being your brand

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Workshop Presentation Deck - 10 Branding Tips for Small Venues

• Venue Brand Worksheet

• Free + Low-Cost Resource Ideas

• Q&A

• Staff or Team Discussion Questions

  🎯 Big Picture: What is Our Brand (Really)?

• When someone walks into our venue (or sees us online), what feeling are we creating?

• If our venue disappeared tomorrow, what would people miss beyond the shows?

• Are we currently selling shows… or building a brand people trust and return to?

• What does our brand allow us to do that other venues can’t?

🧠 Identity & Consistency

• Where are we most inconsistent right now (socials, website, posters, tone)?

• If someone saw 5 of our posts in a row, would they know it’s us without the logo?

• Do we actually have a shared understanding of our voice as a team?

• What’s one simple standard we could implement this month (fonts, colors, tone)?

🎤 Brand vs. Show Promotion

• Are we relying too heavily on artist ad mats? Where are we losing our identity?

• What’s one way we could “stamp” our brand onto every show post?

• How do we balance promoting the artist and reinforcing our venue identity?

• If artists rotate every night, what stays consistent in our messaging?

👥 Human + Authentic Content

• How often are we showing staff, fans, or behind-the-scenes moments?

• Do we feel more like a business or a community online?

• What kind of content would make someone say: “I want to be there”?

• Are we overthinking content instead of just showing real moments?

💬 Audience Engagement (Not Just Broadcasting)

• Are we talking with our audience or just posting at them?

• When was the last time we responded to comments or started a conversation?

• What questions could we ask our audience this week (polls, surveys, etc.)?

• What would it look like for our audience to feel like part of our brand?

📊 Using Data Without Overcomplicating It

• What content actually performs best for us—and why?

• What’s one data point we’re currently ignoring that could help us?

• Are we making decisions based on assumptions or actual audience behavior?

• What’s one simple test we could run this month (post type, timing, format)?

🛠️ Scrappy + Resourceful Branding

• If we had $0 budget, what would we focus on first?

• Who in our community (students, designers, photographers) could we collaborate with?

• What tools are we not using that could make our work easier?

• What’s one “scrappy” idea we could try this week?

🚧 Missed Opportunities & Challenges

• Where are we playing it too safe?

• What are we doing just because “that’s how venues do it”?

• Are we prioritizing perfection over actually getting content out?

• What’s one thing we should stop doing immediately?

🔮 Future Thinking (AI, Trends, Evolution)

• Where can tools/automation help us vs. hurt our authenticity?

• Are we keeping up with how audiences actually consume content today?

• What trends feel aligned with our brand—and which feel forced?

• How do we evolve without losing what makes us us?

⚡ Action-Oriented Wrap-Up

• One thing we do really well as a brand:

• One thing we should improve this month:

• One branding habit we will start tomorrow:

• One thing we will stop doing: