Remember a few years ago, when watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and seeing a young Sofia Richie as Scott Disick’s new girlfriends? The youngest daughter of singer Lionel Richie and sister of socialite Nicole Richie. This was Sofia Richie in a nutshell in 2017.
Flash forward to summer 2023 and we see this same woman getting married in Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the South of France. The bride donned three dresses from the Chanel Haute Couture salons in Paris. The days of her Missguided brand deals and tabloid stories were well behind her. She has since become the face of David Yurman and landed other campaigns with Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Adidas, and K18.
In the last few years, the socialite and model has evolved her style and taste and she has come a long way. She completely changed her brand and so can you.
So whether you’re a small business about to relaunch a website or social platforms or an individual hoping to gain a following on social media, digital marketing is the way to reach your goals.
“…branding is your fundamental promise of whom you serve, how you make them feel and what’s different about how you deliver. Marketing is how you get this message out there once you have defined it”
Julie Cottineau, the founder of Brand School.
Here are the steps for a rebrand using Digital Marketing
So how did Sofia Richie do it
1. Evaluate your Current brand
First, look at your current brand and decide what works well and what doesn’t. What about your website, social media, and marketing techniques need to be altered? Here is where you will discover areas for improvement. In 2020, Sofia Richie was fresh out of a breakup and during this time ultimately decided that the way she had been portrayed in media was not her true self. She decided to re-align her image to become more focused on her values.
This, of course, takes time and patience and is important to remember when considering a re-brand. They do not happen successfully overnight!
2. What is your new brand identity?
Learn more about your target audience and your new business goals. From here, shape your new identity with; your brand name, logo, colour scheme, messaging, and tone of voice.
Sofia Richie began by reinventing her personal style. Going from trendy, fast fashion outfits worn once and thrown away to more classy, sophisticated, and timeless ensembles. She began to align herself with brands that she believed represented her personal brand identity better such as David Yurman, Tommy Hilfiger, and Hourglass.
3. Develop a Content Strategy with Search Engine Optimisation
Based on your new target audience and rebranding objectives, you can begin to develop a content strategy. This can be a complex process but focus first on conducting keyword research. Create new content topics to reach and engage better with potential consumers. Make sure to optimise this for search engines to obtain the best outcomes for search results.
Content Marketing Strategy could involve:
- Video and other Audio Production
- Infographics
- Webinars
- Podcasts
All of the above can lead to more awareness of your brand, more results from search engine optimisation, and ultimately purchases.
4. Launch Your Rebrand
Once you’re happy with your rebranding efforts, your launch is ready to go. Using your content marketing strategy will help your new brand identity reach your audience across all different digital touchpoints. You could also develop other social media ads, email marketing, and brand deals with influencers and/or micro-influencers.
For me, Sofia Richie Griange’s rebrand launch was her wedding. The weekend festivities were extensively covered in Vogue and the event took social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok by storm.
5. MONITOR MONITOR MONITOR!!
Once you’ve relaunched, your job isn’t done. Keep an eye on indicators like website traffic, social media engagement, and lead generation. Keep any changes fluid and stay on top of adjustments.
Ultimately what has allowed Sofia’s brand change to succeed is the presence of a good story. Give your audience a story arc to follow. Sofia took us through the process of her wedding, inviting us into the intimate event and now many are sticking around to see what is next from her.
‘People think in stories, not statistics, and marketers need to be master storytellers.’
– Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post.
Rebecca Davis is a final-year student studying Business, Economics, and Social Sciences at Trinity College Dublin with a passion for digital marketing.