Benefits of building a brand:

1. Branding can Help you Build a Good Reputation: Having a solid brand will give your music school
market credibility. When done right, effective branding will make trust and integrity synonymous with
your business.

Part of curating a good brand reputation is to maintain your objectives and oversee your rapport in your
community. This is everything from the type of classes you offer, to the way your instructors interact
with students, to managing reviews of your school on your website and social media. A positive
reputation will also lead to more student referrals and community acknowledgment.

2. Branding Gives You Recognition

People tend to go with schools they are familiar with. This means if your brand is easy to recognize and
consistent in service and quality, people will choose you and recommend you to their friends and family.

3. Branding Leads to Emotional Connections

Most humans are empathetic to some degree, and in business, this applies by using emotion to sell a
service. In other words, if you can get people to connect with your music school emotionally, you will
get more students and build a better reputation (see, it’s all connected!).

To make genuine connections with your target audience, first, you have to define your brand (we’ll talk
more about how to do that later, so keep on reading). When you share the same values and beliefs as
your customers, that’s when you create emotional resonance.

A good brand gives your music school purpose. When you share the same values and beliefs as
your customers, that’s when you create emotional resonance.

4. Branding gives your business focus

Branding sets a standard of expectations for more than just your customers. A good brand will also give
your employees a purpose. What are you working for? Why do you do what you do?
Think of a brand as your company’s guiding star. It can give you direction, and remind you of your values
and focus. When done right, branding can help businesses maintain expectations and exceed them.

Having a solid focus will also aid you in marketing to your prospective students. It delivers a clear
message that sets you apart from the crowd.

5. Branding Creates Loyalty

Having a solid brand inspires loyalty in your students and your staff by giving them something to stand
behind and be proud of.

Students will stay if they find value in your school, and part of that is feeling like they belong. If your
school has a good reputation, strong focus on the craft, and emotional resonance, your students
wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.

And similarly, your staff want to work for a company they believe in. They want to teach in a space that
they connect with, and a huge part of that is to belong to a school with a clear focus.

How Do I Build a Brand?

1. Start by Defining it

Before you can market your brand, you have to have a clear idea of what it is. To define it, ask yourself:

What service are we offering?

This is the most basic question, but it’s also the most important. Do you offer group classes? Do you
provide one-on-one coaching sessions? Do you go to your students or do they come to you? Having the
answers to these questions clearly defined in your mind is the first step to creating a brand.
What sets our music school apart from the others?

Now think about what makes you special. This isn’t the time to be modest. Do you boast the best music
instructors in the city? (Or perhaps, country?) Do a significant amount of your students go on to prosper
in musical careers? Do you have a high student satisfaction rate? Knowing this will guide you in targeting
your branding strategy once you start marketing.

What are our values?

Come up with your objective and mission statement. In other words, figure out what you are trying to
do. Do you want to inspire the love of music in children? Do you want to instill lifelong skills? Or do you
want to be the best school for professional musicians? Having a clear objective will help you focus your
branding and aid you in the creation of your logo and slogan.

Who are our target audiences?

Do you teach primarily beginners or seasoned pros? Do you offer classes for small children or teens or
adults? You may want to be a one size fits all school, but keep in mind if you are specific, you can stand
out from the competition and laser focus your branding strategy.

2. Make Your Visual Brand

The next step is to create what the majority first think of when it comes to branding: your visual identity.

Create your music school logo and set your school colors, and any other symbols that are significant to
you, and stick with it. These should be posted everywhere, on your website, on your social media, on
every sheet music you hand out, and on your music school app.

3. Establish Your Brand Voice

This is the next step after visual branding.

Start by creating your slogan. Another way to think of it a slogan is as your music school motto. Make it
short and catchy, upbeat and positive. Think of Nike’s “Just Do It!”.

Beyond your slogan, your brand voice also extends to how you communicate with your customers and
potential leads. Are you professional or friendly? Relatable or prestigious? This is when knowing your
target audience can come in handy.

For instance, if you mainly teach newcomers and young children, a friendly and relatable approach is
best. On the other hand, if your roster is filled with seasoned pros, a professional and upscale tone may
work better in your favor.

Set a clear voice and stick with it, be consistent on blogs, social media posts, and press releases. Soon
enough, your brand voice will become synonymous with your music school. And that’s exactly what
branding is.

4. Coordinate & Integrate

Now that you have your visual identity and company voice down pat, it’s time to coordinate and
integrate it into everything. This means coordinating your brand name and logo across all sites, social
media accounts, merchandise, and events. Coordination may take a little extra work, but it will do
wonders by allowing easier discovery of your business.

Tip: Keep the same profile photo for all social media sites to maintain consistency and to help your
customers find you easier.

A good example of brand coordination is WellnessLiving customer ABC Academy of Music in Toronto,
Canada. Their visual identity, including logo and “Student of the Week” features, are consistent on all
social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which allows for easy discovery and identification
of their music school.

Integrate your brand into everything you do, from how you advertise your business to how you treat
your students. Stay true to your values and stay focused on your objectives. This is where consistency is
key.
5. Live up to your Brand

Once you’ve settled on your brand identity, you need to live up to your promises. This is integral to
fusing your slogan promise with your actual business. Remember, your goal is to make your awesome
brand synonymous with your music school. Once you do, that will set off the momentum of returning
students, customer loyalty, and referrals.

Building a good brand doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a cumulative effort over time as you engage your
staff and students and live up to your brand’s promises.

Be sure to remember that building a solid brand doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, the process of brand-
building never truly stops. Some years later, you may consider rebranding. That’s a whole other beast,
and it’s one that’s built on your current foundation. Your brand’s mission statement and objective are
there to guide you and inspire you to always meet them, and surpass them. The important thing is to
never stop improving.