June 3, 2025 • 33 mins
Today’s episode is all about something that goes deeper than logos and colors—it’s about the soul of your brand.
I’m joined by Laura Nicole Brown, founder of Inspiratti, a branding agency that helps businesses create meaningful brand identities and standout websites that feel true to who they are.
Laura has worked across the globe crafting marketing strategies in everything from petrochemicals to cardiology. With a Master’s in International Marketing and years of experience behind her, Laura brings a strategic yet soulful approach to branding that really stood out to me.
Whether you’re building your business from scratch or giving your brand a much-needed refresh, this episode is packed with insights that will help you show up more confidently and consistently online.
Connect with Laura Nicole Brown
Laura Nicole Brown is founder of Inspiratti, an innovative branding agency that helps organizations discover their 'soul' so they can create a meaningful brand identity and a distinctive website that sets them apart. Laura has lived and worked in Slovakia, Singapore, Argentina and London devising global marketing strategies across a range of industries, including supply chain, petrochemicals and cardiology. Leveraging her Masters degree in International Marketing and global marketing roles, Laura is passionate about helping organizations create soulful brands, websites and other digital assets that are backed up with intention and strategy.
Instagram: @inspirattistudios
LinkedIn: Laura Nicole Brown
Website: https://www.inspiratti.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Today's episode is about something that goes
deeper than logos and colors.
It's about the soul of yourbrand.
I'm joined by Laura NicoleBrown, founder of Inspirati, a
branding agency that helpsbusinesses create meaningful
brand identities and stand outwebsites that feel true to who
they are.
Laura has worked around theglobe crafting marketing
strategies and everything frompetrochemicals to cardiology.
(00:22):
With a master's ininternational marketing and
years of experience behind her,Laura brings a strategic yet
soulful approach to branding.
That really stood out to me,and we had a great conversation.
In our conversation, we coveredwhy branding matters more than
ever, the difference betweenbranding and marketing and why
that matters.
What to focus on when you'rejust starting out, why picking
your right brand color actuallyimpacts how people perceive you.
And her top advice when itcomes to focus on when you're
(00:43):
just starting out.
Why picking your right brandcolor actually impacts how
people perceive you.
And her top advice when itcomes to brand on your website.
Whether you're building yourbusiness from scratch or
building a much-needed refresh,this episode is packed with
insights that will help you showup more confidently and
consistently online.
Welcome to the eCommerce MadeEasy podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
(01:04):
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine-month-old.
My main goal To help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry,
and even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech into easily understandable
bits to help others besuccessful in their online
business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
(01:25):
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we have a special guestwith us, and her name is Laura
Nicole Brown.
She is a branding expert andagency that helps organizations
discover their soul so they cancreate a meaningful brand
(01:45):
identity and a distinctivewebsite that really sets them
apart.
So welcome to the show today.
Laura Nicole Brown (01:52):
Laura.
Yeah, great to be here, Kari.
Thank you for inviting me.
Carrie Saunders (01:56):
You're welcome.
So tell us a little bit more.
I mean, I just gave a littlebrief summary of who you are,
but tell us a little bit moreabout who Laura is of who you
are, but tell us a little bitmore about who Laura is.
Laura Nicole Brown (02:07):
Yeah, so basically I've got a branding
agency called Inspirati and it'sall about helping organizations
discover the soul of theirbrand so they can create really
meaningful brand identity thatreally sets them apart and it
kind of comes from my background.
So basically I studiedinternational marketing at
university and that kind of ledme to have a marketing career in
(02:31):
marketing, initially in thecorporate world, so I was
working in specificallypublishing.
But I've worked in alldifferent countries in Slovakia,
Singapore, Argentina, Londonand basically I was advising
global marketing strategies in awhole range of different
industries, generally quitetechnical industries, so things
like supply chains, cardiology,petrochemicals, but basically
(02:54):
that's kind of my background isreally working in the marketing
space, in the global marketingspace and helping create
marketing strategies.
But ultimately I kind of got tothe point where I wasn't really
excited about what I was doinganymore and I wanted to have
more control over you know thework I did and I wanted to feel
(03:16):
more inspired by what I wasdoing.
So I set up my own company,which is, as I've mentioned,
Inspirati, and yeah, that's whatI'm doing now.
So yeah, I love that I'vementioned Inspirati, and yeah,
that's what I'm doing now, so soyeah.
Carrie Saunders (03:27):
I love that.
I love that you followed yourheart.
You know you got the experienceyou needed under your belt, but
then you gave yourselfpermission of this.
This isn't singing to meanymore.
You know it isn't singing to myheart.
It isn't making me happy.
So you decided to start yourown business to help other
businesses with their brandingand their marketing yeah, yeah,
I think it's.
Laura Nicole Brown (03:47):
I think it's like one of those things.
It's so um, it's not easy tomove away when you've been in a
corporate career with you know acomfy um salary and benefits
and things, but I think itultimately it does great at you
for so long and you can't um,you can't keep up, you can't
keep doing and you need you.
Carrie Saunders (04:05):
It pushes you too much and you're like I just
need to try this and see, see ifit can work yeah, I think many
of us have that, that bug, thatbug that we need to, like, be
our own boss and, and you know,make a better, bigger difference
in the world.
So, speaking of biggerdifferences and I I know this, I
know branding matters a lot,but I want to hear from you,
(04:26):
like why does branding matter?
What, in your words, like, whatis the big deal about making
sure that your branding is onpoint?
Laura Nicole Brown (04:35):
Yeah, so this is.
There are many different things, to be honest with you.
There are many different thingsto think about here.
I'm going to kind of set itdown to a few different, um, a
few different points here,really just to kind of summarize
.
So the first thing is having,you know, a solid branding
really helps set the right tonefor your business.
So having this right, like youknow tone, right mood for your
(05:00):
business really helps you reachthe ideal client, because you're
going to attract the kind ofpeople that resonate with that
kind of mood and that kind oftone.
Secondly, having consistentrepresentation improves
recognition.
So branding helps you beconsistent and that really
improves your recognition andthis really helps you become
(05:20):
more memorable, which obviouslywho doesn't want to be memorable
, who doesn't want to stand out?
In today's world?
We're just seeing so manyadverts and so many you know, so
much marketing.
And the final thing I'll mentionis that branding helps you
build authenticity andcredibility.
So this is so important today.
Everyone we always hear youknow this low, no like and trust
(05:41):
.
People want to get to know andpeople behind the business, they
want to get to know the brand,what is the purpose behind it
and all these sorts of thingsand that's so important.
Today.
People really want to feel thatthey're dealing with businesses
that are authentic, that arecredible, and ultimately, this
is important because it helpsbuild trust, and we all know
that trust is absolutely crucialfor sales.
So, ultimately, I kind ofsummarise these three things
(06:05):
Ultimately, they help you getcustomers.
You know and it's not as simpleas you know if you do like a
marketing campaign, you get somecustomers.
It is a long term strategy, soobviously you need to do this
over the long term to get thebenefits from it, but ultimately
, it's so important to you know,building your audience, getting
(06:27):
customers.
Carrie Saunders (06:28):
you know these elements of branding, so so yeah
, I think that makes a lot ofsense and we talk a lot about
customer trust on the podcast,so that really just brings
another angle, another way tofurther enhance that customer
trust.
I love how you explained itlike that, because it really is
true If we have a consistentbranding and we have all that
(06:49):
behind our marketing efforts too, then that really helps us be
recognized and trusted.
And speaking of marketing, Iknow a lot of people get
confused between the two words,what the difference is between
branding versus marketing.
So can you explain a little bitmore about the difference
between branding and marketing?
Laura Nicole Brown (07:08):
Yeah, so yeah, absolutely Right.
A lot of people do get confusedwith these two terms.
I think it's understandable,because there's a lot of
interconnections between them,there's a lot of similarities
and, you know, I think peoplejust don't never really
understand really what each onemeans properly.
But I will briefly outline this.
So, basically, marketing is allabout, you know, promoting a
(07:28):
product or service.
You know, marketing campaignsto promote product or service,
whereas branding is really aboutshaping your brand, shaping who
you are, the kind of image youwant to put out there and the
kind of perception that peoplehave of you.
So it's actually quitedifferent and you need different
(07:49):
strategies for both of them andyou'd have different goals and
different results from both ofthem.
So they're not.
They are actually quitedistinct, and some of the ways
I'll kind of like summarize afew of the ways that kind of
make them different.
So, for example, when we thinkabout marketing, it's about
getting people's attention andyou know we, you know, want to
(08:11):
get people's attention with avideo on social media.
That's the kind of thing we'redoing, whereas branding is more
about keeping people's attention, maintaining their attention,
maintaining their interest.
So they, so they're loyal, andso they, you know drives loyalty
.
So, related to that, you knowmarketing is about driving sales
.
So you have a marketingcampaign, you get some sales off
the back of it, whereasbranding is more about this
(08:33):
long-term, as I mentionedearlier, this long-term
perception of drivingrecognition, driving loyalty
over the long term, not animmediate let's just get some
sales.
And and the other thing that alot of people, um, you know,
don't actually consider and I dosee a lot of people make this
mistake is, you know, brandingalways comes first, marketing
(08:57):
comes afterwards and you knowbranding is really essential
foundation to marketing.
And the other thing is marketingis like this very short-term
kind of element.
You know you do a marketingcampaign, it's a short-term
thing, whereas branding is moreof a.
You set it and it's more, it'snot permanent.
(09:20):
Obviously you can adjust it,but you don't want to be
changing your market, yourbranding every, you know, every
month.
You need to have an element ofconsistency around it, whereas
marketing, you know you createdifferent marketing.
You need to have an element ofconsistency around it.
Whereas marketing, you know youcreate different marketing
campaigns all the time andthat's probably a good thing.
But branding is more.
The value lies in the beingconsistent and you know
continuing to put that, you knowsame image out there so people
(09:45):
can build trust with you.
Carrie Saunders (09:47):
That actually makes a lot of sense and I was
going to actually ask you as youwere talking.
One of the questions I wouldthought of was you know, so
branding is more like thefoundation to your marketing?
Then would you say that wouldbe pretty accurate way to say it
, because I feel like youtouched on that at the end of
your answer but you need thebranding first to do marketing
effectively.
Laura Nicole Brown (10:08):
Basically, yeah, exactly, exactly.
So I absolutely agree.
That's a really good point.
Um, branding, I do feel thatbranding it sets the foundation
for all the marketing that youdo.
So if you, you know, don't havebranding, it's very difficult
to do a good marketing.
And because you've not reallygot clarity on what, who is the
(10:29):
brand, who, what are you puttingout there when we're sharing
stuff and on social media or onyour website or whatever mediums
you're using, what kind ofimage are you trying to present?
Who are you trying to connectwith?
And those are all things thathaving a solid brand really
gives you clarity on those kindof things.
So I do think it is reallyreally important, um, you know,
to really have that solid, solidbranding foundation.
I think it is really reallyimportant, you know, to really
(10:51):
have that solid, solid brandingfoundation.
I think it sets the foundationfor everything you do really in
your, in your marketing.
Carrie Saunders (10:58):
Like I said, so then and this is kind of a
question I've gotten my mind asfar as like for our business.
We've been around over 22 yearsand when we started the
business there wasn't much talkabout branding and you really
didn't need to market muchbecause this is early 2000s.
And so one thing I know Istruggle with, and I'm not sure
any of the other listenersstruggle with, is we've been
(11:20):
around for a very long time andwe have had more of a team type
of a business where I was only asolopreneur for maybe a year or
two.
I was very quickly before Istarted hiring people, and so I
get that I hesitate and I don'tknow if others hesitate on
(11:42):
putting my personality into mybrand, would you say putting a
personality into a brand is areally good idea to help you
stand out.
Laura Nicole Brown (11:49):
Then, for those that might be hesitating,
like me, to put our personalityinto our brand, that's a really
good point, um, carrie, um, I doabsolutely think it's really
important to put yourpersonality into your brand and
this is the important point youbrought, you brought up.
Actually you can put yourpersonality into your brand,
obviously as a person, likeyou're the owner of the business
and you're putting yourpersonality into that way, which
(12:12):
obviously a really great waybecause people connect with
people.
It really builds that low nolike and trust.
But if you're like um abusiness brand rather than a
personal brand, like yourbusiness is, um, you can also
kind of create a personalityaround the company in addition
to your own personal brand.
So, like your company, you mightthink you know, is my company
(12:33):
um friendly?
Is it supportive?
Is it um serious?
You know, and you think aboutdifferent types of industries.
You know, if you think aboutsomething like the legal
industry, it's probably got amore serious um tone than
something like you know umwhat's.
Trying to think of somethingmore fun, like a creative
industry, it's probably got moreof a kind of you know creative
(12:56):
vibe.
So you can have personality,obviously for your own
personality, but also throughyou can kind of construct
personality for the actualbusiness itself, if that makes
sense yes, that makes a lot ofsense and then.
Carrie Saunders (13:11):
So let's flip that a little bit then.
So we talked about maybe someestablished businesses like ours
, but then what about those thatare listening, who are new
businesses just starting out?
How much do they invest inbranding versus other areas like
building up their product orservice, development or
marketing?
Laura Nicole Brown (13:28):
Yeah.
So this is a really importantthing and I think a lot of new
businesses really struggle whenstarting out, knowing what to
focus on, knowing what to whatto invest in, and it's so and it
can seem incredibly difficult,and I know that from obviously
I'm sure you know that,obviously from having that
experience of being there thatit does seem like you're
pressured to invest lots of timeand money in many different
(13:51):
things, and it's where do youput that attention?
So I think that branding is oneof the first things you should
invest in, and the reason forthat kind of links back to what
we discussed earlier and itreally sets the foundation for
everything that you do in yourbusiness.
So it sets the foundation foryour marketing.
So often, you know, know, Ispeak to a lot of business
(14:13):
owners and and you know peoplenew in business as well and a
lot of the time they want tojump into doing something very
tangible, like creating awebsite, creating a logo,
creating um content for socialmedia, or very tangible things
that feels like we're doingsomething um, and and those
things are very important.
I'm not going to say thatthey're not important because
(14:34):
they are.
What I'd say is all thesethings to actually be effective,
um, they need to have astrategy behind it.
They need to have a kind of apurpose behind it, like, why are
we creating content on socialmedia?
What's the purpose?
What?
