I was having a conversation recently with one of the women who I sponsored about branding and was really challenged to understand how I came up with such a catchy brand name (Super Hero Lips). It’s funny, any time people see something having to do with super heroes and beauty – I get tagged! That is some strong branding, folks!

Like many distributors, I started out just with a Facebook group and aptly named it Christin’s Kiss & Tell. I liked the name because it gave me flexibility to not only post about the products I was so excited to share, but to also just chat with the girls on lifestyle, beauty and health topics. Having that blend of content is what ultimately gave me a hand up in keeping people engaged in my group, as opposed to having everything be related to business-building.

After a while, I decided I wanted something that stood out more. I went through a creative process of sorts (which is funny because I really don’t deem myself to be very artistic or creative) but I wanted to share how I ultimately landed on my brand name with you.

1. Jot down what your brand means to you – not just the products but what it means in your life. Being able to start a business while being a single mom and working full time made me feel really powerful – like I had super powers! Which dovetailed nicely with the unmatched lasting power of our amazing SeneGence products. But it wasn’t the first and only thing I came up with… Jot down lots of words and catch phrases and then move on to the next step.
2. Go to a domain name provider (like godaddy.com or whoever) and see which of your ideas has .com domain names available. I feel like this is REALLY important. You want a brand name that can be consistent across all platforms and that people won’t have to remember is it .net or .whatever. Add any names you like that are available to your cart.
3. Once you have those domain names in your cart, go to your favorite social media platforms and see if it is available as a handle, meaning that someone can type in @yourbusinessname and find you. If you can pull up another with that name, move on to the next one. This will help you narrow it down even further. My handles on Instagram and Facebook are both @superherolips which was important to me.
4. Select a final contender that you can brand consistently across all of your favorite platforms! Domain names can be secured for as little as $20/year, so go ahead and lock it in even if you aren’t ready for a website yet. Go ahead and secure your business name with Instagram and Facebook by creating business accounts. As you are making your final selection, here are some things to keep in mind…

• Does it accurately portray you and your business?
• Does it leave you room for growth?
• Is it memorable/easy to remember?
• Will it be hard for people to spell if you are telling them your brand name live (and they aren’t seeing it printed)?
• Is it the right length? Catchy names tend me to be shorter.
• Does it inspire you? You will be married to this brand, so it has to give YOU excitement and vision! You have to be able to picture the ‘feel’ and theme of your brand – if you don’t, no one else will either!

Last but not least – you can use this as an opportunity to engage your audience! If you haven’t launched your business yet, announce that you will be and ask for their feedback. If you’re already doing business under another name, tell your customers you are going through a rebranding process, present them with options, and get their feedback. Not only will this help them mentally transition to your new brand (and not be confused when it just randomly changes names) but it will also inspire ownership in the brand and ownership inspires loyalty.

When you have chosen the final winner, be sure to have an official launch! You can create loyalty and even drive business with a VIP soft launch geared towards your current customers, and perhaps even offer them some exclusive deal before your ‘grand opening.’ Then have a ‘grand opening’ where you promote your newly branded website, Facebook and Instagram business pages! You may use other platforms as well, such as Pinterest or Twitter, to create even more brand consistency. One note about different platforms – while it may be enticing to have a business presence on every platform out there, I would focus on what I KNOW I can keep up with. I know I can keep with Insta and FB, so that’s where I focus my attention. I have intentionally chosen not to pursue other platforms because I know I won’t keep up with them. At any given time, if a new customer goes to find your website or business social media pages, they need to have fresh and relevant content on them. Seeing that you haven’t posted in 6 months diminishes your brand’s credibility.

Last step – be true to your brand! When you see catchy content you want to share, don’t just re-share it! Be sure to recreate it using your own branding theme and watermark your images with your logo. Don’t forget to hashtag your business name amongst other catchy hashtags, and share, share, share!

HAPPY BRANDING, FOLKS!