Developing a Cohesive Brand by Rachel Griffin
Developing a Cohesive Brand
This is more than just a logo and words. It’s making sure your images, marketing, website copy and client experience are all working together.
In the summer of 2022, I unveiled a completely rebranded Rachel Griffin Photography with a fresh, new logo and website. These were the final elements of a much larger mission to develop a fully cohesive brand for my business. Now, my logo, marketing, social media, website copy, client experience and even my images all work in harmony to appeal to my ideal client.
Ready to overhaul your business’s look, feel and voice? Borrow my roadmap:
Know your ideal client and their needs
Getting incredibly clear on who you’re serving and what they want from you is vital to this process. This goes far deeper than “I serve horse owners who want pictures of their horse.”
For example, I know that my ideal client is a woman for whom equestrianism is deeply ingrained in her identity. She achieves her goals both in and out of the saddle, but she still needs reassurance and guidance. She has a strong connection to her horse, and she seeks out experts to help her give the best care she can.
Evaluate your current images and identify your signature shots
Look through your favorite client galleries and your own favorite images. What images do you naturally deliver with every session? What other images could you perfect to give a more well-rounded gallery?
Consider how your images might relate to your ideal client’s needs—or how could you present them in a way that they do?
I wrote about my own brand’s five signature images in a recent blog post. They’re very different from, say, a photographer focusing on promotional content for performance horse trainers. Instead, theirs might include:
images that demonstrate a trainer’s level of care
a scenic facility shot
high-action performance maneuvers
moments showcasing the trainer’s knowledge or technique, such as a schooling exercise
Evaluate the client experience you’re delivering clients. Does it align with your ideal client’s needs? Match their expectations?
For example, my clients feel more comfortable with expert guidance, so I provide them with a wealth of information and resources prior to their sessions. Their experience is fairly high-touch, with lots of positive communication before, during and after their actual portrait session. A busy horse trainer needing images to promote her business isn’t going to find my level of contact as appealing.
Develop your brand’s “voice”
That is, not just what you say to clients but how you say it. It should appeal to your ideal client and align with the images and experiences you’re producing.
For example, my brand voice is professional but still heartfelt, uplifting and “horse nerdy.” I romanticize the horse-human relationship, gush over adorable ponies and congratulate clients by saying “you’re an inspiration!” not “you’re a badass!”
I recommend honing your brand voice by rewriting your website’s about page (you can see mine here). From there, you can develop guidelines to help you expand your voice to your social media captions, canned emails, marketing, etc.
Stuck on this step, or never feel like you know what to say? Reach out! I offer brand voice consulting services to fellow photographers from December–April.
Update your visual brand elements (if needed)
It’s so tempting to do this step first (it’s fun, after all!) but I found that refreshing my logo, color, designs, etc. last allowed me to come to a design company with greater clarity about what I wanted these visual elements to communicate and to whom.
I realize this is a lot of work—don’t expect to tackle this all in one day! Commit to the full refresh, though, and you’ll enjoy a stronger brand, consistency and clarity in your messaging and an elevated client experience from start to finish.
Stuck? Reach out! I’m happy to answer questions via email (hello@rachelgriffinphotography.com). I also offer brand voice consulting and 1-on-1 mentorships for all photography and business topics.