How do you style your brand, anyway?

Studies show that prospective clients respond more positively to actual photos on websites of local businesses, as opposed to stock photos.  The photographs and videos that you use on your website, blog, and social media contribute strongly to your brand, and help to tell your story.  Stock photos make your brand impersonal and cold.

According to Catherine M White, Business Development Strategist and author of Overcoming Roadblocks to Success, the parts of a brand are defined as follows:  a connection and relevance to your audience; to know your mission, and have a mission statement; having a vision statement; know your why; who your perfect customer is; and a lasting impression.

“When you style your website, keeping in mind the ultimate outcome is important.  I believe decisions are made with emotion, and so to stimulate that, your content must evoke emotion, and be clear, concise, and descriptive.”  Staying true to your story only makes your brand stronger, and therefore, more apt to make an impression on your audience.

Your business’s photographs are immediately apparent to your audience.  You can think of photographs as a “psychological primer” on your website, influencing your audience to imagine what it would be like to use your product or service.

Stock photos, with humans in them, are very staged and impersonal. The generic styling of them can be helpful, but unnecessary.  Therefore, staying away from stock photos will help your brand’s consistency and keep your viewers on your site longer.

On the other hand, having professionally done photographs for your site will tell a story of who you are, show what your company’s mission is, and create a connection with your prospective client.  Using photographs of your employees or team, in the area in which you work, provides a sense of pride in what you all do together. 

Adding photographs of your products, of delivery of your products to your clients, or even your products on display in your client’s environment, on  your blog and social media, will entice your audience to imagine what it would be like for them to have your product in their lives.

At Honey Bee Photography, we take personal branding very seriously.  We coach our clients to help them create a portion of their brand with photographs.  We take into consideration the type of business you have, your logo, your colors, and the ultimate goal you have for your clients.  All of this, and more, will help your photographs convey who you are, what your business is, and what your WHY is..

Contacting us for a consultation is easy.  You can call us at 240-766-8966 or email megan@honeybeephotography.com.

Easing back into a routine AFTER school begins!

     There are all kinds of Getting Back to School Lists.  No matter how many times you get to go through it, those first couple of weeks are just rough; getting used to a new morning routine, hoping the bus driver remembers to pick up your child, after school snacks and activities, dinner, homework, and bed.  There are also the weekends.

What’s a mom to do?  You have to navigate through all of this WHILST maintaining your personal routine, and pray that your children sync with you, and not the other way around.

     

     1.Start off the morning with easy, fun breakfasts.  Here are 35 delicious dishes that you and your kids can pre-make for the week.  Some are even awesome for after school snacks.

     2. Pick simple clothes to wear.  I know you did back to school shopping, following the rules that the school sets, and you know you love those first back to school outfits.  Hopefully you set these out the night before with your children’s help.

     3. Bus, walk, or carpool?  If you’ve never put your kids on the bus, it can be a little bit anxiety-inducing, especially if you experience the bus completely forgetting about your kids.  Make sure you know where the bus stop is, and the best walking route.  If you carpool, make sure you know where the drop off area is, and make sure that your kids are ready to jump out as soon as you stop. 

4.  After School Snacks can be easy to make, delicious, and full of nutrition.  Here are 16 awesome snacks you can make with your kids, and so much better than snack cakes and chips.

5.  After-school schedules depend on your work schedule, and the personalities of your kids.  Some kids do well by coming home, getting a snack, and getting right to homework, so they have the rest of the evening to relax.  Other kids need to run and play hard right after school; all of that sitting and learning has made brains ready to explode because they need to move.  A snack, a physical activity, dinner, and then homework is a schedule that might make more sense. You’ll figure out pretty quickly what works for you.

6.  School night dinners can be pretty daunting.  I found that meal planning helped so much… Thinking about dinner 5 minutes after work is too much.  However, I know that not everyone plans their menus.  Here is a website full of possibilities, and I don’t think one needs to have kids in school to make these.  So many look sooooo delicious!

7. Evening routines can be so crazy.  Scouts, church night, sports, music lessons, and so much more can run havoc on those evenings.  Those are the nights you want to make your schedule as easy as possible.  Leftovers for dinner, clothes set out for tomorrow, and quick showers will help the next morning be easier, because your chores after dinner will be less.

8.  School lunches.  Crazy time, amirite?  So on the nights that look like the described ones in tip #7, plan for your kids to get school lunches.  Did you know that making lunch for your kids is a silent reminder of your love for them?  If you’re looking for something beyond the #basiclunches of #PBJ, this website is something you want to check out.  Easy to put together the night before, and so much fun to eat.  A simple love note on a post-it makes an extra touch.

9.  Homework is everyone’s favorite thing to do!  What do you mean, you’d rather be hung by your toes and have your leg hairs plucked individually from a scary buffalo-head-wearing salsa dancer?  LOL.  Having a distraction free area helps, but giving a 45 minute time period of working, and then 15 minutes of fun time, like a dance party.  Playing music with binaural beats can help focus; there is plenty from which to choose on YouTube.

10.  Time management is not an easily achieved skill for many people.  Helping your child put a schedule together is helpful in a kid version planner.  It may help the arguments as well, when you work with them to set up their schedule.

I hope that these different ideas help.Let us know!