important than ever to your customers or clients.

As our society becomes more attuned to social concerns—whether political or personal—our customers and clients will seek to align themselves with like-minded brands that seek to make a difference.

Avoid greenwashing or the like (because I promise your audience can smell inauthenticity from a mile away) and find a cause to support with your brand that’s near and dear to your own heart or that aligns well with your brand.

Let your audience know that you truly care to make a difference and that by supporting your brand, they’re also directly supporting causes they care about. Find a local charity, an international organization, or anything in between and brainstorm unique ways to give back, whether giving financially or giving time or other resources.

September: Craft a compelling brand tagline

Creating brand taglines for my clients’ brands is one of my favorite parts of the branding process. Finding a way to distill their brand promise into just a few memorable words has the power to transform a business into an irresistible brand.

A compelling brand tagline can transform your business into an irresistible brand.

The trick is to keep it short and simple, speaking not to your offerings, but what your offerings will do for your clients and customers.

If you’re not confident in your writing abilities, hire a copywriter (or a brand strategist!) to create one for you! Trust me, the result will be worth it.

October: Perform a brand audit

There’s no better way to wrap up the final quarter of the year with a brand audit that reviews the identity and experience your brand had to offer your customers this year.

Start by performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of your brand.

Where is your brand most strong? (Your messaging? Your design? Your customer service?)

Where is your brand most weak? (Your marketing? Your website experience?)

What opportunities for growth do you foresee? (Better packaging for a better brand experience? Train your employees for optimized client experience?)

What external threats in the market may present a challenge in the new year? (A society that’s increasingly seeking digital experiences? Supply chain backups?)

November: Write a brand manifesto

A brand manifesto is an internal document that expresses the “zeitgeist” of your brand: its heart and soul, poured out into words that move and inspire.

You don’t have to be a great writer to create your own brand manifesto (after all, it’s only meant for you to read). Start by expressing your heart, intention, goals, and plans for this brand.

Use “we seek to” / “we strive” / “we aspire” kind of language, always tying it back to the customer and what deeper meaning you strive to bring to them through your offerings.

December: Figure out your brand’s secret sauce

Finish up the year by finding your brand’s secret sauce: what makes your brand unique, different, and recognizable.

Your brand’s secret sauce will be a personality of sorts that echoes emotions, desires, fears, and motivations shared by your audience. 

The most successful brands are built around kernels of universal truth.

Brands that can accurately identify their “secret sauce” and build an identity and experience around that are more memorable, engaging, and relational with their audience, because they see and understand the role these brands play in their lives.

Bonus: Stop putting off that much-needed brand upgrade

If this entire list looks daunting—if you feel your current brand isn’t strong enough to even begin chipping away at this list—it’s probably time for a much-needed brand upgrade.

If it’s time to level up your brand in the new year, stop putting it off! Invest in your brand strategy and brand design. Branding is more important than ever before as customers increasingly seek relational, authentic, and personal brands.

Save this post or print it out to keep on hand as a guide for growing your irresistible brand in the new year!