We’re kicking off Q3 strong with a comprehensive recap of everything quarter 2 brought to the online branding and marketing space. The way people are thinking about branding and marketing is constantly changing, and they’re positioning themselves accordingly. When we start talking about trends, we’re not doing it in an effort to chase passing fads. Instead, I want you to feel empowered to adopt what feels aligned for your brand and scrap the rest. This trend report will help you keep your brand innovative and your marketing fresh. So let’s get into it…

The Growing Emphasis on Values and Transparency

The two main things I’m seeing more of lately are an emphasis on values and transparency/vulnerability. Overall, we are definitely seeing more people buy from people that they trust, people they feel like they care about, people they feel they resonate with. And these factors are coming in above buying from whoever can get them results. 

We’ll get into this later – but creativity has definitely improved across the board lately. Because of this, people are doing more due diligence to figure out, is this the right person for me? Especially as we’re seeing so many services become more long term. I remember when I first started my business; it was very common for services and offerings to be very short. We’d see four-six week bootcamp style, everything done in a day, everything done in a week, especially with creativity, with design. Like that definitely took the rise in.

But right now, everything’s being expanded. There are a few reasons for this. Number one, people see that their customers might enjoy a longer container with less pressure. Number two, life looks different and the way we process information has changed, even subtly. So with these changes, values are becoming more important than ever. If you’re committed to a longer container with someone, you’re going to put a lot more bearing on their personality and whether their values align with yours than if you’re just spending a week together. 

Values hold us accountable and can be used as a guide in order for us to make better decisions. Because every decision we make as business owners can either garner a sense of consistency, credibility and trust, or demean it. 

And here’s how the visuals of a brand come into play for values – routine. People are so attuned to their own routine. The only way to establish a sense of trust with a stranger online is to become part of their routine. How do you do that? By being consistent with your visuals. They should be able to see your post and immediately know it’s you, recognize what you’re doing, etc. It is natural for us to cling on to something that feels familiar. And so it’s also important that when you are going through a rebrand or really deciding if you need to change up your values or change up something in your business, that you can anchor into why and communicate that. 

Matching Your Branding to Your Customer Experience

I think a lot about Chick-Fil-A. Every time you go to Chick-Fil-A, you can probably expect a certain level of service, a certain level of delivery with the food, a certain rapport with the staff, etc. The overall experience is consistent.  

This is an example of values being presented in service and experience. What happens if one day you decide to go, and that is not consistent anymore, or you realize one Chick fil A branch doesn’t operate the same way as another Chick fil A branch? In the online world, someone may go into one offer and see that you don’t operate the same way as your other offer. Or your values aren’t consistent from one offer to the next. 

This is where buyer remorse and frustration really comes in. And I truly think that when someone is feeling frustrated at the investment that they made, this is an error where  values have not been portrayed as authentically as they could have been. You never want your clients to feel surprised or bamboozled when they step inside an offer.

Transparency Beyond Income Claiming

Previously, when business owners thought about transparency, we were seeing a lot of Stripe notifications. We knew exactly how much a business owner was making each month (or claiming to make), but we may not know anything else about them. 

There was a thread going semi viral about a Stripe screenshot generator. Apparently it’s a program that allows you to put in information and populate a fake Stripe notification on your phone. To me, this feels super unethical and further Displays the ick that income claiming, with no other piece of the transparency puzzle can give.  

Do I think income claiming is important for some niches? Yes. Do I think that’s the only way to show vulnerability and transparency, especially on the CEO’s end? Absolutely not.

Building in Public

For example, creativity is a huge value of ours as an agency. Can I really convey that value through a Stripe screenshot? No. So I’ve communicated, time and time again, about how that’s embedded in our services, why that’s important to us, and more. So beyond income claiming, people are really looking at what your life is like outside of business, what the hardships you’ve been having in business are, etc.

I saw one person post about how this year, they’ve made 50 percent less money compared to last year and how it is still their most fruitful year yet. And, of course, they went into all the other factors that have made it valuable beyond revenue. And for me, as a consumer of that brand, I appreciated that. And I thought it was a different way to be transparent with the numbers. 

