Brand Communication Framework

introduction building on the work from previous sections, this section focuses on creating a cohesive communication strategy that brings your community's identity to life through consistent, compelling messaging your communication framework is how you express your unique community identity to the world and invite the right people to join you messaging strategy development a clear messaging strategy ensures that all your communications—from social media to in person interactions—consistently reflect your community's unique identity and value your core messaging should directly connect to the purpose, values, and distinctive elements you've already established develop a concise version of your community's deeper purpose that immediately connects with potential members this becomes your "why" in practical language "i started by just creating an experience that i would personally love but it turned less into something that i wanted to do for myself and more about something that i wanted to give to the community to create a safe space for people to come and move their bodies and just enjoy life quite simply " drawing from your differentiation work, create a value proposition that expresses your unique benefits in member centered language this generally follows the format "we help \[target audience] to \[achieve primary benefit] through \[distinctive approach] " "i really wanted to focus on giving women a space where they did not feel judged i think the biggest difference between me and other instructors wasn't really the workout itself members tell me, 'you were super attentive you were so nice when i didn't understand something you didn't talk to me like i was a child ' these personal touches are what people remember " select 3 5 specific differentiators that you'll consistently emphasize these should be concrete aspects that set your community apart "our community isn't just about showing up to do something and then leaving it's very much a ritual that we go through right when you show up, you're welcomed with open arms and a big smile then we go through a beautiful flow everything we do has intention behind it that special flow is our signature " messaging alignment check for each core message component you develop, ask does it directly reflect the purpose and values from section 1? does it highlight the distinctive elements identified in section 2? does it accurately represent the community experience designed in section 3? would current members recognize this as authentically representing your community? is it specific enough to differentiate you from similar fitness offerings? learning activity develop your core messaging framework write your purpose statement that reflects the vision you established craft your value proposition highlighting your key differentiators list specific points that set your community apart based on your identity work create a community promise that expresses the experience members can expect document communication tone that aligns with your brand personality different situations call for different emphasis in your messaging create context specific hierarchies to ensure your communications remain relevant while still reflecting your core identity when someone discovers your community for the first time, prioritize 1) your value proposition (what they'll gain), 2) your primary differentiation point (what makes you unique), and 3) basic logistics (how they can participate) "i'll message them the pdf, the day of the event and say, 'this is what you need to expect this is where you're going to park this is how things will go ' in the early stages, we didn't do this, and vendors would show up before me and call asking where i was clear communication solved this problem " for regular community updates, focus on 1) personal connection (reinforcing belonging), 2) community developments (what's new), 3) value reminders (why participation matters), and 4) clear calls to action (what to do next) your tone guidelines should directly reflect the brand personality you defined earlier use those personality traits to establish language parameters that feel authentic to your community identity "very playful, not overly serious i don't think my people read anything lengthy it's like gen z inspiration just short language it's to the point, but very friendly and lighthearted that's the term that works really well with our community " audience persona development while previous sections focused on defining your community's identity, audience personas help you understand who you're speaking to this ensures your communication resonates with the right people develop detailed personas that represent segments who would be attracted to your unique community these should align with your purpose and differentiation strategy "most of our audience from the beginning are more casual players in their mid twenties to mid thirties who played volleyball either in high school or maybe some college, but mostly just recreationally when i started drifting into programming that doesn't necessarily meet our audience, like more competitive events, it's really interesting because even though i might want to drift the events to be more competitive, that's just not where our community is at " for each persona, include 1) basic demographics (age range, occupation, lifestyle factors), 2) fitness journey (their relationship with fitness and previous experiences), 3) values alignment (how their personal values connect to your community values), 4) decision factors (what would attract them and keep them returning), and 5) communication preferences (where and how they consume content) "pickleball is traditionally a male dominated sport, so i wanted to make it welcoming to women i've tried to make it super fun and aesthetically pleasing, which appeals to people who have never played before " learning activity create your primary audience persona develop a detailed profile of someone who would be attracted to your unique community identify how this persona's values align with your community's core values list the platforms where this persona spends time online write headlines that would resonate based on your brand voice test your persona with potential community members gather insights about your potential members through direct observation, social listening, and structured feedback pay attention to who naturally gravitates to your community "we actually go around asking people, 'are you having a good time? is it good?' and they will straight up give us feedback but we also have an email list and send out emails to get feedback " monitor social conversations about your activity type "the thing that made us blow up in a sense a year ago was viral instagram reels when we started to get people who weren't connected to our staff and friends, we realized we were reaching a broader audience " create opportunities for specific input "i use the stories, the little question boxes on instagram i just put a few options, and everybody responds with 'this, this, this ' and i let the community truly choose " use your personas to guide decisions about platform selection, content creation, and message framing choose channels where your personas are already active "instagram has been literally our sole platform, other than sweatpals it's quite crazy how a single platform can give somebody that much growth " develop content that addresses your personas' specific interests "static posts sometimes are okay, but when you have clips of what the workout looks like, what the venue looks like, people talking and eating and doing all of these things, you're like, 'okay, i want to do that i want to purchase that '" frame benefits in ways that connect to your personas' goals "our events are, i would say, more curated experiences rather than casual meetups we'll tell people straight up like, 'hey, we just host events once or twice a week and they're not casual meetups as much '" persona connection exercise for each message you create, ask would this resonate with my primary persona's values? does it address a specific need or desire they have? is it delivered through a channel they regularly use? does it use language and tone that feels natural to them? does it motivate the action i want them to take? brand consistency guidelines consistency ensures that the brand identity you developed in previous sections is reflected across all touchpoints, creating a cohesive experience that strengthens your community's identity building on the visual identity work from earlier, document clear standards for logo and color usage formalize how your visual elements appear in different contexts "we worked with a graphic designer from fiverr that i really liked i wanted