Would you know your favorite fast food restaurant if you had to locate it ONLY by the logo?

Chances are you can!

The reason why you can is because the logo helps your identify the restaurant.

This is also part of the branding of the restaurant.

Now take a look at your social media pages.
What is your brand?
Do you have a logo, a saying, or anything that calls attention to your page?

If you don’t, chances are, people are clicking and skipping over your page.

I clicked on the hashtag “#rapper” and over 7 MILLION posts came up. Now of course this isn’t saying that there are over 7 million rap artists, but it does show that rap is in a VERY high supply.

So what are YOU doing to stand out amongst the over-saturated crowds of artists waiting for their big break?

This is where your BRAND steps in.

You don’t need EVERYONE to love you. Some people will follow later as your brand gets bigger, but to begin with you need a way to grasp attention.

Think about your favorite music artist…

What are three reasons you like them or follow them on social media and continuously support them?

These three reasons are part of their BRAND.

So how do you DO IT? How do you BUILD your OWN brand?
Here are my TOP 5 ways to jump start the building of your brand:

1. Think about the experiences that have molded YOU into the person you are. Your experiences are different from Rick Ross, Slim Thug, or ANY of the MIGOS. These experiences should not be masked. You should embrace them and turn them into content (more on that on another day).

2. Look for branding inspiration, but DO NOT IMITATE. Your fans will respect the brand you are creating based on facts and honesty of your life and who you are. If you lie about who you are, you will break trust with your audience. Look for a logo. Find a friend who can draw or help you create online content or (my favorite idea) create it yourself.

3. Don’t sell your brand short. Be SELECTIVE about what you associate your brand with. I KNOW I have preached about not paying to perform, but one of the main reasons I have for not paying to perform is the crappy artists that you are going to be stuck between when you pay to perform. You have no control over the quality of the event. ONLY ASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITH BRANDS WHO MATCH YOUR OWN. I guarantee you that Beyoncé turned down many shows and even MORE MONEY because the brand did not match her own. If your brand receives a bad reputation, it is hard to bounce back from that.

4. Talent can be part of your brand, but your audience and fans want to know who YOU really are…. I.E – Cardi B. Too many times, I see artists and producers who are trying to build a following on talent alone. TONS of videos of them rapping all over their page. Talent is good, but your fans need to know your character. Who are you? Why should they follow YOU? Are your interests similar to their own? Are you funny?

5. DON’T SKIMP ON QUALITY! Websites are a great look, but don’t put a website link that DOESN’T WORK! That looks like you are being FAKE. Make sure that your music is GREAT QUALITY. Mixing and Mastering IS YOUR FRIEND! You’d be surprised how crappy music properly mixed and mastered can still find a fanbase. Focus on a SONG at a time instead of a whole MIXTAPE or ALBUM if your funds are funny. Your brand QUALITY is more important than the QUANTITY of music you can put out.

I hope all of this helps. Please let me know if you are building your brand using this information and let’s grow together.

#SchoolOfRocky – Rocky

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