Brand Audits in 60 Minutes — Guide #2
Brand Audits in 60 Minutes — Guide #2. If your brand feels fuzzy to you, it’s fog to your audience. Let’s make it obvious and repeatable.
Strategy is choosing what not to do. Your brand exists to make specific decisions obvious.
Steps
- List three proof points — Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust.
- State the promise in plain words — Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later.
- Define the audience and their stakes — Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices.
- Design constraints before concepts — Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail.
Why this matters: Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Toolkit
- Voice ladder — From formal to playful with examples for each channel.
- Positioning line — For [audience] who struggle with [problem], we deliver [outcome], proven by [proof].
- Messaging blocks — Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections.
How to use it: From formal to playful with examples for each channel. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: For [audience] who struggle with [problem], we deliver [outcome], proven by [proof]. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
Example
A founder started writing one LinkedIn tip daily; inbound doubled in 90 days without ads.
Common Pitfalls & Fixes
- Feature soup — Group features by outcomes buyers feel; features support, outcomes sell.
- Guides nobody reads — One page first. Depth later. Adoption beats length.
- Collecting adjectives — Translate adjectives into constraints (type size, palette count, tone limits).
- Logo first — Write positioning before pixels; a logo is a receipt for choices.
Fix: Group features by outcomes buyers feel; features support, outcomes sell. Add it to your operating checklist so teams don’t drift next sprint.
Related Articles
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- Microcopy: The Highest‑Leverage Words — Guide #2
- Onboarding Emails that Feel On‑Brand
- Website IA for SaaS Brands — Playbook #2
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