how to market your business when everything sucks and the world feels hopeless

Humans have really fucked our planet up, huh?

Just for the record, you are ALLOWED to talk about the fact that the world is fucked up on behalf of your business and brand. You are allowed to talk about your feelings. You are allowed to talk about solutions. You are allowed to be publicly angry and devastated. You are allowed to weave your devastation and rage and overwhelm into your marketing. You are allowed to get political. 

“But Asia, wouldn’t that be unprofessional? Aren’t people just following me because they’re interested in my product or service? Shouldn’t I be worried about offending someone and losing a potential customer?”

Nope, nope, and hell nope.

Why? Because your brand is allowed to have and share its V A L U E S. In fact, it’s actually crucial that your brand has and shares its values!

How else are you going to connect with your people and build a community around shared ideals? How else are you going to give your work meaning that extends beyond just making money? How else are you going to use your business as a tool to change the entire goddamn world?

If it doesn’t feel “on brand” for you to speak up about the issues that piss you off, then you probably don’t have a very strong brand (and I’m not saying that to be a mean girl, I’m saying it because as a brand strategist I have a responsibility to help you build your strongest possible brand). The truth is, there’s a lot of bullshit in the world and there are endless problems in the world. Just because your brand solves one of them doesn’t mean it has to ignore or alienate the others.

^^^ This is exactly the reason why it’s important to build your brand on your vision and values instead of on your occupation. Your brand strategy guideline is your roadmap for how to communicate with your community online. Because when you know your core message, you can reshape that message to be relevant to damn near anything (including being infuriated that, yet again, even MORE American kids are dead because of another mass shooting).

Too pissed off at current events to even BE online? That’s okay – log off and distance yourself from other people’s opinions so you can figure out how you actually feel.

Too overwhelmed to even know what to say? That’s okay – listen instead. Hold space for people in your community who need to vent or process. Make them feel heard and seen. Discuss possible solutions and action steps. Be open to hearing their ideas and beliefs – especially the ones that don’t align with your own (you never know what you might learn!).

Have shit to say but too enraged to know how to say it? That’s okay, simply go back to your brand strategy and let it guide the way you communicate. It’s not “adding to the noise” if your words are valuable to those listening.

Ready to say your shit but scared what people will think of you or your business? A strong brand attracts as well as repels, and a person who chooses to be offended by you speaking your truth is not your person. Say your shit and trust that it will resonate with the right people.

If you want some help building a brand that allows you to boldly share your ideas about how the world, enter your information below to grab your free copy of The No-Bullshit Guide to Branding: