B O T A N I C   S Y N E R G Y

| W I L M I N G T O N,  N C | 

I am a lover of stories. I love hearing them, telling them, creating them. Part of why I love Personal branding sessions is for this very reason--helping share an entrepreneur's story.  With this digital age ever-evolving, so much emphasis is now placed on content. You may have heard this saying before, "Content is King" and there is a reason. With the right content, comes the right audience. Think of content like the seeds you must water and nurture in order to someday have a bountiful and thriving garden.

I helped my friend Kelly, the owner and founder of Botanic Synergy, craft her story a couple years ago.  Her line consists of handmade, earth-friendly, 100% natural and organic skin, hair, and beauty products designed for outdoor-loving bohemian-type personalities. Quite fitting, as Kelly is one of the most vibrant and beautiful souls (inside and out) that you will ever meet. So, for our concept, I knew that the images had to reflect both her free-spirited personality as well as draw upon the emphasis of environmentally-friendly and sustainable ingredients. Photographing her beautifully-crafted and designed products against a white background would not give off the right message, neither would using models wearing high-fashion and heavy make-up. 

You'd be correct to assume that some of the props used along with her products are every-day household items.  Coffee beans, patterned napkins, colorful flowers from the garden. The idea was to use objects and locations that would reinforce brand identity. The SeaFoam Hand soap sitting on the shoreline, the Venus Grooming Oil posed atop a seashell to mimic the Botticelli painting, sprigs of rosemary used as garnishes for her Rosemary Hydrosol. "Staging" the products created more visual interest, which in turn, creates longer and returning user sessions, increases following and brand loyalty, which, furthermore ::drumroll here:: results in higher conversion rates! 

Now, I'm not here to say that the images alone helped pave the way for Kelly's online marketing and business presence--this girl works her tail off networking at markets and festivals--but they definitely helped to convey her brand and resonate with her target audience. The most important thing to remember during a branding session is to create the type of content that will both authenticate your vision and market position. And the value that you will receive? Aside from a larger following, increased web traffic, and higher conversion rates, you'll receive something that money cannot buy back--precious, precious time. The typical small business owner averages up to seven hours a week in content creation alone. Times that by four and you've almost dedicated an entire work week just in creating content! A personal branding session takes a few hours to complete and yields 3-4 months worth of content. Need I say more?

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