August 24, 2023 • 21 mins
Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Engage with Jennifer Cerna, the mastermind behind Dream Marketing, as she unveils her transformative journey from running a one-stop marketing solution to crafting a niche in brand strategy. Jennifer's enchanting insights will remind you of the power of concentration, and how a singular focus can pave the way to your success.
The episode does not stop there. We take a deep dive into the alluring world of branding, shattering the misconception that it's just about logos. The discussion unfolds to reveal the importance of understanding your audience and the role of AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Jasper in enhancing your brand strategy. Tune in for an eye-opening conversation that will revolutionize the way you perceive your brand and the critical role it plays in today's business landscape. Connect with us as we delve into the captivating world of brand strategy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica Rosario (00:18):
Hello and welcome to the Maximize Your Day
podcast, a place forentrepreneurs who are building
their business in pursuit offreedom and flexibility to do
the things they love.
I'm your host, jessica Rosario.
I'm a New Yorker turnedFloridian Who knows a thing or
two on how to effectively manageyour time while juggling
multiple priorities.
I'm an ex-corporate leader whowalked away from my 9-5-ish to
(00:41):
launch and grow my business.
In this podcast, i shareinsights on mindset, business
productivity, habits andstrategies to help you take
control of your to-do list andmaximize your day, which will
help you feel more confident andless overwhelmed and getting
more done in less time.
I'm so excited you're here.
Go ahead, listen in.
(01:07):
Welcome back to the MaximizeYour Day podcast.
I am so excited to be here withyou today.
I had the amazing JenniferSerna and I'd love to share her
story with you guys.
For those of you that don'tknow me, my name is Jessica
Rosario and I am your podcasthost, and this podcast is all
about productivity maximizingthe tools and tips and tricks
(01:29):
that are available for you to beable to help you work in a more
efficient way, maximizing yourtime, maximizing your business.
When you really look at it,it's all about maximizing your
life as a whole.
Because when everything isworking in a flow, just
everything just starts to justwork better and you're working
(01:51):
from your zone of genius andjust feeling more inspired and
motivated.
So, without further ado,jennifer, just go ahead and tell
us who you are and who youserve.
Jennifer Cerna (02:02):
Yeah, hi, so I am Jennifer.
I'm a branding expert andstrategic designer.
I am the owner and founder ofDream Marketing.
I call it an enchanting,creative agency that transforms
client dreams into achievementsthrough brand experiences and
storytelling, and I just servesmall businesses who just want
(02:23):
to dream big, and I just try tohelp them get there and achieve
those dreams.
Jessica Rosario (02:28):
I love that.
I love your story and I loveyour business name Dream
Marketing.
I think that's so unique and socreative.
So, Jennifer, what brought youinto brand strategy?
Jennifer Cerna (02:39):
I've always had this entrepreneurial mindset
spirit.
My parents brought me up withit and they kind of hammered it
in for me And I've always been avery creative person because my
mother is that type of personand then my dad is an engineer.
So I have that analytical sideas me as well And I wanted to
find something that marries thetwo.
(02:59):
And you have branding, which isthe creative side, and then the
strategy to implement thatbranding, which is the
analytical side, and I foundthat to be the most perfect
combination for me.
Jessica Rosario (03:11):
I love that.
So would you say that in thetime that you've been in
business, you always started outwith brand strategy?
Jennifer Cerna (03:20):
I did not.
actually, i started off as theend all be all marketing agency
solution, which was absolutelyhorrible.
Jessica Rosario (03:32):
I can't wait to dive deeper into that story,
because we'll be talking aboutthe evolution of brand.
Right?
Someone's brand on day one isnot their brand on year 10,
right?
So tell me more about thattransition for you.
Jennifer Cerna (03:49):
Yeah.
So again, i just kind ofstarted off.
I started my business notknowing what I wanted to do just
within marketing, and set up mybusiness And you think you have
to offer everything under thesun to be in business.
I did social media, i didwebsites, i did SEO I didn't
even know what SEO was at thetime And a whole bunch of other
like range solutions.
(04:09):
I was like low designeverything.
But as I kind of started gettingclients here and there, as I
started seeing what it reallymeans to be like in that
specific niche or area, i shouldsay I just realized I really
don't like this, this isn'treally what I want, this is not
as fun as I thought it would be.
So then I started kind ofchipping away at the different
(04:29):
services and sooner or later Irealized it's better to focus on
a very specific niche area anddrill in deep on that, and if
you love it, even better, youknow.
So that's kind of how I I endedup in brand strategy.
I was originally doing websitesup until not long ago too.
It's just recent that I startedto kind of like drilling down
(04:51):
on brand strategy, because Ikind of appreciate doing
websites, but it's not where myheart's at.
And then, finally, landing here, everything just clarified,
solidified here, and everythingjust fell into place when I
chose the one thing and startedreally putting everything
together.
Jessica Rosario (05:07):
I've heard that so many times and you know
myself I'm a multi-passionentrepreneur.
There's a lot of people thatknow that I own a commercial
cleaning business here inCentral Florida And, of course,
i'm a business coach, which Iwas a business coach before we
started that business, which youknow.
I will say I am part of thesuccess of the business because
I think that if I didn't havethat business background, i
(05:28):
don't know if we would havestill been where we are now, but
definitely that was one of thethings that helped.
So, in your case, knowing thefact that you had to focus on
the one thing instead ofoffering too many things, what
did it do for your business?
I know you said things startedto fall into place, but what was
(05:49):
that aha moment that you werelike, oh my gosh?
you know I should have donethis from day one.
Jennifer Cerna (05:55):
Yeah.
so I don't believe innecessarily like a one moment
aha.
I believe it like continuously,gradually happens until you
look back and you're suddenlyI've made it this far.
So it was in one particularmoment where it was light switch
.
you know.
it's more of like suddenly,that gradually chipping away at
it being okay, what do I want,what do I focus on, what do I
like, where's my area of geniusand all that good stuff.
(06:18):
And just looking back and seeingwhat are the different parts
that I liked, what I've donebefore, what I've learned, and
all that good stuff, is where Ifinally realized brain strategy
was it?
And everything falling intoplace just really meant I was
able to clearly understand thepath that I wanted to take.
basically, i was able to createmy offer suite and do that
(06:41):
progression from, you know, mylower offer to my higher offer,
because it made sense now, itwasn't all scattered all over
the place.
I was able to hone in on mybrand as a whole and be okay,
this is how I want to show up.
And that's how I was able tocreate that little bio that I
gave, because I was able to belike okay, this is exactly how I
want to show up in that sense,and kind of knowing and
(07:03):
understanding what area you wantto be in really does help you
understand how to show up andhow to create that brand story
and brand experiences is what Icall it And which is essentially
what brand strategy is.
Jessica Rosario (07:17):
I love that you call it brand experience.
So how do you define that?
Jennifer Cerna (07:24):
Yeah, so it's basically any touch point that a
client or potential client goesthrough, where they just I
can't figure out another wordbesides experience of your
actual brand in the moment.
For example, right now, let'ssay I'm kind of figuring out my
podcast right And I'm kind offiguring out the steps for it,
but I'm making sure I'm veryintentional of what those steps
(07:45):
are.
So that's like the journey, andthen on top of that, what does
it look like?
So I'm sending shared notes andthat's all branded and being
like this is how we're gonna doit.
I'm also very type A, so youwill be like this is exact
structure, this is the questionswe're gonna be talking to and
all that good stuff, and it'sjust every single step of the
way is basically being likeyou're in the dream.
It experience Like you know.
(08:06):
It is dream it marketing,because everything around it not
just the visuals, but thefeeling you're getting, the
emotions, the thoughts that I,specifically, i want you to feel
these thoughts and emotions arebeing felt at the time.
Jessica Rosario (08:21):
I love that.
What would you say is theimportance of storytelling in
your business?
Jennifer Cerna (08:30):
I think branding and storytelling are one and
the same.
I think you can't reallyseparate one without the other,
because that's what you're doing.
You know we're creating thesebrand stories and inserting the
client into the story, And soit's very important to do
storytelling.
And a lot of people tell you todo storytelling, but most don't
tell you how to do it.
So that's one thing that I'mkind of setting out to be making
(08:52):
it very clear on how to do itand how to go about it.
But it's very important.
I include it in just abouteverything that I do for clients
.
I include it in everything thatI do personally for my business
and things like that.
What I say is your brand islike a character from your
favorite book or movie.
You know it has wants, it hasneeds, it has thoughts and
(09:14):
emotions.
It's supposed to act like aperson to a degree, you know.
So that's how I think of it.
Jessica Rosario (09:20):
I love that.
What would you say is a waythat you help a business build a
strong brand.
Jennifer Cerna (09:29):
Yeah, so the very first thing is really
narrowing down and nailing downwho your target audience is Like
.
That is the most important part.
I spend a good amount of timeon it with clients for the
beginning of the strategysession when I'm finding out who
their audience is and thenbuilding out their strategy for
(09:50):
like exactly who that audienceand like persona that we're
going to build is.