something that i would love to wear myself, and also wanted to address people in this mid 20s to 30s range, especially living in austin and being health conscious they like to wear cool stuff " create guidelines for logo placement and sizing, color palette application with specific codes, typography selections and hierarchy, and image style that reflects your community's energy learning activity establish your visual consistency guidelines formalize your color palette with exact codes refine your community logo or wordmark document your typography selections create templates for common content types establish photography guidelines that capture your community's energy develop standardized formats for common content types "google drive is huge for me the office i work at now uses google drive for everything, so i've found great ways of organizing everything there this helps me maintain consistency across all our community materials " consider templates for event announcements, email communications, social media graphics, registration confirmations, and member recognition ensure your core messages remain aligned with your established brand identity by creating a collection of approved messaging components "i had a template for any brand partnership i wanted, explaining who i was, what i did, what my goal was through my community, and then i would tailor it to a specific event this consistent approach made outreach much more effective " your library might include community purpose statement, value proposition variations, event description templates, common announcements, and responses to frequently asked questions establish consistent terminology for your community's unique elements "we always do the movement piece, the brand piece, and the food piece on the beach, we always end with a sound bath or gentle meditation in candlelight classes, we close with meditation as well " different platforms require different approaches while maintaining your core brand identity create specific guidelines for your sweatpals platform community page and event descriptions "the biggest question i get so much when people dm is, 'when is your next event?' and i'm just like, 'go to sweatpals, because all of our events are on there ' having consistent, complete event descriptions saves so much time " learning activity develop your channel specific style guide create a sweatpals event description template that reflects your community's voice outline your social media strategy with content themes that express your values develop a system for maintaining consistency across channels design communication templates aligned with your brand identity create scripts for consistent in person interactions develop platform specific strategies that maintain your brand voice "where we touch them, i say we're posting almost daily and we have stories up every single day if we're filming videos, people are waiting for it to drop and then when we post it, they'll engage on the instagram account even if it's a day they're not running with us " create scripts and approaches for consistent live interactions "each event i'm talking to every single person, scanning them in that helps create the feeling that this person really cares it creates an intimate feel from the start " storytelling framework stories help communicate your values and build connection your storytelling approach should authentically reflect the vision, identity, and culture you've established in previous sections building directly from the origin story work in section 1, create a narrative that explains how and why your community began "i didn't have this major vision that this was going to turn into what it is now it just, i didn't even have, like, i wasn't even trained in the activity the group created itself almost as if i was just a vessel five years ago it was just starting to become trendy so i kind of caught the wave without realizing it i was just following my own spark and interest " your origin story should include the specific motivation or moment that inspired your community, how you moved from concept to reality, how your vision has developed since beginning, and the deeper meaning that drives your community today create narratives that show how your community impacts lives "i really wanted to develop my practice as an instructor because i saw that it was accessible, you know, there was going to be a rise of it because people would be able to get more into a class i just think that the fundamentals are really important you can learn them before having to jump into any other kind of class so i personally wanted to get better as a teacher that was my main focus, my main goal " elements to include in transformation stories life before joining your community, the discovery journey, how your unique approach made a difference, tangible and emotional outcomes, and ongoing community relationship learning activity craft your foundational community stories refine your origin story from section 1 into different formats document a member transformation story framework create narratives that illustrate your community's values in action establish a system for collecting ongoing stories develop a storytelling calendar for your communication channels create narratives that illustrate your core values "one of the things that we just did recently came out of nowhere one of our runners actually painted a mural on the trail that we run so we thought, 'this is cool!' and we vectorized her mural and put it on a shirt this shows how we champion and amplify what our community members are doing " these stories might showcase inclusion examples, support moments, challenge stories, and community impact create processes for collecting narratives "reading through reviews on meetup and various platforms is really helpful for feedback i think adding a post registration email after an event, which could be automated, with a link that automatically asks for feedback is so helpful " consider member interviews, event reflection questions, social media monitoring, and testimonial gathering identify appropriate platforms for different narrative types "as soon as an event is over, i want to compile as much content as i have, create one recap video or a photo carousel and post it within 72 hours of the event happening and then send a thank you to everyone who attended " storytelling ethics guidelines when sharing community stories \ always obtain explicit permission before sharing personal stories \ maintain authentic representation without exaggeration \ respect privacy boundaries and consider using pseudonyms \ include diverse voices and experiences \ acknowledge challenges alongside successes allow your storytelling to grow with your community "the ritual in the beginning was very different than it is now because it evolved now we do grounded meditation, yoga, breathwork, and then our main activity it used to include journaling and following an app our story evolved as our community did " consider how to update your origin story as your purpose deepens, collect diverse member experiences, develop stories that reflect evolving values, and create milestone narratives this communication framework builds upon the strong foundation you've created in previous sections by translating your vision, identity, and community culture into clear messaging, audience understanding, consistent guidelines, and powerful stories, you'll create a cohesive brand experience that resonates with the right people as with all aspects of your community development, approach communication with intention and authenticity "i always tell people to be careful because you don't want to water down your product with random collaborations now that i understand my offering better, i'm more selective about who i work with " your communication strategy will evolve alongside your community regularly revisit these elements, gather feedback, and refine your approach to ensure your messaging continues to authentically represent your community's purpose, identity, and culture established in the previous sections of this module summary and next steps in this section, you've established the essential elements of your community's communication framework developed clear messaging strategies that convey your unique value created audience personas to target the right potential members established consistency guidelines for maintaining your brand identity built a storytelling framework to share your community's impact these communication elements will help you effectively express your community's distinctive identity and attract aligned members in the next module, we'll explore business fundamentals and planning to help you build a sustainable foundation for your fitness community