I have learnt over time, and from years of experience, that you really need to spend some time in the very beginning identifying who you are, who you are appealing to and what you want to achieve.

It can be a very exciting time starting a business. You may have come from the corporate world with years of planning to pursue your passion and know exactly how and what you want to achieve, but putting it into practice requires a lot of thought and planning, as it is costly to change a brand.

Here is a break down of the 10 steps I recommend when you create your brand and marketing strategy.

Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.

Create buyer personas to guide your marketing efforts.

Identify opportunities and gaps in the market.

Prioritize based on where your audience spends their time.

Plan a content calendar to maintain consistency.

Optimize your website for search engines, focusing on on-page and off-page SEO techniques.

Engage with followers, share valuable content, and use analytics to track performance

Use targeting options to ensure your ads reach the right people.

Create personalized email campaigns to nurture leads and retain customers.

Regularly review metrics and adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.

Adapt your strategies to remain competitive and relevant.

Use insights from testing to optimize future efforts