What are we trying to get outof that?
And I think branding reallysets that strategy.
It sets that foundation thatmakes it not only more effective
(14:58):
but also easier for you tocreate content.
So you're not spending as muchtime because you kind of know
this is what I want to put outthere, this is what's relevant
and this is what's going toconvert.
So my advice is really, you know, with the branding, you know,
start with the branding and alsoreally take time, not just
(15:24):
thinking about starting right.
We need to create a logo, acolor palette, those sorts of
things, which obviously isimportant, but even before you
get there, thinking aboutgetting clarity around really
important questions around thebusiness, thinking about getting
clarity around really importantquestions around the business.
So it's really about having astrategy around your brand
before creating anythingtangible, as I said.
Um, so you know things youmight want to think about.
What kind of image do you wantto communicate?
Who are you creating this brandfor?
(15:44):
You know what kind of people doyou want to attract and you
know, and what makes youdifferent is another important
question, but really theessential point is you need to
really set solid foundations, umto really make sure that you
are what you create will beeffective and you know.
(16:04):
Once you've set thosefoundations, then obviously you
can go, you know, create avisual identity for your brand,
create a website, create socialmedia profiles all those things
that are really going to attractyour ideal client and obviously
help you and build yourbusiness well, and I know many
times when people are thinkingabout building their brand too,
(16:25):
they think about brand colors.
Carrie Saunders (16:26):
I feel like that's the first thing that
comes to their mind is likebrand colors, and I know a
little bit about the psychologybehind colors, but I know you
know even more than I do.
So why does picking the rightbrand colors really matter?
Is that just you know,something that people just say,
just to say it, or does itactually truly matter?
Laura Nicole Brown (16:44):
So yeah, so color is one of those things
that a lot of people tend to bereally interested in, tend to be
very concerned about pickingthe right color and and you know
, do I like the color and I dothink there's a lot of
misconceptions people do get umdrawn to picking colors that
they like rather than colorsthat are necessarily going to
work.
So it's very important toreally be strategic in your
(17:07):
colour choices, and the reasonis basically colours firstly,
evoke meaning, so theycommunicate meaning.
So just think about, like, forexample, the colour red.
Um, when we think of the colourred, what comes to mind in my
mind at least, is like danger orromance, because obviously we
(17:29):
in our society, we become kindof accustomed to see red stop
signs, um in um, at valentine'sday, for example.
So that's why those kind ofassociations arise and obviously
, you know, different culturesmight be different, but, um, it
communicates.
Color communicates meaning.
Secondly, color evokes emotionsand it sets the mood for your
(17:52):
brand as well.
Like it's something weinstantly see, we can see it and
instantly see a certain colorand it might evoke a certain a
mood or, you know, emotions inpeople.
So, for example, if we use like, cooler colors like green or
blue.
Generally they help you feelmore relaxed.
So you tend to see those in,for example, like in the medical
(18:12):
industry, in dentists, thingslike that, because you generally
want to create this like, um,you know, relaxed, a competent
image that those colors convey.
And whereas, you know, if youthink about um I don't know a
theme park they probably morelike to use something like a
brighter color, like red, orsomething like a brighter color
like red or something like that,because it's it's evoking more
(18:34):
of an excitement.
It's evoking, um, you know,that kind of excitement and
anticipation around that kind ofthing.
What red evokes um.
So the other thing is colorsboost brand recognition.
So it's really, reallyimportant to use the same colors
and being consistent with thesame color.
(18:56):
So don't just use, you know,red one day and then change it
to blue the next day.
You know you want to choose thecolors that you really think
represent your brand.
Choose the colors that youthink really represent who you
are and what's going to attractyou with your client.
And these, these are going toessentially help you become more
memorable, because people aregoing to keep seeing the
(19:18):
repetition of colors and they'regoing to begin to identify
those colors and kind of seethose colors as part of your
brand, and every time they seethe color, it will make them
think of you, even if they don'tsee the whole context around it
.
So it's really, reallyimportant to be consistent,
because it really helps youbecome more memorable, really
helps you actually leavingtowards that.
(19:39):
It actually helps set you apart, because people see you and
your color pop up in the feedand they kind of think, oh yeah,
that's um, that's your business, you know, because they're
seeing that consistent color.
Um.
So the other thing is I do see alot of people, um, like I said,
color is one of those things alot of people do get a bit
confused with and it can be veryoverwhelming, um, and for that
(20:03):
reason I I created some time agoum a quiz to really help people
if they're not very confidentabout their color choices or
they're not sure what colors tochoose, and this quiz basically
helps you identify your colorpersonality.
So it helps you discover thecolors that really going to
represent your brand's uniquepersonality and inside it, when
(20:23):
you take it, you will find outthe character traits of your
brand, which colors to use,which to avoid.
So it's a really handy kind ofsummary of you know what to do
with your colors and the linkfor that is inspiraticom forward
slash quiz and it is a veryhelpful and helpful tool.
If you're not confident aboutyour colors or you're not sure
(20:45):
you've got a new brand andyou're not really sure what
direction to go in, um, it cangive you a bit of hopeful
guidance on what might be usefulthis sounds like a really great
quiz.
Carrie Saunders (20:56):
I'm actually thinking of taking it because
I've got two different brandsand you know, one of them is in
the blue green realm and thenewer one is in the black and
purple realm.
So I'm curious to whether I didpurposely pick the blue and the
green for original brandbecause it created calmness and
I think it was also likeconfidence or something.
(21:17):
You know it was like a littlehigher level brand and so that's
why I picked the blue, as inthe greens for it.
Even though purple istechnically actually my favorite
color, blue is my secondfavorite color.
So I did hopefully at least dothat right back in early 2000s.
But I'd love to take the quiztoo just to double check that
new brand make sure, cause I hadsomebody else helping me with
(21:38):
that brand.
It wasn't my original idea thistime, so I'd love to see if that
was a good fit.
So we will make sure to havethat link in the show notes for
those listening, cause I knowit's sometimes hard to remember
the links that we will have thatin the show notes and then in
the podcast description for thisone.
So so, speaking of brand colors, you know we talked about some
of the things that people needto do when they're new, which is
(21:58):
like brand colors and gettingyour branding set.
What would be your top piece ofadvice when it comes to
branding and websites for smallbusinesses, so that they're not
you know, oh, there's so manythings to do and I'm confused,
but what?
What would be the top fewthings that you think they
should do first when it comes tobranding and websites?
Laura Nicole Brown (22:14):
yeah, um, yeah.
This is an interesting question, um, carrie, and I think it
could be answered in so manydifferent ways, as there are so
many different things you couldbe doing, but my favorite one
and it's something that thereason it's my favorite one,
it's because it made a hugedifference to me, um, and it's
and I do really think it is agame changer and that is be
(22:37):
consistent.
And there's numerous differentlayers to what I mean by being
consistent um, firstly, beingconsistent in how you show up.
So, for example, consistentlyshowing up on social media if
you have a blog or a podcast.
So not just saying, right, Imean, as you know, carrie,
you've got a podcast, you'vebeen doing it, for I think
(22:58):
you've been doing it for twoyears now it's about two years,
almost two years, yeah, um.
Carrie Saunders (23:01):
So you know and you know when you've been
consistent on for two years now.
