Whether you follow me on social media or you just keep current with my blog, you might notice that I don’t only create content revolving around my photography. My Instagram has a lot of photos of myself, not taken by me. My Facebook has questions and prompts for my followers to engage with. My blog has topics varying from lists of my favorite things to entrepreneurship.

Aren’t I a photographer? Shouldn’t my Instagram be showcasing my work, my Facebook filled with calls to “Book me!”, and my blog filled with looks into all of my sessions?

No, it shouldn’t, and the why is simple.

I am a brand before I am a business.

Investopedia defines a business as, “an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities… to produce and sell goods and services for a profit”. A brand on the other hand is not only the visual aspects (think logo, slogan, etc.), but the vision and personality that animates the business. If a business was a body, then its brand would be the heart and the brain that brings it to life.

A brand is what connects you to your audience; it’s what establishes trust and that “I feel like we would be best friends” feeling. If I put all my focus on just my business, I would be stripping away the personality behind it and not building those consistent, intentional, and trusting relationships with my audience.

My brand is more than the photos I take.

I am my brand, me, Devon. While my photography is a representation of my brand and you can see my branding in my photography, it’s also so much more than that! I don’t want my social media to look like one big portfolio of my work captioned with advertisements. I want it to look like an ongoing autobiography of who I am, who my clients are, why I do this work. My brand is a reflection of a growing entrepreneur, a follower of Christ, a wife who’s madly in love with her husband, a mother, and a romantic who loves pizza and all things caffeinated. These are the things that will connect me with my clients more so than a bunch of beautiful photos.

I want my clients to want to work with me.

Of course potential clients are going to want to see my work. They’re going to want to make sure my style matches what they are envisioning and that’s totally expected! The thing is, photography is a saturated industry – There are tons of photographers out there who I share a similar style with. This is where my brand comes into play. The clients I end up booking choose me because they want to work with me.

When I am looking to hire someone for a service, it comes down to Do I feel comfortable working with this person? Is there more than a transactional connection here? Do I personally connect with their brand?

My ideal client would answer “Yes!” to all of those questions because, talent aside, they feel they can trust me to bring their vision to life.

It’s an outdated belief that you have to only post and talk about about what you do, make, sell, etc. to get clients walking in your door. Yes, that gets your products and services attention, but people want to know more about you. The owner, the curator, the face behind what they are purchasing. When that connection is made, you’re bound to interact more with your target audience and focus on the work you LOVE doing all while building an intentional brand.

Speaking of branding and personality, are you new here and wondering who the heck I am? I’m just a gal who loves my family, caffeine, and love itself! Click here to hop over to my About Me page to learn more!

Are you a biz wiz or a boss babe ready for people to know you for you and not just your business? Check out this awesome post about writing the perfect About Me page.

Write a Baller Bio With These 3 Tips | Jenna Kutcher Blog