So I think that is the firstand foremost thing.
If you can't nail that, theneverything else is for not.
You know, it's basically likebuilding on sand And and then
after that it's just kind ofestablishing that personality
that you want to be.
(10:11):
It's establishing the parametersof that character that you want
your brand to embody and kindof knowing how to show up,
because if you're all over theplace, nobody's going to get you
or understand your brand or youas a person.
But if you're very precise andconcise about who you are and
what it is and how to be, thatthen someone can be like oh okay
(10:32):
, i understand that.
I see that.
You know people go with whatthey understand.
You know they will not go withwhat they don't understand.
So that's also a very importantaspect.
Jessica Rosario (10:44):
If you were to share with our audience what the
top three things that everyoneshould know when it comes to
branding, what would that be?
Jennifer Cerna (10:56):
Yeah.
So the first thing is probablythe biggest misconception in
branding, which is your brand isso much more than just a logo.
It's not just a logo.
A logo is like it's the endgoal.
It's not the end all be all ofa brand.
It is a visual representation,but that's where it stops, you
know.
So that's the first thing.
(11:17):
Like you can't depend on yourlogo being a brand and you have,
like colors and fonts andeverything, and that's not what
a brand is.
The second thing is, again,understanding that audience
persona.
You know, creating thataudience persona based off of a
good, real audience, and doingthat research, going through
their mind and what theirthoughts and feelings are, and
(11:39):
going deeper than just thedemographics, which is what I
call, like Sally, by Seychelles,by the Seashore, she's 24 and
on Instagram.
That's nowhere near enough.
And then the third thing isprobably to always just have
(12:01):
that audience in mind whencreating anything, and I mean
anything from content on a copyfrom a post.
Clearly, like you want totarget them in marketing, but
even design has all a specificpurpose.
Design can be art, but it'sreally meant to solve problems.
So it's understanding thoseproblems and then knowing how to
(12:22):
solve them with the differentkind of mediums that you have to
reach them.
Jessica Rosario (12:29):
Awesome, awesome.
I love that and I think thoseare great tips, especially for
someone that's starting out andreally doesn't know what areas
to focus on.
Now, how do I know if my brandis working effectively?
Jennifer Cerna (12:45):
Okay.
So the best way to see this iskind of seeing what people are
saying about it.
That's really what a brand is.
It's what other people thinkand say and feel about or
towards your brand.
So if they're saying, thinkingand feeling what you want them
to say, think and feel, thenyou're on the right track.
It's not necessarily aboutsales and increase website views
(13:10):
.
They're important goals, butultimately that's just kind of
like side goals where it comesto the brand you know.
So ultimately it's figuring outexactly what they think about
your brand and if it lines upwith what you want it to be,
then you know you're on yourright, where you need to be.
Jessica Rosario (13:26):
So definitely hearing from your audience.
You know that's one of thethings that when I'm working
with my coaching clients, i tellthem all the time hold your
audience, ask them the question,you know, and if you have some
other clients or if you hear atrend is somebody comes to you
and says something about yourInstagram posts whether it was
the content or whether it wasthe image or what attracted them
(13:47):
to your site.
Definitely keep that feedbackbecause that feedback is
important for the growth of yourbusiness.
So I love that.
I love that you're sharing thatNow, in this world that we are
all about AI, how do you thinkplatforms like Jasper and chat
GBT, how do you think they'vehelped business owners with
(14:08):
focusing on building their brand?
Jennifer Cerna (14:12):
Yeah, i think tremendously.
Really, I don't believe that AIwill replace certain aspects or
certain jobs, but I think itwill become a supplement to
those jobs And it will beimportant for those jobs to
learn how to use AI in order tobe able to still be relevant and
still be able to be in businessAnd building a brand.
(14:32):
Of course, chatgpt searches theinternet for all sorts of
information and puts it into themost relevant available piece
of information that it can giveyou with what you're asking it,
so it's incredibly useful.
I use it all the time, butthere's always supposed to be
some level of humanity to it,though, whether it's editing or
(14:54):
putting in the questions andtelling it.
I want it to be in this certainway, but there's always some
editing and human aspect to it.
For example, i was just tellingyou, before we started recording
, that I was using ChatGPT tocreate my bio, which helped me a
ton, and well, it didn't giveme the perfect answer.
It gave me a lot of differentkind of little nuggets here and
(15:16):
there, and I had to go in andextract them, edit them, make my
own voice and my own emotionsthat I want to provoke and put
it together.
So I think it's incrediblyuseful and it's incredibly
helpful and we're not turningback on it anymore from here.
