Why Branding Could Make or Break Your Metafy Career

Esports is a rapidly growing industry, and the competition is fierce. As a Metafy Pro, you must differentiate yourself from your competitors and branding is one of the best ways to do so. A strong brand identity helps you establish trust with your students, attract new customers, and build a loyal following. In this article, we will discuss the importance of branding for Pros and guide you through creating a solid brand identity for your business.

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Understanding Branding for Metafy Pros

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‍Branding is the process of creating a unique identity for your business. It's how you communicate who you are and what you do to your audience. A strong brand significantly influences how students perceive your services and products in terms of quality and value. For example, if you offer the most expensive coaching sessions in your game, you would want your brand identity to align with a reputation of providing high quality. In esports, branding is just as important as in any other industry.

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Take 100 Thieves, who raised $60 million in a Series C funding round in December 2021, which valued the organisation at $460 million. They identify as a premier lifestyle brand and gaming organisation and have a brand that matches their intentions.

Their branding is bold and highly stylised, creating a strong visual impact. The primary use of black, white, and red creates a high contrast and intensity, with the red being particularly eye-catching and dynamic. 

The typography matches this, with many large, bold, uppercase letters with a slightly distressed texture, giving it a gritty, competitive edge. The font is modern and impactful, aligning with the energetic nature of esports.

The composition of the image is dynamic. The person in the image is offset to the right, creating balance against the large text on the left. There's a sense of movement through the slanted lines and angled text, suggesting action and excitement.

Overall, the branding screams exciting and cool and promotes an edgy, professional, and dedicated brand identity to gaming excellence. This element of coolness has been further cemented with its limited-time collaborations with high-end lifestyle brands (Gucci) and trending content within its target demographic (Attack on Titan).

The Importance of Branding for Metafy Pros

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As with 100 Thieves, as a Metafy Pro, your brand is your business. It's how you differentiate yourself from other Pros in your game or market. Building a solid brand identity can help you:

1. Attract Students: A strong brand identity helps you stand out against other Metafy profiles and attract students who resonate with your values and style.
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2. Build Relationships: A strong brand identity helps you build relationships with students, sponsors, colleges, teams, and others who may want to work with you.
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3. Establish Credibility: A strong brand identity helps establish credibility and trust with your students, which is essential for building long-term relationships.

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The Process of Building a Strong Brand Identity

Building a brand identity involves several steps. As a Metafy Pro, you can use these steps to create a brand that represents your business and resonates with your audience.

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Step 1: Define Your Business Identity
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Defining your business identity is the first step in building a solid brand identity. This involves identifying your values, mission, and vision. Ask yourself questions like, "What do I stand for?" "What do I want to achieve?" and "What sets me apart from others?". Use the answers to these questions to define your business identity clearly.

Fnatic's brand values emphasize teamwork and excellence. They prioritize collaboration and open communication ("Share the Stage"), strategic and impactful engagement ("Focus on the Outplay"), and proactive engagement ("Make It Happen"). They also value continual growth and a winning mindset ("Champion Performance"), and they strive for innovation and uniqueness ("Forge the Future"). These values collectively aim to foster a brand identity of success, evolution, and leadership.‍

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Step 2: Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is the second step in building a solid brand identity. Who are your students? What are their needs and wants? What do they value? What do they have in common? Use this information to create a brand that resonates with your audience, helps find your niche within the crowded market, and meets their needs.

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Step 3: Develop Your Brand Voice

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Developing your brand voice is the third step in building a solid brand identity. Your brand voice is the tone and style of your communication—how you talk to your students and what you say. Develop a brand voice that reflects your business identity and resonates with your target audience.
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Wendy's brand voice, as illustrated in their social media presence, particularly in the context of this AMA (Ask Me Anything) post, is characterized by a witty, playful, and slightly disrespectful tone. They often engage in banter and use humour to connect with their audience, setting a laid-back and personable tone that aligns well with the casual nature of fast-food dining and their overall brand identity. Their strategy often includes lighthearted jabs at competitors, which showcases their confidence and solidifies their unique, bold brand personality in the fast-food industry.

