Belonging

✨ How do you make your clients, customers, followers, team members feel like they belong? ✨ What does this look like, or what could it look like? ✨ Why does it matter? What impact could it have on your business interactions and your personal life? ✨ How does this fit in with your personal brand? ✨

Lately i’ve been in and out of this book - The Art of Gathering, how and why it matters. picked it up again this morning to read for 10 minutes (one of my daily goals I am testing out). Anyway, The section I was reading wast titled Honour & Awe, “Your opening needs to be a kind of pleasant shock therapy.” . First of all this caught my eye, with the nature of the book being to help you think about when people gather and what is appropriate and not, what is outdated and what you can still do these days to create a curated space for people to enter on an even playing field.

To summarise what I read in this section, it basically stated that you can change the whole experience of an event, gathering, meeting, by the way you honour and awe your clients. One example, Hotels do this by creating Awe in their lobbies, through magnificent flower bouquets, which are for the customer to feel welcomed yet in awe as they probably wouldn’t have those in their own homes.

This all made me think about how I could make my clients feel special and shocked by the simple thought that goes into it. Everyone wants to belong somewhere, someplace, why not create that sense of belonging in your interactions with them, with their experience in working with you. If you love what you do & love others while doing it, the awe and honour you could create could be magical. For a personal example, this could be as simple as setting the dinner table for when a family member comes over, to make them feel valued.

How can you represent this in your personal branding photos?

Just think, your website or your social media is where your clients go to first. This initial interaction is important, this is one of the places you get to create a sort of pleasant shock therapy. Start the story of what your clients are to expect from you. This is done through the photos, video, text, one your website & social platforms. This is the best set up opportunity for your client experience. How is your online presence creating this Awe & Honour? What do you need?

With your photos, you want them to represent you, your story, and what you want your clients to expect when they see you! Do you want them to feel welcomed? What do you want them to know about you? Are you friendly? Professional? Family Based Business? All these elements will affect the way the photo is framed, you are posed, your body language, facial expressions, props, etc. Have a think about the three word you would use to describe you and your brand personality. Also think about the things you do to go out of your way to serve your clients, whether that is writing personal note in each delivery, or whether you send flowers to your clients after they have agreed to use your services, maybe you always make sure you have snacks and flowers set out for every meeting.

One way I think I do this when working with my clients is through welcoming them with a hug, a smile and questions about them, their family, their business. I want to make the experience of getting your photo taken the least stressful and uncomfortable experience that I can make it - as we all know it is a vulnerable place to put yourself in, but it can be fun too! I could show this (probably will in a future branding shoot fro myself) through quite literally sharing an experience one might have with me, and the photos we create together. Hopefully capturing the joy I hope to spread in each photo session, and the encouragement we aspire to do to create confidence inn very person who steps in front of my lens.

I want to think of more ways I can create awe and honour for my clients to experience, what do you think I could do?

Ps if you haven’t read this book. I would encourage you to go read it! It has changed my perspective one a lot of ways I choose to spend time with friends and family, who should and shouldn’t be there, etc. So many things to learn from Priya Parker, so much wisdom.