We're past the point of noreturn from it, so it's
definitely going to be morehelpful down the road, but I
(15:37):
definitely think it's somethingto keep up with and know that it
is possible to use it to createand build your brand, just
depending on how you use it,because you just can't
completely rely on it 100%either.
Jessica Rosario (15:49):
Right, right, and I agree with you.
I think that is one way toenhance what we're doing in
business.
I tell my clients all the timedon't use it and copy and paste
it as your own.
Just refine it, add yourpizzazz, add your own spin, so
that people get to know who youare.
And the beauty of it is that asyou continue to do that with
(16:10):
these AI platforms, it continuesto get to know you and your
brand and your business, so itcontinues to give you better
curated content that you canutilize as you continue to grow
Awesome, awesome.
So, jennifer, what are waysthat anyone that's listening and
wants to hear more about whatyou do?
what are some ways that theycan work with you?
Jennifer Cerna (16:32):
Yeah, so of course I offer brand strategy
and those are custom sessionsand packages that we can talk
about how to rebrand or launch abrand like that.
And also I have smallerpackages such as the brand audit
which I'm working with Jessicaon and basically going through
your brand and seeing where theareas of improvement can be, and
(16:55):
all that good stuff.
And then I have a free Slackcommunity where I'm helping
others build their brand andjust creating that community of
other small businesses andentrepreneurs wanting that
direction and help to buildtheir brand.
Basically.
Jessica Rosario (17:09):
I love that And I'm glad that you brought that
up, because I have to say thatI've done your brand audit
workflow and I got so muchinformation much more than what
I truly expected And just beingable to see not only how you
identify, maybe, some areas ofopportunity, but you also
(17:31):
identified some areas ofstrength, and the cool thing
about it was that you were ableto tell me, hey, this is working
, leave this alone, but someareas that you can improve upon
are here, and you gave me somereally great suggestions and
recommendations that Iabsolutely love.
And just being able to buildfrom that because we all need to
(17:53):
have someone who's an expertOne of the things that I find
when working with a clientthat's building their business,
they get so hung up on thewebsite and the this and the
that and their colors.
And I tell them all the time areyou planning on building
websites for a living?
And they're like no, and I'mlike okay, well, why don't you
have somebody else that has theexpertise look at it and give
you feedback And then, if youstill choose to do it on your
(18:17):
own, you're at least making thechanges based on someone that
has that expertise that can helpsupport you?
Because, let's be honest, weare our very own worst, worst,
the worst critics when it comesto our stuff and our business
and our tools.
So Awesome.
Well, jennifer, it was so greathaving you on the show Before
(18:40):
we go.
I'd love to ask you how do youmaximize your day?
Jennifer Cerna (18:46):
Yeah, so, like I said, i'm very type A, so I
will do to-do list either thenight before the day of, i will
time block.
That's something that's reallyhelpful And I will just try to
set deadlines for myself and beable to complete them.
It's not always possible, butknowing that I give myself
permission to try to hit it, andif I try for it it's great, and
(19:08):
if I don't, i can move it toanother day unless it's like
utmost importance.
But yeah, trying like differentlittle things to keep myself on
track, because I know my mindwanders And so keeping those
things, those things right infront of me, that checklist, the
time blocking and all that goodstuff is what helps me maximize
my day.
Jessica Rosario (19:26):
Oh girl, that's music to my ears.
Jennifer Cerna (19:28):
I'm a type A also I love checklists.
Jessica Rosario (19:31):
I love to-do lists.
You know, sometimes I addthings to my to-do list just to
cross it out.
Yeah, i heard I'm not the onlyone, so I think that's so cool.
There's a group of us out therethat are doing the same weird
things, right?
Jennifer Cerna (19:46):
I love that.
Jessica Rosario (19:47):
So, jennifer, where can my audience find you
if they wanted to connect withyou?
Jennifer Cerna (19:51):
Yeah, so they can find me on Instagram and on
TikTok.
I am active in both.
I try to be at least, andthat's going to be at Dreamit
Marketing and that'sJ-R-E-A-M-I-T Marketing.
Jessica Rosario (20:05):
Awesome, awesome.
I love having you on the show,you guys.
Her contact information will bein the show notes, so feel free
to grab it there and, you know,take a screenshot of the
episode and tag us on social.
We'd love to see that.
We'd love to hear your feedbackand to be able to bring you
more content that helps youbuild your business, build your
brand and, just in general, helpyou maximize your day.
(20:27):
So thank you so much for beinghere, jennifer.
It was great having you.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
It's been a lot of fun, asalways.
