🤩 New Year, New Brand? Transform Your Branding in 2025!

As we wrap up the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, some of us, if you're anything like me, are already looking ahead to the new year and thinking about ways to elevate our businesses in 2025.

Today, we're diving deep into a crucial topic: auditing your branding for the new year. When was the last time you gave your brand a thorough review? And no, I'm not talking about just glancing at your logo or tweaking your Instagram bio. I mean a full-on, comprehensive branding audit.

In this episode, we’ll discuss why it's so important to start the year with a fresh, updated brand, and I'll walk you through my step-by-step guide to ensure your branding is as fearless and aligned as you are.

x Morgan
 
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Transcript

Hi, guys. Welcome back to the Fearless Designer Podcast. I am so pumped that you're joining me here, as I know it's that time of year again where everyone is so busy enjoying time with their families. And if you're anything like me, you're really wanting to get a jump start on the new year. Now that we've made it through the holiday chaos, I bet you're already thinking about how to grow your business in 2025. But I want to ask you this really quick question. When was the last time you reviewed your branding? And I don't mean glancing at your logo or tweaking your Instagram bio. I mean, really reviewed it.

Today we're going to get into what it looks like to audit your branding for the new year, what's working, what's not, and most importantly, what are you going to do differently in 2025 to make your brand super fear? First of all, I want to get into why your branding needs a fresh start for the new year. And I don't need to tell you that it's the perfect time, the start of the new year. But it is the perfect time to reflect, set goals, and make some moves that you might not have had time for last year. But here's the thing. You actually can't step into the next level of your business with a brand that feels like it's stuck in 2023 or even worse, 2015. So think about it. Your business has probably grown, your audience has evolved, maybe your offers have changed in the year, or maybe your messaging has shifted. So let's make sure that your branding is coming along for the ride.

And if you've got a spare couple of hours, or even better, a day, jump straight into it. It's the perfect time in January to plan for your brand rollout in the new year. I'm just gonna give it to you. I'm giving you the permission slip to let go of anything in your branding that doesn't feel aligned anymore. If your logo's feeling outdated, if you're holding onto it because you started and it's nostalgic, it's time to rethink it. You're the color palette that doesn't match your energy anymore. It's gotta go. We've gotta change it.

Now is the perfect time. Your branding should evolve with you. And it's not about looking current. It's making sure that every visual piece of content and interaction with your brand reflects where you're going next, your next evolution. So you may be thinking, all right, Morgan, that's all well and good, but how am I actually gonna audit my brand for 2025? And I'm gonna get practical with you right now. This is can actually reveal branding. It's my step by step audit. It may uncover some new things that you haven't thought of or promote some ideas to come up for you.

So first of all, start with your visuals. Take a look at your logo, your color palette, your fonts and your images and ask yourself these questions. Do they still feel like me? Are they attracting the right clients? Do they feel fresh and modern for my personal taste? Do I think they look good? And if the answer is meh or not really, it is time for an update. I know what you're thinking, isn't this a job for a designer, a va but it totally isn't. The heart of your branding comes from you and the extra miles you put in. Now, even if it's just getting on Pinterest and creating a new mood board, it will put you so much further ahead if you decide to brief a designer to help bring your vision to life. Second of all, review your messaging. Go through your website, go through your social media bios and all of those key marketing materials that you use often.

Does your tone of voice match the way that you're talking to your clients currently? Does your messaging clearly communicate what you want, what you do and who you serve? If it's feeling off, it is probably time to refine and tighten those up. Number three Check for consistency. Are your visuals and messaging consistent across all platforms or is your Instagram vibe on point but your LinkedIn feels like it could be a different person? Consistency builds trust, so we need to make sure that everything is feeling really cohesive. Number four Gather feedback. This one's a huge one. Reach out to clients, team members, or even trusted business friends and ask, what's your impression of my brand? Does it align with what I do? You might be surprised what they notice and some things you might overlook. Just keep in the back of your mind that some of these people are not your ideal client, but they can give some constructive thoughts and criticism sometimes around how your brand looks and feels. And number five, Set goals for your brand.

Think about where you want your business to be at the end of 2025. Does your current branding support that vision? If not, what needs to change? What things do you have to do to become this in the new year? Are you launching new products like a course? How is it going to look? Start plotting these key moments onto your calendar so you can prepare to roll this out consistently. Alright, so they were my step by step how to audit your brand in the new year. But now I want to ask you the million dollar question and it is one that I'm busy asking myself too. What are you going to do differently this year? Maybe it's like you're finally investing in a professional logo instead of the DIY one you had four years ago. Maybe it's creating some templates so your social media doesn't feel like a chore and you can brief your VA to create ongoing artworks using these templates. Maybe it's finally committing to some consistent, beautiful colors and fonts that really feel polished and cohesive for your brand. Whatever it is, it is definitely the right time to take action.

There is not a perfect time to do this and it is not time to settle for just good enough. Your audience is ready to see you level up and trust me, they will notice when you do. Remember, branding isn't just how things look. It's about how they make people feel. When your branding feels confident, aligned and intentional, your audience feels that too. And that's when the magic happens. That's when you start to get the notices and people will DM you and say, hey, loving your vibe, loving the colors, loving what you wore to an event because they know it matches in with your colors. Because they follow you.

All right now I have some really great action steps for you. These are going to help you map out your next steps. It's going to help you create that fearless brand for 2025. And I've kept it really simple so hopefully you'll be able to action all of these. The first is schedule a brand audit day. It could even just be blocking out a few hours on your calendar to go through your visuals, your messaging and your platforms. Take note on what feels outdated or inconsistent. And maybe it's the perfect time to implement some of the research you've done by asking people in your network or customers or clients about how they view your brand.

Second of all, create a vision board. Think about what you want your brand to feel like in 2025. Is it bold? Is it playful? Is it adding a little bit more sophistication to it? Use that vision to go guide your updates. It can be as simple as creating a Pinterest board. Having something visual to work with really helps keep direction. Especially if you do decide to uplevel and you want to brief someone in on that, you've already done that. Groundwork number three Refresh one thing right now, and I'm saying right now it could be updating your profile picture, tweaking your bio, creating a new Canva template. Start small, build momentum, knock all those dominoes down.

Number four, get professional help. If you are ready for a full rebrand or you just need some expert guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to someone who can help you bring your brand to life. It is worth the investment, especially if you've done all the groundwork. And by that I mean you know your brand values, you know your why, you know your audience. These ongoing relationships with a team, especially designers, are the best part. They will help guide you and walk hand in hand with you as well. And number five, which is really important and I think I say this every episode, Commit to consistency. This is your year to show up consistently.

Whether it's through your social media, your podcast, your email list, your blog post, whatever it is, make sure it is consistent and your brand is presenting and aligned visually every time. And by that I mean same fonts, same colors, same messaging. Really reinforce that consistency on every platform. All right, before we wrap up, I want to remind you of something. And that thing is is that your branding isn't just about how your business looks, it's how your business makes people feel. When your branding is aligned, consistent and confident, it sends a message to your audience. I know what I'm about and I'm here to serve you. And that's the energy we're bringing into 2025.

I'm telling you now, it is the energy that we are bringing into 2025. So what's one thing you're going to do differently this year? Whether it's a small tweak or a full rebrand, I want to hear about it. DM me, email me, shout it from the rooftops. I'm here to cheer you on. This is your year to show up, stand out and build a brand that feels as fearless as you are. And you can do it. I know you can. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.

If you love this episode, please share it. And I am virtually high fiving you because I know that you are going to level up this year and your branding is going to be on fire. So I can't thank you enough for joining me today and I hoping you are having the best holiday season ever.