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Step 4: Create Your Visual Identity

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Creating your visual identity is the fourth step in building a solid brand identity. This includes your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery. Use your visual identity to communicate your brand values and establish a consistent visual identity across your Metafy and social media.

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Take G2 Esports, which employs bold and modern typography using Nimbus Sans Condensed Bold. The choice of a condensed sans-serif font in a heavyweight conveys a strong, authoritative presence that is impactful and direct. This typeface is versatile and highly legible, suitable for titles and headers that need to stand out, reflecting the brand's dynamic and competitive nature in the esports scene.

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Step 5: Build Your Brand Across All Channels

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The fifth and final step in building a solid brand identity is to make your brand across all channels. This includes your Metafy, social media, Discord server, and any other channels you use to communicate with your audience. Ensure your branding is consistent across all channels, and use your brand voice and visual identity to communicate your business identity and values.

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Duolingo has adopted a quirky brand identity and voice, favouring a lighthearted and fun approach across all its social media channels. They aim to put entertainment first before sales, hopping on the right trends at the right time to create meme-relevant content. Overall, this aligns well with the presentation and gamification found within the language app itself. Their strategy is consistent no matter where they are creating content, you won't find a serious post on X and then a fun post on TikTok, the brand stays rigid to its mix of cheekiness and charm.

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Final Tips for Building a Strong Brand Identity

1. Be Authentic: Your brand should reflect who you are and what you stand for. Don't try to be someone you're not; your students will see through it. Be honest and transparent, and your students will trust you.
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2. Be Consistent: Consistency is vital when it comes to branding. Use the same colours, typography, and tone across your marketing materials to establish a strong brand identity. Better yet, create your own Branding Guide within a document and keep to it.
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3. Know Your Competition: Understanding your competition can help you differentiate yourself from other Pros in the industry. Spend time looking at the different profiles on Metafy, especially those within your own game or market.  Identify what sets you apart from your competitors and use that to your advantage in your branding.
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4. Stay Up-to-Date: Esports is a fast-paced industry, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies is essential. This is doubly important for Metafy itself. Ensure your branding reflects the platform's current state and appeals to your target audience. Pay attention to the Metafy Updates and tweak your brand to meet new releases and changes.
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5. Get Feedback: Be bold and ask your students and your wider gaming community for feedback. Use their feedback to refine your branding and improve your business.

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Brand Identities on Metafy

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‍How does this all look on Metafy? Gefest is the top-performing Overwatch 2 Pro on Metafy for this title, grossing over $40k in sales.

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Their branding emphasises a professional yet approachable image. The use of pixel art ties in with gaming culture and nostalgia, while the dominant black and yellow colour scheme suggests energy and attention to detail.

The 30-minute free consultation’ is bolded and offers a clear call-to-action that is inviting and accessible, implying that Gefest values students’ time and decision-making process.

The blocks on the right that read ‘SIMPLE, CARING, PROFESSIONAL’ and ‘No1 OW” COACH ON METAFY’ highlight his coaching philosophy and achievements, aiming to build trust and credibility with potential students.

Overall, the presentation is sleek, well-organised, user-friendly, and tailored to attract serious gamers seeking improvement through an attentive and well-organised coach. This detail to their branding has worked, as Gefest has gone on to coach 358 students in 1,400 coaching sessions, with a rebooking rate of 80%.

In conclusion, branding is essential to building a successful Metafy business. A strong brand identity can help you differentiate yourself from competitors, attract students, and build relationships with your audience. Following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a brand identity that reflects your business and resonates with your audience. Remember to be authentic, consistent, and up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies and Metafy itself. With a strong brand identity, you can establish credibility, build trust, and grow your business on Metafy.