Thank you so much for listeningin.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe show to be notified the
second a new episode is releasedAnd share with your friends who
you believe could benefit fromlistening.
Contact me at justrosariocomforward slash podcast to share
(20:51):
your feedback, ask questions,make topic suggestions or even
be a guest on my show.
You never know if your topicwill be next until next time.
Maximize your day and own it.
Hello and welcome to the Maximize Your Day
podcast, a place forentrepreneurs who are building
their business in pursuit offreedom and flexibility to do
the things they love.
I'm your host, jessica Rosario.
I'm a New Yorker turnedFloridian Who knows a thing or
two on how to effectively manageyour time while juggling
multiple priorities.
I'm an ex-corporate leader whowalked away from my 9-5-ish to
(00:41):
launch and grow my business.
In this podcast, i shareinsights on mindset, business
productivity, habits andstrategies to help you take
control of your to-do list andmaximize your day, which will
help you feel more confident andless overwhelmed and getting
more done in less time.
I'm so excited you're here.
Go ahead, listen in.
(01:07):
Welcome back to the MaximizeYour Day podcast.
I am so excited to be here withyou today.
I had the amazing JenniferSerna and I'd love to share her
story with you guys.
For those of you that don'tknow me, my name is Jessica
Rosario and I am your podcasthost, and this podcast is all
about productivity maximizingthe tools and tips and tricks
(01:29):
that are available for you to beable to help you work in a more
efficient way, maximizing yourtime, maximizing your business.
When you really look at it,it's all about maximizing your
life as a whole.
Because when everything isworking in a flow, just
everything just starts to justwork better and you're working
(01:51):
from your zone of genius andjust feeling more inspired and
motivated.
So, without further ado,jennifer, just go ahead and tell
us who you are and who youserve.
Jennifer Cerna (02:02):
Yeah, hi, so I am Jennifer.
I'm a branding expert andstrategic designer.
I am the owner and founder ofDream Marketing.
I call it an enchanting,creative agency that transforms
client dreams into achievementsthrough brand experiences and
storytelling, and I just servesmall businesses who just want
(02:23):
to dream big, and I just try tohelp them get there and achieve
those dreams.
Jessica Rosario (02:28):
I love that.
I love your story and I loveyour business name Dream
Marketing.
I think that's so unique and socreative.
So, Jennifer, what brought youinto brand strategy?
Jennifer Cerna (02:39):
I've always had this entrepreneurial mindset
spirit.
My parents brought me up withit and they kind of hammered it
in for me And I've always been avery creative person because my
mother is that type of personand then my dad is an engineer.
So I have that analytical sideas me as well And I wanted to
find something that marries thetwo.
(02:59):
And you have branding, which isthe creative side, and then the
strategy to implement thatbranding, which is the
analytical side, and I foundthat to be the most perfect
combination for me.
Jessica Rosario (03:11):
I love that.
So would you say that in thetime that you've been in
business, you always started outwith brand strategy?
Jennifer Cerna (03:20):
I did not.
actually, i started off as theend all be all marketing agency
solution, which was absolutelyhorrible.
Jessica Rosario (03:32):
I can't wait to dive deeper into that story,
because we'll be talking aboutthe evolution of brand.
Right?
Someone's brand on day one isnot their brand on year 10,
right?
So tell me more about thattransition for you.
Jennifer Cerna (03:49):
Yeah.
So again, i just kind ofstarted off.
I started my business notknowing what I wanted to do just
within marketing, and set up mybusiness And you think you have
to offer everything under thesun to be in business.
I did social media, i didwebsites, i did SEO I didn't
even know what SEO was at thetime And a whole bunch of other
like range solutions.
(04:09):
I was like low designeverything.
But as I kind of started gettingclients here and there, as I
started seeing what it reallymeans to be like in that
specific niche or area, i shouldsay I just realized I really
don't like this, this isn'treally what I want, this is not
as fun as I thought it would be.
So then I started kind ofchipping away at the different
(04:29):
services and sooner or later Irealized it's better to focus on
a very specific niche area anddrill in deep on that, and if
you love it, even better, youknow.
So that's kind of how I I endedup in brand strategy.
I was originally doing websitesup until not long ago too.
It's just recent that I startedto kind of like drilling down
(04:51):
on brand strategy, because Ikind of appreciate doing
websites, but it's not where myheart's at.
And then, finally, landing here, everything just clarified,
solidified here, and everythingjust fell into place when I
chose the one thing and startedreally putting everything
together.
Jessica Rosario (05:07):
I've heard that so many times and you know
myself I'm a multi-passionentrepreneur.