Vulnerability and transparency get misunderstood a lot. It’s not about sharing private information that you’re not ready to share. Instead, it’s about building in public. By building in public, I mean showing your audience what you’re working on and what you’re going through in real time. 

Creative Photoshoots

Creative photoshoots are all the rage right now. I feel like its mission accomplished for me because those laptop photos are old news! I’m not seeing anymore random coffee mugs or poses at a stale looking desk. We saw a wine glass trend, a newspaper trend, even a disco ball trend. So the props are still propping! But they’re at least a little more tailored to each niche. 

Let this be your sign to get a rebrand photoshoot, especially if your photos are falling into that overdone category. You don’t want to lag behind while everyone else keeps getting more and more creative! 

Creativity is literally the thing that can bring you sales. When your creativity grows stale, that’s when sales dry up or dip as well. How can you get more interested eyes on your page? Right now, people are continuously raising the bar with their photoshoots. The days of standing out simply because you have professional photos done are over. 

Many people are feeling fatigued by creating content. Most people just blame the algorithm when this happens, but I’d challenge anyone who is feeling this way to take a deep look at their photos and branding at large. People want to automate their content so much so they can at least feel good about their consistency. 

Are We Overdoing the Whole Repurposing Thing?

Because of the amount of people that have adopted a content repurposing system, it is so easy to spot when something is pre-scheduled and heavily repurposed. Content repurposing is great to keep up with consistency. But I think leaning on it too much can create a brand that starts to fade into the background. If everyone can tell it’s recycled content, it’s really easy to get bored and look past it. 

That’s why I’ve opted for less posting with more creativity instead of more posting with less creativity. Podcasts are on the rise because people can get access to your brain and your insights right off the bat. But this is why I haven’t fully stepped onto the repurposing train. I feel like people’s attention span just needs a little bit more to shake it up and bring them back in.

I would rather have my brand be attention worthy every time I post, even if I don’t post every day.  The alternative of posting every day and someone marking my brand subconsciously as not worth the attention is not worth it to me.

Mini-Branding For Specific Offers

Something I’ve been seeing more lately is mini branding specific offers. So I’ll tell you how we normally do that for our clients, what it’s evolved into. Normally when we rebrand our clients, they obviously get logos, color palette, type suites, the photo shoot, all of that. Each offer definitely has a mini identity. . We’ll create logos for each offer. We’ll select a specific color or two that go with each offer and specify certain images. 

But for people who don’t even have full on brands will still brand their offers with a mini brand. They’ll choose colors, a theme, etc. And people are really getting creative with that! I’ve also seen literal themes going around like school themed, cowboy themed, and more. And some of it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the offer itself. 

I’ll use Brand Revenue Lab as an example. I could make it super science themed with imagery of science labs, lab coats, potions, and create a entire world around it. It would definitely make that offer stand out! It does definitely do the job of creating brand awareness. So I can get behind this trend if it makes sense with your overall branding. 

Science-y branding would make no sense when placed alongside my editorial magazine style branding. So if you go this route, just make sure that your mini-branding doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and completely confuses your audience from one offer to the next. It should tell a cohesive story!

Entrepreneurs Love Labeling Themselves

I’m specifically referring to entrepreneurs labeling themselves as a specific type of entrepreneur and having that effect on how they interact with all other businesses. I think this can be a bit of a trap. Labeling is important for buyers to place you in the market. Being clear on who you are is huge for your branding. 

 But I’m talking about a particular type of labeling that seems to be made in reaction to the icky feelings they’re leaving behind in corporate. But how they put that label on is essentially re-isolating themselves. When labels dictate why entrepreneurs can or cannot do certain things, it can actually be super limiting. I think it’s easy to look past solutions and communities that could be beneficial if we’re backed into the corner of a label. So there’s a fine line between trying to create a community of like-minded people and totally cutting yourself off into an echo chamber. 

Honestly, this is how the online space can become very clicky. When the marketing sounds like “if you haven’t gone through these specific things that you just don’t understand, you’re not welcome in my community,” I feel like it’s important to interrogate that.