Laura Nicole Brown (23:03):
Yes, about two years, almost two years.
Yeah, I was recording.
So you know, and you know, whenyou've been consistent on the
podcast, that's how you actuallyyou know people get to trust
you, get to know you andultimately you know they want to
work with you because theybecome to get to know you and
like what you're doing.
So really being consistenthelps build that trust.
So it doesn't matter if it's ablog, a podcast, a YouTube show
or anything but being consistentin what you're doing.
(23:25):
And then also, like you know,on social media.
You know, are you on Instagram,are you on LinkedIn, facebook,
whatever platform you're usingmaking sure that you're
consistently posting on thosedifferent platforms that you
choose.
Um, and for that reason, it'sbest not to actually be on too
(23:47):
many different channels, becauseI see a lot of people,
particularly newer in business,and they kind of like they
probably set up a profile forevery single social media
platform that is out there,which is great.
But often, when we're newer inbusiness, we often don't have
the resources, um, we don't havea large team, we don't
necessarily have the money tonecessarily outsource things, so
(24:09):
you have to kind of maybe do alot of things ourself initially
um.
So that's why I always suggestreally pick the channels that
are going to work best for yourbrand.
So if that's linkedin, becauseyou see you've got an audience
on there or facebook, dependingon what you do, obviously um
will make a big difference.
But pick the channel that'sgoing to work best for you,
(24:30):
where you see your audience arehanging out, and then you can
add on more channels over time.
But a big mistake that I seepeople do is signing up to every
single channel and then theyget burnt out really quickly
because obviously we can'tsustain it unless we've actually
got the resources to invest.
So only do things that you canactually sustain in the long
(24:50):
term and then as you grow yourbusiness, you grow your team,
you can start to add more, morethings on.
The other thing I mentionedabout consistency is.
So I've mentioned, it'simportant to be consistent and
consistently show up on whateverplatforms you're using.
The other thing is is to seeconsistency in a different way.
(25:11):
Is it's important to beconsistent in terms of, I
suppose, how you're showing up?
So, for example, your visualidentity, the colors you use,
the, the fonts, the image style.
So obviously you've mentionedabout it's important to be
consistent with colour, but youalso want to be consistent with
other elements of your visualbrand.
(25:32):
So are you using consistentfonts?
Are you using a consistentimage style?
You want there to be like areal consistency between,
because it creates a morecohesive and credible brand,
basically by being consistent,and also it helps build that
recognition, as I mentionedearlier.
And the other thing you want tothink about with consistency in
(25:54):
how you show up is the messagingas well.
So you want to have a consistentmessage that you put out there.
So you know, you want to havelike a consistent message and a
consistent tone of voice as well.
So people begin to recognizeit's you because you're putting
out that similar tone out thereand people like, oh yeah, I
recognize, I recognize youbecause it sounds like you, um,
(26:16):
you know, and that you can dothat in many different ways to
distinguish your voice.
But that is important as welland a lot of people overlook
that and they focus on thevisual side of things.
But there's a lot of um, youknow, uniqueness that can come
out of your, your messaging, um,and, like I said, both of these
really through havingconsistency in your visual
(26:36):
identity, having consistent inyour messaging is really
important because it helpspeople easily recognize you.
So when you pop up in theirsocial media, they recognize
it's you.
When you I don't know at anevent and doing something, they
recognize it's you because it'sall.
Carrie Saunders (26:50):
Everything aligns and feels cohesive well
and I feel like, as you'retalking about that, it's um,
it's, it's like you're tryingnot to be a stranger, so like if
you're not consistent, it'slike you're a stranger again to
them.
So when we're consistent, it'slike you're trying not to be a
stranger, so like if you're notconsistent, it's like you're a
stranger again to them.
So when we're consistent, it'slike we're their, their friend
or a familiar person to them.
So I love how you describe thatconsistency there, because it
(27:13):
really is helping you ultimatelybuild trust more because you're
, you're not, you're not, youknow multiple personality or
something you know.
You don't, you don't havedifferent personalities.
You're, you're consistent,you're you're.
It seems familiar and friendlyto you when you receive that
consistency from a brand.
And I also love your points ofall the social media profiles
(27:36):
and giving listeners permissionto focus on.
You know just one or two,whatever they can be consistent
with.
To focus on you know just oneor two, whatever they can be
consistent with.
I think it's great if listenerswant to get their handle
reserved on the other ones youknow just, so you at least have
it reserved.
But give yourself permission,like Laura said, to only focus
on the one or two that you knowyou can be consistent with.
(27:58):
You know go ahead and reservethe other ones if you want, but
you know, don't put.
Don't put them in your parkinglot, put them for later when you
have the time or resources toutilize those as well, and maybe
you never will, but you atleast have it reserved.
But giving yourself permissionto not do too many things is, I
think, very important.
That's a very important pointyou made.
Laura Nicole Brown (28:19):
That's a great point as well about the
reserving them, because a lot ofI know actually made this
mistake.
Um, because, like you say, newplatforms appear all the time
and they get good names getpicked up quite quickly, and
obviously it's good to haveconsistency across all your
different social media, so youcan just say I'm this name on
all the different social mediaplatforms, and it makes it a lot
more complicated if you'reusing a different name and if
(28:41):
that name's no longer available,then you can't, so you better
just get the names all there atthe beginning, and then it makes
it easier moving forward.
Carrie Saunders (28:50):
So I love all the points that you brought to
us today.
I feel like you made branding.
You really broke it down, madeit simpler to like,
conceptualize and to think about.
You really helped us, you know,figure out what are those first
steps we need to do, as eithernew business owners or maybe
existing ones that need toreassess our brand.
So what would be some greatways for any listeners who want
(29:14):
to get to know you a little bitbetter, who want to connect with
you?
What are some great socialmedia platforms, speaking of
social media, that they can geta hold of you on, and or your
website?
Laura Nicole Brown (29:25):
yeah, so a few ways to.
Really, the website isinspiraticom and you want to put
that in the, in the link in theum the the links below, and
that'd be good.
Um.
In terms of social media, um, Iwent on the website.
I do have a blog as well.
So if you're looking for, like,further resources on branding I
talk a lot about, I do talkweekly on all different topics
(29:47):
around branding, um with socialmedia, um, I'm most active on
linkedin and instagram.
Linkedin and you can find myname, lauren acol brown.
I do have a lot of resources onthere.
I post every week.
And also instagram, uminspiretti studios, um on
(30:07):
instagram.
So, yeah, um, I will send.
Carrie Saunders (30:09):
I'll give you the link so you can post them in
the in the um the post notesyes, we'll definitely have those
in the show notes, as well as apodcast description, so it's
easy for our listeners to findyou.
So thank you so much, laura,for being on our show.
I learned a lot about branding.
I already knew some about it,but I learned even more from you
and I really appreciate yousharing with our listeners.
Laura Nicole Brown (30:31):
Yeah, thank you.
Well, thank you for inviting me, Carrie.
I've really enjoyed having aconversation.
It's been so fun to talk aboutbranding with you.
Carrie Saunders (30:38):
Yes, yes, I feel like we kind of go hand in
hand where you do the brandingand we do the website part,
implementation part.
So I love it.
Wasn't that such a greatconversation?
I know I learned even moreabout branding than I already
knew.