There's a lot of people thatknow that I own a commercial
cleaning business here inCentral Florida And, of course,
i'm a business coach, which Iwas a business coach before we
started that business, which youknow.
I will say I am part of thesuccess of the business because
I think that if I didn't havethat business background, i
(05:28):
don't know if we would havestill been where we are now, but
definitely that was one of thethings that helped.
So, in your case, knowing thefact that you had to focus on
the one thing instead ofoffering too many things, what
did it do for your business?
I know you said things startedto fall into place, but what was
(05:49):
that aha moment that you werelike, oh my gosh?
you know I should have donethis from day one.
Jennifer Cerna (05:55):
Yeah.
so I don't believe innecessarily like a one moment
aha.
I believe it like continuously,gradually happens until you
look back and you're suddenlyI've made it this far.
So it was in one particularmoment where it was light switch
.
you know.
it's more of like suddenly,that gradually chipping away at
it being okay, what do I want,what do I focus on, what do I
like, where's my area of geniusand all that good stuff.
(06:18):
And just looking back and seeingwhat are the different parts
that I liked, what I've donebefore, what I've learned, and
all that good stuff, is where Ifinally realized brain strategy
was it?
And everything falling intoplace just really meant I was
able to clearly understand thepath that I wanted to take.
basically, i was able to createmy offer suite and do that
(06:41):
progression from, you know, mylower offer to my higher offer,
because it made sense now, itwasn't all scattered all over
the place.
I was able to hone in on mybrand as a whole and be okay,
this is how I want to show up.
And that's how I was able tocreate that little bio that I
gave, because I was able to belike okay, this is exactly how I
want to show up in that sense,and kind of knowing and
(07:03):
understanding what area you wantto be in really does help you
understand how to show up andhow to create that brand story
and brand experiences is what Icall it And which is essentially
what brand strategy is.
Jessica Rosario (07:17):
I love that you call it brand experience.
So how do you define that?
Jennifer Cerna (07:24):
Yeah, so it's basically any touch point that a
client or potential client goesthrough, where they just I
can't figure out another wordbesides experience of your
actual brand in the moment.
For example, right now, let'ssay I'm kind of figuring out my
podcast right And I'm kind offiguring out the steps for it,
but I'm making sure I'm veryintentional of what those steps
(07:45):
are.
So that's like the journey, andthen on top of that, what does
it look like?
So I'm sending shared notes andthat's all branded and being
like this is how we're gonna doit.
I'm also very type A, so youwill be like this is exact
structure, this is the questionswe're gonna be talking to and
all that good stuff, and it'sjust every single step of the
way is basically being likeyou're in the dream.
It experience Like you know.
(08:06):
It is dream it marketing,because everything around it not
just the visuals, but thefeeling you're getting, the
emotions, the thoughts that I,specifically, i want you to feel
these thoughts and emotions arebeing felt at the time.
Jessica Rosario (08:21):
I love that.
What would you say is theimportance of storytelling in
your business?
Jennifer Cerna (08:30):
I think branding and storytelling are one and
the same.
I think you can't reallyseparate one without the other,
because that's what you're doing.
You know we're creating thesebrand stories and inserting the
client into the story, And soit's very important to do
storytelling.
And a lot of people tell you todo storytelling, but most don't
tell you how to do it.
So that's one thing that I'mkind of setting out to be making
(08:52):
it very clear on how to do itand how to go about it.
But it's very important.
I include it in just abouteverything that I do for clients
.
I include it in everything thatI do personally for my business
and things like that.
What I say is your brand islike a character from your
favorite book or movie.
You know it has wants, it hasneeds, it has thoughts and
(09:14):
emotions.
It's supposed to act like aperson to a degree, you know.
So that's how I think of it.
Jessica Rosario (09:20):
I love that.
What would you say is a waythat you help a business build a
strong brand.
Jennifer Cerna (09:29):
Yeah, so the very first thing is really
narrowing down and nailing downwho your target audience is Like
.
That is the most important part.
I spend a good amount of timeon it with clients for the
beginning of the strategysession when I'm finding out who
their audience is and thenbuilding out their strategy for
(09:50):
like exactly who that audienceand like persona that we're
going to build is.
So I think that is the firstand foremost thing.
If you can't nail that, theneverything else is for not.
You know, it's basically likebuilding on sand And and then
after that it's just kind ofestablishing that personality
that you want to be.
(10:11):
It's establishing the parametersof that character that you want
your brand to embody and kindof knowing how to show up,
because if you're all over theplace, nobody's going to get you
or understand your brand or youas a person.
