Creating Your Platform!

Hey, y'all, it's Hannah Slater here, your host of Girl Chat! Welcome back to another blog! This week is about the steps I took to launch Girl Chat and how I got to this point! For my pageant girls, if you are launching a new platform, rebranding, or launching your first platform, this is the perfect episode for you.

Girl Chat is still pretty new; I launched it about a month and a half ago, but there were a ton of behind-the-scenes that had to happen before I launched Girl Chat. So here are some of the steps!

Step 1: Name

Thankfully, I already knew my social movement (platform) name. My mom and I had Girl Chat picked out for yearsss, but I did have to decide if it was just going to be "Girl Chat," "Girl Chat by Hannah Slater," "Girl Chat by HS," or "Girl Chat Hosted By Hannah Slater." After spending some time on the name, I decided that ' Girl Chat Hosted By Hannah Slater' was the best fit for me and what I envisioned.

Step 2: Logo

I knew I wanted Girl Chat to be me to the core, so that means PINK! I wanted it all to be very pink and fun. I initially wanted my whole logo to be all pink, but then I realized it would clash too much. So, I changed the wording to black. I had to play around with different fonts, sizes, and layouts. I also had to play around with varying shades of pink until I settled on the ones I liked the best. For the logo, I knew I wanted to add squiggly lines like...

I like those lines because I journal a lot. I used to journal multiple times a day in college, and I still do, often, when I would get stressed, frustrated, or not know what to say, I would make squiggly, organic lines all over my journal pages, which is an element that I knew I wanted to work into my logo. After I had done several different designs for my logo, my team (my mom, dad, and brothers) and I decided on my final one.

Once that was finalized, I knew I was shooting new headshots for NAM Nationals with Brittany Link at the end of the month (August). I wanted to take branding pictures with Brittany and figure out what Girl Chat looks like and the social media aspect of Girl Chat. This is something that I still struggle with, but it's a work in progress...

After my logo was finalized, I ordered this so I could use them for my shoot with Brittany, but I had to figure out the rest of Girl Chats branding.

Step 3: Branding

I knew I wanted my videos and vibes to be very casual, warm, welcoming, and approachable. I knew I wanted my pictures with Brittany to match and, of course, to have pink in them. I also wanted to take other content for my social media; Brittany was incredible and eager to help me and answer all of my questions. We did shoot an announcement video, but I chose not to use that video because I did not like my wording, so I actually re-did my own at home. We took a bunch of pictures as well, so I have the content and options to post. I had initially thought that the images I took with Brittany would be the cover photo on the reels for Facebook & Instagram, but I have so many different ways you can view/listen to Girl Chat (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, my website), so for a few episodes I used a photo that looked like this.....

I have also tried using my logo and Episode 5: Creating Your Platform. I am still figuring out what I like better and what works better. I might try trying it out using a picture I took with Brittany this week. I am still working on this part of branding, going with the flow and learning as I go. I also am not 100% on my posting schedule either. Currently, I post once a week on Friday, and my episodes go live simultaneously on all of my platforms. But I am open to changing it up and posting more/different content, like a day in my life.

One of the biggest things I have been struggling with is branding on Facebook and Instagram. I post one-minute clips, which are little snippets of my full episodes, but I have received a lot of feedback saying they think that's my full episode. I have been brainstorming different ways I can share all of my platforms with those who are interested. So branding is definitely an ongoing learning process, and I am trying to figure it out.

Step 4: Posting Schedule

Before officially launching Girl Chat, I planned to post once a week. Initially, I thought Mondays or Tuesdays would be my upload days, but it didn't work out quite like I had planned, so Fridays became my upload days. I will be honest: I do wish I had more of a set-in-stone plan for my recording, editing, and blogging time.

Step 5: Girl Chats Mission Statement

After I took my photos, I had about six weeks to complete steps 5-7 (I was waiting to receive the edited ones). During this time, I finalized my catchphrase and my mission statement.

Catchphrase: Support. Sisterhood. Success.

Mission Statement: Girl Chat’s mission is to give girls and women a sisterhood of encouragement and help teach them techniques to grow through their unique challenges.

Overall takeaway: Girl Chat is a Social Movement and online space where women support women and tackle life's challenges together.

These took a lot of time to finalize, and I wanted them to capture all aspects of what I had envisioned for Girl Chat. So, I knew that I wanted Support. Sisterhood. Success. used in every marketing piece and to really be the main takeaway. Sisterhood is so important; I want everyone to feel like we can create an environment where we are safe and welcomed and get to be real, raw, and honest. Success, I am rooting for you; I will be your number one fan in any journey, and I want you to succeed. I want you to achieve your wildest dreams. It has been incredible to achieve my wildest dreams. Support: I went through some tough things this year, and I wonder if I could have overcome those challenges without my support system. I realized that we never have to fight our battles alone. I want to offer a space where support is always given.

Once all of those details were finalized, I moved on to one of my biggest challenges: my website.

Step 6: Announcement Video

I did shoot an announcement video with Brittany, but I wasn't happy with my wording, so I chose to redo it at home in my normal video setting. I thought this part would be a piece of cake and would take me 15 minutes. My annoyment video was the hardest video I have recorded so far, and it's only a minute. I had already figured out my recording setup, but it took me over 2 hours to record it, and then I had to figure out how to edit it.

Once all those details were finalized and edits were made, I moved on to one of my biggest challenges: my website.

Step 7: Design a Website and set up Instagram, Facebook, YouTube & Spotify

I had to create Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify accounts. I used the same branding on all of my pages, so they matched.

I have never made a website before. I have been working on and off on Silver Star Markets, but I have yet to launch that one, and it's all clothing-based, so it's a little different. My coach, Miss Cady, pushed me to create a website so everything could be in one place. She told me it would take two hours. It took me two hours to figure out how to upload something to Wix... I knew what I wanted my branding to look like for my website, so that part was easy; it was uploading my items from Canva into Wix. This part of the process was very time-consuming and challenging until I got the hang of it. However, I am SO glad I took the time and invested it into my website. I enjoy having a blog and having everything in one spot. It was definitely worth the stress, time, and energy. It still needs improvement; I'm tweaking some things, but we grow and learn along the way!

Now, I have all the aspects of Girl Chat ready. I was prepared to launch Girl Chat, Hosted By Hannah Slater.

Step 8: Launch your Platform

I was absolutely terrified to post my announcement video and to be honest; I am still scared about posting. I am still working to tell my story of being at rock bottom and the hardships I went through this year to get to this point of who I am today. It is scary to be vulnerable! But I am a firm believer that we grow the most when we are uncomfortable, so anytime I get nervous or cold feet, I just remind myself of that.

Girl Chat has been going great so far, and I am so excited about this journey. I am still working on time management, posting schedules, recording, editing, and blogging schedules, and brainstorming my content.

If you are thinking of rebranding or launching a new platform, or if this is your first time creating a platform, my advice is to go for it; you don't know unless you try! I am here if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

I believe in you.

You are so capable.

Go for it!

XOXO,

Hannah Slater