Laura's insight into brandingreally gets to the heart of what
sets businesses apart.
It's not just about how thingslook.
(30:59):
It's about creating a brandthat feels right, one that
aligns with your values andtruly connects with your
audience.
If you're rethinking yourbranding or building one from
the ground up, I hope today'sepisode gives you some clarity
and maybe even a littleconfidence to take the next step
.
Don't forget you can find linksto connect with Laura in the
show notes and in this podcastdescription, and if you loved
this episode, I'd be so gratefulif you'd take a minute to
(31:21):
follow, rate and review the show.
It really helps us reach morebusiness owners like you who are
ready to build brands andwebsites that truly convert, and
we will see you next week.
Today's episode is about something that goes
deeper than logos and colors.
It's about the soul of yourbrand.
I'm joined by Laura NicoleBrown, founder of Inspirati, a
branding agency that helpsbusinesses create meaningful
brand identities and stand outwebsites that feel true to who
they are.
Laura has worked around theglobe crafting marketing
strategies and everything frompetrochemicals to cardiology.
(00:22):
With a master's ininternational marketing and
years of experience behind her,Laura brings a strategic yet
soulful approach to branding.
That really stood out to me,and we had a great conversation.
In our conversation, we coveredwhy branding matters more than
ever, the difference betweenbranding and marketing and why
that matters.
What to focus on when you'rejust starting out, why picking
your right brand color actuallyimpacts how people perceive you.
And her top advice when itcomes to focus on when you're
(00:43):
just starting out.
Why picking your right brandcolor actually impacts how
people perceive you.
And her top advice when itcomes to brand on your website.
Whether you're building yourbusiness from scratch or
building a much-needed refresh,this episode is packed with
insights that will help you showup more confidently and
consistently online.
Welcome to the eCommerce MadeEasy podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
(01:04):
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine-month-old.
My main goal To help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry,
and even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech into easily understandable
bits to help others besuccessful in their online
business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
(01:25):
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we have a special guestwith us, and her name is Laura
Nicole Brown.
She is a branding expert andagency that helps organizations
discover their soul so they cancreate a meaningful brand
(01:45):
identity and a distinctivewebsite that really sets them
apart.
So welcome to the show today.
Laura Nicole Brown (01:52):
Laura.
Yeah, great to be here, Kari.
Thank you for inviting me.
Carrie Saunders (01:56):
You're welcome.
So tell us a little bit more.
I mean, I just gave a littlebrief summary of who you are,
but tell us a little bit moreabout who Laura is of who you
are, but tell us a little bitmore about who Laura is.
Laura Nicole Brown (02:07):
Yeah, so basically I've got a branding
agency called Inspirati and it'sall about helping organizations
discover the soul of theirbrand so they can create really
meaningful brand identity thatreally sets them apart and it
kind of comes from my background.
So basically I studiedinternational marketing at
university and that kind of ledme to have a marketing career in
(02:31):
marketing, initially in thecorporate world, so I was
working in specificallypublishing.
But I've worked in alldifferent countries in Slovakia,
Singapore, Argentina, Londonand basically I was advising
global marketing strategies in awhole range of different
industries, generally quitetechnical industries, so things
like supply chains, cardiology,petrochemicals, but basically
(02:54):
that's kind of my background isreally working in the marketing
space, in the global marketingspace and helping create
marketing strategies.
But ultimately I kind of got tothe point where I wasn't really
excited about what I was doinganymore and I wanted to have
more control over you know thework I did and I wanted to feel
(03:16):
more inspired by what I wasdoing.
So I set up my own company,which is, as I've mentioned,
Inspirati, and yeah, that's whatI'm doing now.
So yeah, I love that I'vementioned Inspirati, and yeah,
that's what I'm doing now, so soyeah.
Carrie Saunders (03:27):
I love that.
I love that you followed yourheart.
You know you got the experienceyou needed under your belt, but
then you gave yourselfpermission of this.
This isn't singing to meanymore.
You know it isn't singing to myheart.
It isn't making me happy.
So you decided to start yourown business to help other
businesses with their brandingand their marketing yeah, yeah,
I think it's.
Laura Nicole Brown (03:47):
I think it's like one of those things.
It's so um, it's not easy tomove away when you've been in a
corporate career with you know acomfy um salary and benefits
and things, but I think itultimately it does great at you
for so long and you can't um,you can't keep up, you can't
keep doing and you need you.
Carrie Saunders (04:05):
It pushes you too much and you're like I just
need to try this and see, see ifit can work yeah, I think many
of us have that, that bug, thatbug that we need to, like, be
our own boss and, and you know,make a better, bigger difference
in the world.
So, speaking of biggerdifferences and I I know this, I
know branding matters a lot,but I want to hear from you,
(04:26):
like why does branding matter?
What, in your words, like, whatis the big deal about making
sure that your branding is onpoint?
Laura Nicole Brown (04:35):
Yeah, so this is.
There are many different things, to be honest with you.
There are many different thingsto think about here.
I'm going to kind of set itdown to a few different, um, a
few different points here,really just to kind of summarize
.
So the first thing is having,you know, a solid branding
really helps set the right tonefor your business.
So having this right, like youknow tone, right mood for your
(05:00):
business really helps you reachthe ideal client, because you're
going to attract the kind ofpeople that resonate with that
kind of mood and that kind oftone.
Secondly, having consistentrepresentation improves
recognition.
So branding helps you beconsistent and that really
improves your recognition andthis really helps you become
(05:20):
more memorable, which obviouslywho doesn't want to be memorable
, who doesn't want to stand out?
In today's world?
We're just seeing so manyadverts and so many you know, so
much marketing.
And the final thing I'll mentionis that branding helps you
build authenticity andcredibility.
So this is so important today.
Everyone we always hear youknow this low, no like and trust
(05:41):
.
People want to get to know andpeople behind the business, they
want to get to know the brand,what is the purpose behind it
and all these sorts of thingsand that's so important.
Today.
People really want to feel thatthey're dealing with businesses
that are authentic, that arecredible, and ultimately, this
is important because it helpsbuild trust, and we all know
that trust is absolutely crucialfor sales.
So, ultimately, I kind ofsummarise these three things
(06:05):
Ultimately, they help you getcustomers.
You know and it's not as simpleas you know if you do like a
marketing campaign, you get somecustomers.
It is a long term strategy, soobviously you need to do this
over the long term to get thebenefits from it, but ultimately
, it's so important to you know,building your audience, getting
(06:27):
customers.
Carrie Saunders (06:28):
you know these elements of branding, so so yeah
, I think that makes a lot ofsense and we talk a lot about
customer trust on the podcast,so that really just brings
another angle, another way tofurther enhance that customer
trust.
I love how you explained itlike that, because it really is
true If we have a consistentbranding and we have all that
(06:49):
behind our marketing efforts too, then that really helps us be
recognized and trusted.
And speaking of marketing, Iknow a lot of people get
confused between the two words,what the difference is between
branding versus marketing.
So can you explain a little bitmore about the difference
between branding and marketing?
Laura Nicole Brown (07:08):
Yeah, so yeah, absolutely Right.
A lot of people do get confusedwith these two terms.
I think it's understandable,because there's a lot of
interconnections between them,there's a lot of similarities
and, you know, I think peoplejust don't never really
understand really what each onemeans properly.