But if you're very precise andconcise about who you are and
what it is and how to be, thatthen someone can be like oh okay
(10:32):
, i understand that.
I see that.
You know people go with whatthey understand.
You know they will not go withwhat they don't understand.
So that's also a very importantaspect.
Jessica Rosario (10:44):
If you were to share with our audience what the
top three things that everyoneshould know when it comes to
branding, what would that be?
Jennifer Cerna (10:56):
Yeah.
So the first thing is probablythe biggest misconception in
branding, which is your brand isso much more than just a logo.
It's not just a logo.
A logo is like it's the endgoal.
It's not the end all be all ofa brand.
It is a visual representation,but that's where it stops, you
know.
So that's the first thing.
(11:17):
Like you can't depend on yourlogo being a brand and you have,
like colors and fonts andeverything, and that's not what
a brand is.
The second thing is, again,understanding that audience
persona.
You know, creating thataudience persona based off of a
good, real audience, and doingthat research, going through
their mind and what theirthoughts and feelings are, and
(11:39):
going deeper than just thedemographics, which is what I
call, like Sally, by Seychelles,by the Seashore, she's 24 and
on Instagram.
That's nowhere near enough.
And then the third thing isprobably to always just have
(12:01):
that audience in mind whencreating anything, and I mean
anything from content on a copyfrom a post.
Clearly, like you want totarget them in marketing, but
even design has all a specificpurpose.
Design can be art, but it'sreally meant to solve problems.
So it's understanding thoseproblems and then knowing how to
(12:22):
solve them with the differentkind of mediums that you have to
reach them.
Jessica Rosario (12:29):
Awesome, awesome.
I love that and I think thoseare great tips, especially for
someone that's starting out andreally doesn't know what areas
to focus on.
Now, how do I know if my brandis working effectively?
Jennifer Cerna (12:45):
Okay.
So the best way to see this iskind of seeing what people are
saying about it.
That's really what a brand is.
It's what other people thinkand say and feel about or
towards your brand.
So if they're saying, thinkingand feeling what you want them
to say, think and feel, thenyou're on the right track.
It's not necessarily aboutsales and increase website views
(13:10):
.
They're important goals, butultimately that's just kind of
like side goals where it comesto the brand you know.
So ultimately it's figuring outexactly what they think about
your brand and if it lines upwith what you want it to be,
then you know you're on yourright, where you need to be.
Jessica Rosario (13:26):
So definitely hearing from your audience.
You know that's one of thethings that when I'm working
with my coaching clients, i tellthem all the time hold your
audience, ask them the question,you know, and if you have some
other clients or if you hear atrend is somebody comes to you
and says something about yourInstagram posts whether it was
the content or whether it wasthe image or what attracted them
(13:47):
to your site.
Definitely keep that feedbackbecause that feedback is
important for the growth of yourbusiness.
So I love that.
I love that you're sharing thatNow, in this world that we are
all about AI, how do you thinkplatforms like Jasper and chat
GBT, how do you think they'vehelped business owners with
(14:08):
focusing on building their brand?
Jennifer Cerna (14:12):
Yeah, i think tremendously.
Really, I don't believe that AIwill replace certain aspects or
certain jobs, but I think itwill become a supplement to
those jobs And it will beimportant for those jobs to
learn how to use AI in order tobe able to still be relevant and
still be able to be in businessAnd building a brand.
(14:32):
Of course, chatgpt searches theinternet for all sorts of
information and puts it into themost relevant available piece
of information that it can giveyou with what you're asking it,
so it's incredibly useful.
I use it all the time, butthere's always supposed to be
some level of humanity to it,though, whether it's editing or
(14:54):
putting in the questions andtelling it.
I want it to be in this certainway, but there's always some
editing and human aspect to it.
For example, i was just tellingyou, before we started recording
, that I was using ChatGPT tocreate my bio, which helped me a
ton, and well, it didn't giveme the perfect answer.
It gave me a lot of differentkind of little nuggets here and
(15:16):
there, and I had to go in andextract them, edit them, make my
own voice and my own emotionsthat I want to provoke and put
it together.
So I think it's incrediblyuseful and it's incredibly
helpful and we're not turningback on it anymore from here.
We're past the point of noreturn from it, so it's
definitely going to be morehelpful down the road, but I
(15:37):
definitely think it's somethingto keep up with and know that it
is possible to use it to createand build your brand, just
depending on how you use it,because you just can't
completely rely on it 100%either.
Jessica Rosario (15:49):
Right, right, and I agree with you.
