Fellow creative, today I am sharing some simple, yet powerful, brand strategy trends that I have seen leading up to the 2023 season. With one month of this year already under our belts, so many of us are focused on making this year one filled with intention, conversion, and connection. And in order to do that, it’s important that we have an honest conversation about the direction that our industry is trending and especially in spaces like brand strategy.

These are the ones that I’m predicting will continue to have a massive impact in your brand’s ability to inspire connection with your ideal clients, build that sense of trust, and as a result, book clients that are excited to work with you! So if you have been longing to work with high end clients and you’re wondering what they want to see from you in this new year, keep on reading! 

3 Brand Strategy Trends For 2023

Before we dive into this conversation, as with all trends, I want to encourage you to experiment with what resonates and leave what doesn’t for another time. Trends give us an opportunity to assess what kinds of actions are resonating with people in an ever-changing marketplace.

As consumers, our behavior is constantly evolving, and so as we engage with the brands around us, it’s important that we feel that we are getting what we need and what we want from the people that we’re working with. And as a creative, I know that you are passionate about the kinds of experiences you’re able to design for the incredible clients that you serve. These brand strategy trends are designed to give you ideas to play with and to test out this year. These are not meant to be the “gospel truth” of what to do and how to do it. This is simply a roundup of patterns that I have seen over and over again that I’m confident will be really showing up in the brand strategy space in the coming weeks and months. 

Value-Based Brands

Now, this is nothing new since really the dawn of capitalism. People have felt a draw to working with brands and businesses that align with their shared values. But in this pandemic-weary world that we live in, we’ve seen a huge amount of powerful systems begin to crumble. We’re seeing that consumers are wanting more from the businesses that they work with.

This can look like choosing to hire brands that have sustainability at their very core. This can look like working with businesses that openly champion equality and equity for BIPOC individuals or LGBTQ+ individuals. It’s important that if you have a value that lights you up and draws you to the work that you do, that you share that with your potential clients. The values that lie at the core of your brand absolutely have a place not only in your brand strategy, but in your visual design, messaging, and your marketing. 

When I work with my custom branding clients, we dive deep into their unique values because I understand the potent ability that our values have to connect us with the people who need our work the most. And it’s through those shared values that we’re able to not only connect with like-minded individuals, but we’re able to feel a sense of accomplishment in the work that we’re doing together. 

Human Connection

Like I mentioned earlier, in this pandemic-weary world that we are living in, human connection has been something that many of us have felt missing from our lives in recent years. We are taking action to get back into our pre-pandemic flows where we are attending workshops, in-person events, and traveling more and more. And we are now wanting a similar kind of approach with the brands that we work with. Now, I’m not saying that if you’re an online business, you need to completely shift your business model and open up a storefront. What I am saying is it’s time to get creative in the ways that you are creating opportunities for human connection through your online presence. 

A simple example? Showing up on video. Now, as an introvert, I understand that for my fellow introverts out there, this might not be your favorite thing to do, and I’m certainly not going to pressure you into any action that doesn’t feel comfortable to you. But instead of looking at video as something that needs to be perfect or as something that needs to be professionally shot and edited, I would encourage you to look at how video can be a content form that enables you to connect with people and make them feel connected to you without ever leaving the comfort of your home or your office space. 

And video, as we’ve seen in recent years, isn’t going anywhere. There are plenty of thoughtful yet strategic ways that you can utilize video as a part of your content marketing strategy and your brand as a whole, in order to connect with people. In fact, we talked about this very topic on the Brand Strategy Podcast recently!

Human connection can obviously show up in so many different ways. One area where I would recommend looking into is examining the client experience touchpoints that you have in place. If human connection is a value that you’re wanting to weave throughout your systems and workflows or client onboarding and offboarding processes, then that’s a great place to begin. The way that you talk to people, the way that you make them feel, the expectations that you set for yourself and for them, and the way that you communicate those expectations make a massive difference in your ideal client’s ability to feel seen, heard, and valued by you. And as consumers, isn’t that what we all want to feel?

Standing Out Authentically

Now, if you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, you know that I still love the word “authentic”, even though people have been using it to death. I believe it’s time that we reclaim the incredible meaning behind this word and leverage it through the brands that we are building and elevating in this new year. 

With that being said, your clients and online audience are tired of the same old copy, the same old marketing tactics, and they can smell something that looks and sounds disingenuous from a mile away. It’s that genuine quality that people are attracted to. So it’s important to ditch the cookie cutter copy for intentional honest words that look and feel and sound like you. 

For example, we’re not talking about how much we love our lattes in our Instagram bios anymore. Instead, we’re focusing on sharing who we are, who we serve in the transformation that our work provides. We’re getting straight to the point and some of those quirky aspects that showed up in the 2012 online business space we are keeping under wraps.

Now, you absolutely have the space to show up and show out. It’s about giving your clients a little glimpse at not only what you value, but who you are. And so if there are those unique aspects to who you are as the face of your business that you feel comfortable sharing it, now is the opportunity to experiment with incorporating that into your conversations with potential clients into your website copy, social media content, and just see what kind of change it makes.

When I first started my business, I was so focused on getting clients and I felt like I needed to fit into this hyper professional mold of what I had seen successful business people model in the past. So back in 2012, you might not see me talking about my two rambunctious golden retrievers all the time. In 2023, you can bet that I’m talking about those sweet furry monsters that I share my studio space with!

And guess what?! You would not believe the number of clients that reach out to me and end up booking me! We can bond over the fact that we are dog lovers, that we both love golden retrievers, or that maybe they grew up with a golden retriever as their family pet. The list goes on and on and on. So something as seemingly simple as just talking about my sweet pups creates so much opportunity for real life human connection, and it helps me to kind of break out of routine elevator pitch that people so often stick to. 

Intentional And Genuine Brand Strategy Trends 

So with all of that being said, if you’re looking at these three brand strategy trends that I believe will not only have a place in the online business space in 2023, but well into the future. You’re going to notice that at its core, it’s all about being a genuine, compassionate, and kind human who is living out their values within their brand and who’s treating people in a way that feels aligned with those values. That is what your ideal clients are looking for from you! 

They want to connect with you because you’re the expert that you are, and they can’t wait to be guided through your high-touch signature process, but you are not a machine. And they’re not a machine. They want to know that they’re working with real humans, especially as we see more automation and more AI technology continue to grow within the online space as a whole. 

I hope that this gives you plenty to explore as you take this season as an opportunity to infuse more heart and more intention into your brand. And if I can support you on that journey, all you have to do is reach out. I’m currently accepting new custom branding clients for this season, and I would love to hop on a complimentary call with you to learn more about your business, your goals, and how we can work together to position your brand as the high-end experience that it is. Click here to learn more about working together and book your complimentary call!

GET IN TOUCH TO TAKE YOUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

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