But I will briefly outline this.
So, basically, marketing is allabout, you know, promoting a
(07:28):
product or service.
You know, marketing campaignsto promote product or service,
whereas branding is really aboutshaping your brand, shaping who
you are, the kind of image youwant to put out there and the
kind of perception that peoplehave of you.
So it's actually quitedifferent and you need different
(07:49):
strategies for both of them andyou'd have different goals and
different results from both ofthem.
So they're not.
They are actually quitedistinct, and some of the ways
I'll kind of like summarize afew of the ways that kind of
make them different.
So, for example, when we thinkabout marketing, it's about
getting people's attention andyou know we, you know, want to
(08:11):
get people's attention with avideo on social media.
That's the kind of thing we'redoing, whereas branding is more
about keeping people's attention, maintaining their attention,
maintaining their interest.
So they, so they're loyal, andso they, you know drives loyalty
.
So, related to that, you knowmarketing is about driving sales
.
So you have a marketingcampaign, you get some sales off
the back of it, whereasbranding is more about this
(08:33):
long-term, as I mentionedearlier, this long-term
perception of drivingrecognition, driving loyalty
over the long term, not animmediate let's just get some
sales.
And and the other thing that alot of people, um, you know,
don't actually consider and I dosee a lot of people make this
mistake is, you know, brandingalways comes first, marketing
(08:57):
comes afterwards and you knowbranding is really essential
foundation to marketing.
And the other thing is marketingis like this very short-term
kind of element.
You know you do a marketingcampaign, it's a short-term
thing, whereas branding is moreof a.
You set it and it's more, it'snot permanent.
(09:20):
Obviously you can adjust it,but you don't want to be
changing your market, yourbranding every, you know, every
month.
You need to have an element ofconsistency around it, whereas
marketing, you know you createdifferent marketing.
You need to have an element ofconsistency around it.
Whereas marketing, you know youcreate different marketing
campaigns all the time andthat's probably a good thing.
But branding is more.
The value lies in the beingconsistent and you know
continuing to put that, you knowsame image out there so people
(09:45):
can build trust with you.
Carrie Saunders (09:47):
That actually makes a lot of sense and I was
going to actually ask you as youwere talking.
One of the questions I wouldthought of was you know, so
branding is more like thefoundation to your marketing?
Then would you say that wouldbe pretty accurate way to say it
, because I feel like youtouched on that at the end of
your answer but you need thebranding first to do marketing
effectively.
Laura Nicole Brown (10:08):
Basically, yeah, exactly, exactly.
So I absolutely agree.
That's a really good point.
Um, branding, I do feel thatbranding it sets the foundation
for all the marketing that youdo.
So if you, you know, don't havebranding, it's very difficult
to do a good marketing.
And because you've not reallygot clarity on what, who is the
(10:29):
brand, who, what are you puttingout there when we're sharing
stuff and on social media or onyour website or whatever mediums
you're using, what kind ofimage are you trying to present?
Who are you trying to connectwith?
And those are all things thathaving a solid brand really
gives you clarity on those kindof things.
So I do think it is reallyreally important, um, you know,
to really have that solid, solidbranding foundation.
I think it is really reallyimportant, you know, to really
(10:51):
have that solid, solid brandingfoundation.
I think it sets the foundationfor everything you do really in
your, in your marketing.
Carrie Saunders (10:58):
Like I said, so then and this is kind of a
question I've gotten my mind asfar as like for our business.
We've been around over 22 yearsand when we started the
business there wasn't much talkabout branding and you really
didn't need to market muchbecause this is early 2000s.
And so one thing I know Istruggle with, and I'm not sure
any of the other listenersstruggle with, is we've been
(11:20):
around for a very long time andwe have had more of a team type
of a business where I was only asolopreneur for maybe a year or
two.
I was very quickly before Istarted hiring people, and so I
get that I hesitate and I don'tknow if others hesitate on
(11:42):
putting my personality into mybrand, would you say putting a
personality into a brand is areally good idea to help you
stand out.
Laura Nicole Brown (11:49):
Then, for those that might be hesitating,
like me, to put our personalityinto our brand, that's a really
good point, um, carrie, um, I doabsolutely think it's really
important to put yourpersonality into your brand and
this is the important point youbrought, you brought up.
Actually you can put yourpersonality into your brand,
obviously as a person, likeyou're the owner of the business
and you're putting yourpersonality into that way, which
(12:12):
obviously a really great waybecause people connect with
people.
It really builds that low nolike and trust.
But if you're like um abusiness brand rather than a
personal brand, like yourbusiness is, um, you can also
kind of create a personalityaround the company in addition
to your own personal brand.
So, like your company, you mightthink you know, is my company
(12:33):
um friendly?
Is it supportive?
Is it um serious?
You know, and you think aboutdifferent types of industries.
You know, if you think aboutsomething like the legal
industry, it's probably got amore serious um tone than
something like you know umwhat's.
Trying to think of somethingmore fun, like a creative
industry, it's probably got moreof a kind of you know creative
(12:56):
vibe.
So you can have personality,obviously for your own
personality, but also throughyou can kind of construct
personality for the actualbusiness itself, if that makes
sense yes, that makes a lot ofsense and then.
Carrie Saunders (13:11):
So let's flip that a little bit then.
So we talked about maybe someestablished businesses like ours
, but then what about those thatare listening, who are new
businesses just starting out?
How much do they invest inbranding versus other areas like
building up their product orservice, development or
marketing?
Laura Nicole Brown (13:28):
Yeah.
So this is a really importantthing and I think a lot of new
businesses really struggle whenstarting out, knowing what to
focus on, knowing what to whatto invest in, and it's so and it
can seem incredibly difficult,and I know that from obviously
I'm sure you know that,obviously from having that
experience of being there thatit does seem like you're
pressured to invest lots of timeand money in many different
(13:51):
things, and it's where do youput that attention?
So I think that branding is oneof the first things you should
invest in, and the reason forthat kind of links back to what
we discussed earlier and itreally sets the foundation for
everything that you do in yourbusiness.
So it sets the foundation foryour marketing.
So often, you know, know, Ispeak to a lot of business
(14:13):
owners and and you know peoplenew in business as well and a
lot of the time they want tojump into doing something very
tangible, like creating awebsite, creating a logo,
creating um content for socialmedia, or very tangible things
that feels like we're doingsomething um, and and those
things are very important.
I'm not going to say thatthey're not important because
(14:34):
they are.
What I'd say is all thesethings to actually be effective,
um, they need to have astrategy behind it.
They need to have a kind of apurpose behind it, like, why are
we creating content on socialmedia?
What's the purpose?
What?
What are we trying to get outof that?
And I think branding reallysets that strategy.
It sets that foundation thatmakes it not only more effective
(14:58):
but also easier for you tocreate content.
So you're not spending as muchtime because you kind of know
this is what I want to put outthere, this is what's relevant
and this is what's going toconvert.
So my advice is really, you know, with the branding, you know,
start with the branding and alsoreally take time, not just
(15:24):
thinking about starting right.
We need to create a logo, acolor palette, those sorts of
things, which obviously isimportant, but even before you
get there, thinking aboutgetting clarity around really
important questions around thebusiness, thinking about getting
clarity around really importantquestions around the business.