I think that is one way toenhance what we're doing in
business.
I tell my clients all the timedon't use it and copy and paste
it as your own.
Just refine it, add yourpizzazz, add your own spin, so
that people get to know who youare.
And the beauty of it is that asyou continue to do that with
(16:10):
these AI platforms, it continuesto get to know you and your
brand and your business, so itcontinues to give you better
curated content that you canutilize as you continue to grow
Awesome, awesome.
So, jennifer, what are waysthat anyone that's listening and
wants to hear more about whatyou do?
what are some ways that theycan work with you?
Jennifer Cerna (16:32):
Yeah, so of course I offer brand strategy
and those are custom sessionsand packages that we can talk
about how to rebrand or launch abrand like that.
And also I have smallerpackages such as the brand audit
which I'm working with Jessicaon and basically going through
your brand and seeing where theareas of improvement can be, and
(16:55):
all that good stuff.
And then I have a free Slackcommunity where I'm helping
others build their brand andjust creating that community of
other small businesses andentrepreneurs wanting that
direction and help to buildtheir brand.
Basically.
Jessica Rosario (17:09):
I love that And I'm glad that you brought that
up, because I have to say thatI've done your brand audit
workflow and I got so muchinformation much more than what
I truly expected And just beingable to see not only how you
identify, maybe, some areas ofopportunity, but you also
(17:31):
identified some areas ofstrength, and the cool thing
about it was that you were ableto tell me, hey, this is working
, leave this alone, but someareas that you can improve upon
are here, and you gave me somereally great suggestions and
recommendations that Iabsolutely love.
And just being able to buildfrom that because we all need to
(17:53):
have someone who's an expertOne of the things that I find
when working with a clientthat's building their business,
they get so hung up on thewebsite and the this and the
that and their colors.
And I tell them all the time areyou planning on building
websites for a living?
And they're like no, and I'mlike okay, well, why don't you
have somebody else that has theexpertise look at it and give
you feedback And then, if youstill choose to do it on your
(18:17):
own, you're at least making thechanges based on someone that
has that expertise that can helpsupport you?
Because, let's be honest, weare our very own worst, worst,
the worst critics when it comesto our stuff and our business
and our tools.
So Awesome.
Well, jennifer, it was so greathaving you on the show Before
(18:40):
we go.
I'd love to ask you how do youmaximize your day?
Jennifer Cerna (18:46):
Yeah, so, like I said, i'm very type A, so I
will do to-do list either thenight before the day of, i will
time block.
That's something that's reallyhelpful And I will just try to
set deadlines for myself and beable to complete them.
It's not always possible, butknowing that I give myself
permission to try to hit it, andif I try for it it's great, and
(19:08):
if I don't, i can move it toanother day unless it's like
utmost importance.
But yeah, trying like differentlittle things to keep myself on
track, because I know my mindwanders And so keeping those
things, those things right infront of me, that checklist, the
time blocking and all that goodstuff is what helps me maximize
my day.
Jessica Rosario (19:26):
Oh girl, that's music to my ears.
Jennifer Cerna (19:28):
I'm a type A also I love checklists.
Jessica Rosario (19:31):
I love to-do lists.
You know, sometimes I addthings to my to-do list just to
cross it out.
Yeah, i heard I'm not the onlyone, so I think that's so cool.
There's a group of us out therethat are doing the same weird
things, right?
Jennifer Cerna (19:46):
I love that.
Jessica Rosario (19:47):
So, jennifer, where can my audience find you
if they wanted to connect withyou?
Jennifer Cerna (19:51):
Yeah, so they can find me on Instagram and on
TikTok.
I am active in both.
I try to be at least, andthat's going to be at Dreamit
Marketing and that'sJ-R-E-A-M-I-T Marketing.
Jessica Rosario (20:05):
Awesome, awesome.
I love having you on the show,you guys.
Her contact information will bein the show notes, so feel free
to grab it there and, you know,take a screenshot of the
episode and tag us on social.
We'd love to see that.
We'd love to hear your feedbackand to be able to bring you
more content that helps youbuild your business, build your
brand and, just in general, helpyou maximize your day.
(20:27):
So thank you so much for beinghere, jennifer.
It was great having you.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
It's been a lot of fun, asalways.
Thank you so much for listeningin.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe show to be notified the
second a new episode is releasedAnd share with your friends who
you believe could benefit fromlistening.
Contact me at justrosariocomforward slash podcast to share
(20:51):
your feedback, ask questions,make topic suggestions or even
be a guest on my show.
You never know if your topicwill be next until next time.
Maximize your day and own it.
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