Introducing The Digital Download: a series of tips and tricks for artists using digital media. Are you ready to bring your brand online? Check out 7 Tips To Bring Your Brand Online.

• Create a Business Plan

A business plan is a key to a successful business. The idea of writing a business plan may seem daunting for those who would rather spend their time focused on their creativity.  A successful business plan will allow you to seek financing, manage operations and focus on your craft in the long run.  A Business Plan should include a Marketing Plan that will help you develop a strategy to penetrate your market.   Here is a list of a few resources I’ve used in the past: 

Futurpreneur Canada Business Plan Writer 

BDC free business plan template

BizStart Entrepreneurship

• Develop Your Brand Style Guide and Logo

Before you bring your brand online you should start defining your brand Identity. What is your brand tone and voice? What are your colours, visuals, fonts? A Brand Guide will help you and/or your content team communicate online and publish consistent content for your audience. Here is a template to help you get started: Hootsuite Social Media Style Guide Template

A logo is a graphic your brand will use to promote public identification and recognition. Once you have a complete business plan and brand guide connect with a graphic designer and/or create your own logo.   A logo is the most important part of your brand Identity.  Check out these resources to help you get started on the logo: 

Canva – The free version offers a lot to get started with creating your logo

Graphic Design programs:

Fiver

Upwork

RGD (Registered Graphic Designer)

• Implement a Social Plan 

A Social Media Plan outlines everything you plan to do across your band’s social channels.  A few key elements your Social Media Plan should include are goals, metrics, a staffing plan and a content calendar. 

• Get Familiar with Content Creation Tools

As creatives, we need as much time as we can get to focus on our craft. When starting a business we often wear many hats, from sales representatives to marketers and accountants.  Content Creation Tools give us our time back and help us stay organized. 

Here are a few of my favourites: 

Canva  – A platform used to create social media graphics, presentations and visual content. 

Planoly – The perfect tool to manage, plan and schedule your Instagram account. 

Hootsuite –   A social media management platform that supports social network integration.  

Link Tree – A bio link tool used on Instagram

Afterlight – A image editing app for your smartphone.

Grammarly – A online writing assistant that ensures everything you write is clear, engaging, and polished.

• Start Posting Content

Now it’s time to start sharing your content! Start on the right track by scheduling your posts in advance with apps like Planoly.   Another option is to integrate your digital calendar and set up notifications to remind you of your upcoming posts. Remember the further you plan the more time you get back to focus on your craft. 

• Measure your Success 

To understand how your target market interacts with your brand,  keep track of your insights across your website and social channels. 

The are many apps and software to track your website analytics. A well-known resource is Google Analytics. Today social channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have an option to sign up for business accounts. A business account allows you to view your weekly insights. Important things to pay attention to are who is engaging with your content? Where are they located? What content is popular? What content has low engagement? 

• Keep Going! 

“The key to success is consistency”. Think of a creative online that inspires you, how long have they been sharing their content online? The one thing that all successful brands have in common is they kept going.