So it's really about having astrategy around your brand
before creating anythingtangible, as I said.
Um, so you know things youmight want to think about.
What kind of image do you wantto communicate?
Who are you creating this brandfor?
(15:44):
You know what kind of people doyou want to attract and you
know, and what makes youdifferent is another important
question, but really theessential point is you need to
really set solid foundations, umto really make sure that you
are what you create will beeffective and you know.
(16:04):
Once you've set thosefoundations, then obviously you
can go, you know, create avisual identity for your brand,
create a website, create socialmedia profiles all those things
that are really going to attractyour ideal client and obviously
help you and build yourbusiness well, and I know many
times when people are thinkingabout building their brand too,
(16:25):
they think about brand colors.
Carrie Saunders (16:26):
I feel like that's the first thing that
comes to their mind is likebrand colors, and I know a
little bit about the psychologybehind colors, but I know you
know even more than I do.
So why does picking the rightbrand colors really matter?
Is that just you know,something that people just say,
just to say it, or does itactually truly matter?
Laura Nicole Brown (16:44):
So yeah, so color is one of those things
that a lot of people tend to bereally interested in, tend to be
very concerned about pickingthe right color and and you know
, do I like the color and I dothink there's a lot of
misconceptions people do get umdrawn to picking colors that
they like rather than colorsthat are necessarily going to
work.
So it's very important toreally be strategic in your
(17:07):
colour choices, and the reasonis basically colours firstly,
evoke meaning, so theycommunicate meaning.
So just think about, like, forexample, the colour red.
Um, when we think of the colourred, what comes to mind in my
mind at least, is like danger orromance, because obviously we
(17:29):
in our society, we become kindof accustomed to see red stop
signs, um in um, at valentine'sday, for example.
So that's why those kind ofassociations arise and obviously
, you know, different culturesmight be different, but, um, it
communicates.
Color communicates meaning.
Secondly, color evokes emotionsand it sets the mood for your
(17:52):
brand as well.
Like it's something weinstantly see, we can see it and
instantly see a certain colorand it might evoke a certain a
mood or, you know, emotions inpeople.
So, for example, if we use like, cooler colors like green or
blue.
Generally they help you feelmore relaxed.
So you tend to see those in,for example, like in the medical
(18:12):
industry, in dentists, thingslike that, because you generally
want to create this like, um,you know, relaxed, a competent
image that those colors convey.
And whereas, you know, if youthink about um I don't know a
theme park they probably morelike to use something like a
brighter color, like red, orsomething like a brighter color
like red or something like that,because it's it's evoking more
(18:34):
of an excitement.
It's evoking, um, you know,that kind of excitement and
anticipation around that kind ofthing.
What red evokes um.
So the other thing is colorsboost brand recognition.
So it's really, reallyimportant to use the same colors
and being consistent with thesame color.
(18:56):
So don't just use, you know,red one day and then change it
to blue the next day.
You know you want to choose thecolors that you really think
represent your brand.
Choose the colors that youthink really represent who you
are and what's going to attractyou with your client.
And these, these are going toessentially help you become more
memorable, because people aregoing to keep seeing the
(19:18):
repetition of colors and they'regoing to begin to identify
those colors and kind of seethose colors as part of your
brand, and every time they seethe color, it will make them
think of you, even if they don'tsee the whole context around it
.
So it's really, reallyimportant to be consistent,
because it really helps youbecome more memorable, really
helps you actually leavingtowards that.
(19:39):
It actually helps set you apart, because people see you and
your color pop up in the feedand they kind of think, oh yeah,
that's um, that's your business, you know, because they're
seeing that consistent color.
Um.
So the other thing is I do see alot of people, um, like I said,
color is one of those things alot of people do get a bit
confused with and it can be veryoverwhelming, um, and for that
(20:03):
reason I I created some time agoum a quiz to really help people
if they're not very confidentabout their color choices or
they're not sure what colors tochoose, and this quiz basically
helps you identify your colorpersonality.
So it helps you discover thecolors that really going to
represent your brand's uniquepersonality and inside it, when
(20:23):
you take it, you will find outthe character traits of your
brand, which colors to use,which to avoid.
So it's a really handy kind ofsummary of you know what to do
with your colors and the linkfor that is inspiraticom forward
slash quiz and it is a veryhelpful and helpful tool.
If you're not confident aboutyour colors or you're not sure
(20:45):
you've got a new brand andyou're not really sure what
direction to go in, um, it cangive you a bit of hopeful
guidance on what might be usefulthis sounds like a really great
quiz.
Carrie Saunders (20:56):
I'm actually thinking of taking it because
I've got two different brandsand you know, one of them is in
the blue green realm and thenewer one is in the black and
purple realm.
So I'm curious to whether I didpurposely pick the blue and the
green for original brandbecause it created calmness and
I think it was also likeconfidence or something.
(21:17):
You know it was like a littlehigher level brand and so that's
why I picked the blue, as inthe greens for it.
Even though purple istechnically actually my favorite
color, blue is my secondfavorite color.
So I did hopefully at least dothat right back in early 2000s.
But I'd love to take the quiztoo just to double check that
new brand make sure, cause I hadsomebody else helping me with
(21:38):
that brand.
It wasn't my original idea thistime, so I'd love to see if that
was a good fit.
So we will make sure to havethat link in the show notes for
those listening, cause I knowit's sometimes hard to remember
the links that we will have thatin the show notes and then in
the podcast description for thisone.
So so, speaking of brand colors, you know we talked about some
of the things that people needto do when they're new, which is
(21:58):
like brand colors and gettingyour branding set.
What would be your top piece ofadvice when it comes to
branding and websites for smallbusinesses, so that they're not
you know, oh, there's so manythings to do and I'm confused,
but what?
What would be the top fewthings that you think they
should do first when it comes tobranding and websites?
Laura Nicole Brown (22:14):
yeah, um, yeah.
This is an interesting question, um, carrie, and I think it
could be answered in so manydifferent ways, as there are so
many different things you couldbe doing, but my favorite one
and it's something that thereason it's my favorite one,
it's because it made a hugedifference to me, um, and it's
and I do really think it is agame changer and that is be
(22:37):
consistent.
And there's numerous differentlayers to what I mean by being
consistent um, firstly, beingconsistent in how you show up.
So, for example, consistentlyshowing up on social media if
you have a blog or a podcast.
So not just saying, right, Imean, as you know, carrie,
you've got a podcast, you'vebeen doing it, for I think
(22:58):
you've been doing it for twoyears now it's about two years,
almost two years, yeah, um.
Carrie Saunders (23:01):
So you know and you know when you've been
consistent on for two years now.
Laura Nicole Brown (23:03):
Yes, about two years, almost two years.
Yeah, I was recording.
So you know, and you know, whenyou've been consistent on the
podcast, that's how you actuallyyou know people get to trust
you, get to know you andultimately you know they want to
work with you because theybecome to get to know you and
like what you're doing.
So really being consistenthelps build that trust.
So it doesn't matter if it's ablog, a podcast, a YouTube show
or anything but being consistentin what you're doing.
(23:25):
And then also, like you know,on social media.
You know, are you on Instagram,are you on LinkedIn, facebook,
whatever platform you're usingmaking sure that you're
consistently posting on thosedifferent platforms that you
choose.
