BRANDING: Where Is It Going in 2020?

When asked for advice, many creators cite branding as one of the most important tools for success. It’s the ever-elusive buzz word people use to refer to some intangible concept. And when they try to define it, it seems to slip away, getting more abstract as they try to grasp it.

Some people will tell you good branding starts with unified visuals. A well designed website, a good logo, nice content on Instagram. But, to me, that’s just the start. All this can be achieved pretty easily nowadays on site like Fivver, or even Canva.

Good branding in 2020 is doing one thing well. Something immediately identifiable. Internet is a big place, and people are quick to bounce out of a page if they don’t understand what they’re looking at. 

Luckily, you can assume many identities on the web. I’m not talking about cat-fishing anyone. I just mean that, as a creator or an entrepreneur, you can easily manage different projects, and you don’t really need them to connect with you as an individual

A photographer can have an Instagram profile for their artistic work, and another for when they shoot random people’s weddings. One doesn’t have to interact with the other. They’re both branded as something completely different, even though they are both sides of the same artist.

As a music producer, I feel like I’ve spent the past decade looking for a project that would satisfy the different sides of my creative personality. Something that would allow me to write heartfelt song, DJ in clubs, produce remixes and collaborate with artists across all genres.

Of course, there’s no magic answer to my problem.

So, I’ve decided to brand myself through different projects. If I feel like making lo-fi hip hop beats, I have a project for that. If I’m tired of hip hop and I want to make some house for a change, I can release it on Spotify under a different alias. If I want to make a couple type beats, I upload them on Beatstars through a project I’ve created for that very purpose.

I don’t feel spread between all those ventures since, to me, it’s all  one thing : producing good music. I can promote my tracks through the appropriate channels (using SubmitHub, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.) It only takes a few minutes to do so.

I feel like good branding in 2020 is having a category of your own. Something you can describe to someone in a short sentence. Visual identity will most likely come after, once you have defined your niche and your audience.

Oh, and creating great stuff doesn’t hurt.