Um, and for that reason, it'sbest not to actually be on too
(23:47):
many different channels, becauseI see a lot of people,
particularly newer in business,and they kind of like they
probably set up a profile forevery single social media
platform that is out there,which is great.
But often, when we're newer inbusiness, we often don't have
the resources, um, we don't havea large team, we don't
necessarily have the money tonecessarily outsource things, so
(24:09):
you have to kind of maybe do alot of things ourself initially
um.
So that's why I always suggestreally pick the channels that
are going to work best for yourbrand.
So if that's linkedin, becauseyou see you've got an audience
on there or facebook, dependingon what you do, obviously um
will make a big difference.
But pick the channel that'sgoing to work best for you,
(24:30):
where you see your audience arehanging out, and then you can
add on more channels over time.
But a big mistake that I seepeople do is signing up to every
single channel and then theyget burnt out really quickly
because obviously we can'tsustain it unless we've actually
got the resources to invest.
So only do things that you canactually sustain in the long
(24:50):
term and then as you grow yourbusiness, you grow your team,
you can start to add more, morethings on.
The other thing I mentionedabout consistency is.
So I've mentioned, it'simportant to be consistent and
consistently show up on whateverplatforms you're using.
The other thing is is to seeconsistency in a different way.
(25:11):
Is it's important to beconsistent in terms of, I
suppose, how you're showing up?
So, for example, your visualidentity, the colors you use,
the, the fonts, the image style.
So obviously you've mentionedabout it's important to be
consistent with colour, but youalso want to be consistent with
other elements of your visualbrand.
(25:32):
So are you using consistentfonts?
Are you using a consistentimage style?
You want there to be like areal consistency between,
because it creates a morecohesive and credible brand,
basically by being consistent,and also it helps build that
recognition, as I mentionedearlier.
And the other thing you want tothink about with consistency in
(25:54):
how you show up is the messagingas well.
So you want to have a consistentmessage that you put out there.
So you know, you want to havelike a consistent message and a
consistent tone of voice as well.
So people begin to recognizeit's you because you're putting
out that similar tone out thereand people like, oh yeah, I
recognize, I recognize youbecause it sounds like you, um,
(26:16):
you know, and that you can dothat in many different ways to
distinguish your voice.
But that is important as welland a lot of people overlook
that and they focus on thevisual side of things.
But there's a lot of um, youknow, uniqueness that can come
out of your, your messaging, um,and, like I said, both of these
really through havingconsistency in your visual
(26:36):
identity, having consistent inyour messaging is really
important because it helpspeople easily recognize you.
So when you pop up in theirsocial media, they recognize
it's you.
When you I don't know at anevent and doing something, they
recognize it's you because it'sall.
Carrie Saunders (26:50):
Everything aligns and feels cohesive well
and I feel like, as you'retalking about that, it's um,
it's, it's like you're tryingnot to be a stranger, so like if
you're not consistent, it'slike you're a stranger again to
them.
So when we're consistent, it'slike you're trying not to be a
stranger, so like if you're notconsistent, it's like you're a
stranger again to them.
So when we're consistent, it'slike we're their, their friend
or a familiar person to them.
So I love how you describe thatconsistency there, because it
(27:13):
really is helping you ultimatelybuild trust more because you're
, you're not, you're not, youknow multiple personality or
something you know.
You don't, you don't havedifferent personalities.
You're, you're consistent,you're you're.
It seems familiar and friendlyto you when you receive that
consistency from a brand.
And I also love your points ofall the social media profiles
(27:36):
and giving listeners permissionto focus on.
You know just one or two,whatever they can be consistent
with.
To focus on you know just oneor two, whatever they can be
consistent with.
I think it's great if listenerswant to get their handle
reserved on the other ones youknow just, so you at least have
it reserved.
But give yourself permission,like Laura said, to only focus
on the one or two that you knowyou can be consistent with.
(27:58):
You know go ahead and reservethe other ones if you want, but
you know, don't put.
Don't put them in your parkinglot, put them for later when you
have the time or resources toutilize those as well, and maybe
you never will, but you atleast have it reserved.
But giving yourself permissionto not do too many things is, I
think, very important.
That's a very important pointyou made.
Laura Nicole Brown (28:19):
That's a great point as well about the
reserving them, because a lot ofI know actually made this
mistake.
Um, because, like you say, newplatforms appear all the time
and they get good names getpicked up quite quickly, and
obviously it's good to haveconsistency across all your
different social media, so youcan just say I'm this name on
all the different social mediaplatforms, and it makes it a lot
more complicated if you'reusing a different name and if
(28:41):
that name's no longer available,then you can't, so you better
just get the names all there atthe beginning, and then it makes
it easier moving forward.
Carrie Saunders (28:50):
So I love all the points that you brought to
us today.
I feel like you made branding.
You really broke it down, madeit simpler to like,
conceptualize and to think about.
You really helped us, you know,figure out what are those first
steps we need to do, as eithernew business owners or maybe
existing ones that need toreassess our brand.
So what would be some greatways for any listeners who want
(29:14):
to get to know you a little bitbetter, who want to connect with
you?
What are some great socialmedia platforms, speaking of
social media, that they can geta hold of you on, and or your
website?
Laura Nicole Brown (29:25):
yeah, so a few ways to.
Really, the website isinspiraticom and you want to put
that in the, in the link in theum the the links below, and
that'd be good.
Um.
In terms of social media, um, Iwent on the website.
I do have a blog as well.
So if you're looking for, like,further resources on branding I
talk a lot about, I do talkweekly on all different topics
(29:47):
around branding, um with socialmedia, um, I'm most active on
linkedin and instagram.
Linkedin and you can find myname, lauren acol brown.
I do have a lot of resources onthere.
I post every week.
And also instagram, uminspiretti studios, um on
(30:07):
instagram.
So, yeah, um, I will send.
Carrie Saunders (30:09):
I'll give you the link so you can post them in
the in the um the post notesyes, we'll definitely have those
in the show notes, as well as apodcast description, so it's
easy for our listeners to findyou.
So thank you so much, laura,for being on our show.
I learned a lot about branding.
I already knew some about it,but I learned even more from you
and I really appreciate yousharing with our listeners.
Laura Nicole Brown (30:31):
Yeah, thank you.
Well, thank you for inviting me, Carrie.
I've really enjoyed having aconversation.
It's been so fun to talk aboutbranding with you.
Carrie Saunders (30:38):
Yes, yes, I feel like we kind of go hand in
hand where you do the brandingand we do the website part,
implementation part.
So I love it.
Wasn't that such a greatconversation?
I know I learned even moreabout branding than I already
knew.
Laura's insight into brandingreally gets to the heart of what
sets businesses apart.
It's not just about how thingslook.
(30:59):
It's about creating a brandthat feels right, one that
aligns with your values andtruly connects with your
audience.
If you're rethinking yourbranding or building one from
the ground up, I hope today'sepisode gives you some clarity
and maybe even a littleconfidence to take the next step
.
Don't forget you can find linksto connect with Laura in the
show notes and in this podcastdescription, and if you loved
this episode, I'd be so gratefulif you'd take a minute to
(31:21):
follow, rate and review the show.
It really helps us reach morebusiness owners like you who are
ready to build brands andwebsites that truly convert, and
we will see you next week.
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