Your brand identity incorporates everything that your business is and does. It’s more than just a logo, your brand reflects the persona of your company and relates to your clients on a personal level. It’s difficult to build a unique and memorable brand identity with so much competition out there, but there are some tricks of the trade you can try. You can also rely on technology to help you, such as design and marketing tools. This will help you rate things like your logo for instance.
A logo should be treated as the face of your business. The goal is to create a design that will draw your audience in with strong associations. It’s necessary to be memorable and generate a sense of trust and positivity. Your online content is also very important. You’ll need to create a website that encourages and engages users, and learn how to use digital marketing to your advantage. Here are some tips on how to create a powerful brand identity.
Define Your Business
This is key to developing an idea for your brand. If you can’t define your business in clear and simple terms then your ideas could be too diffused. There are certain questions you need to ask yourself.
- What makes your business unique?
- How does it meet clients’ needs, or fill a gap in the market?
- What is your company’s mission?
There are ways you can figure these things about by researching your niche and competitors. It’s always better not to overcomplicate things. Focus on one clear idea for a product or service and stick to it. You’ve got to have a clear purpose, and the daily drive to pursue this. Read more on how to define your business purpose.
The key to defining your branding often starts with your customers. Find out more details about your key demographic, their day to day lives, and preferences. These will provide you with important ideas on how to reach out to them. What do they have for breakfast? How do they get to work? What music do they listen to? Find a way to connect these to your advertising.
Logo Design
Your logo must represent the personality of your brand. There are a few courses online you can try on how to design a logo. These will teach you the basics if you’re quite new to this and give you some different perspectives you might not have considered. Your logo will be going on business cards, your website, and all company branding items. Think about the details carefully.
What form will you go for? Typical ideas include letters, or initials, or a doodle of your product or service. Come up with something simple, yet original. Do market research to find out what your logo inspires in customers when they look at it. You can also use tools online to see your logo “rank”. This is based on its visual impact, shape, color, and originality. Logo Rank checks to see if your logo resembles any others taken from stock.
Think of new and creative ways to get your logo out there, you could give out custom car freshenersas promotional material for example. If you do any team projects, such as volunteer work, get your employees to wear merchandise, and publish videos and pictures online. Send things like t-shirts and caps for influencers to wear if you’re affiliated with any bloggers.
Digital Marketing
The best way to draw in business nowadays is with digital marketing. This means advertising your brand online through your website, social media, bloggers, and SEO. Your content should represent and sell your brand at all times visually and through language. Firstly there are some important things you need to include on your website.
Include a click button in a contrasting color on your landing page to encourage customers to get in touch. This is known as a Call To Action (CAT) and should include your logo, or represent your brand. Try to have relevant information easily accessible on your website. It won’t be difficult for potential customers to look up a competitor online if they can’t find it. You want shoppers to arrive on your landing page and instantly find what they want, and see your brand popping out at them. Simplicity is key again here.
Add more detail with some video content. Video is probably the best format to boost trust with your customers because it’s very personal and engaging. You can make impressive video content work for you that will draw your customers in. Make video tutorials explaining how to use your products. All the while match colors, language, and personality.
Your brand will also need a strong online presence. Create accounts on social media and post often. It’s important to be consistent and reflect the personality of your brand. Get affiliated with a blogger or influencer to help endorse your products as well. Aim to be ubiquitous. This will create more recognition for your brand and improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Make sure you learn to use this tool to ensure your website appears in online searches.
Match the Language
Use language in advertising and your online content that matches your brand. For example, if your brand is high-end use professional language but if you want to appeal to a younger audience be more conversational. The most vital thing here to connect with your audience. You can do this on an emotional level by using stories that move them.
On social media, it’s important to stay in touch with followers and make sure you do a lot of networking. Reach out to your client base, always using the same language, and be true to your brand. It creates a good reputation for your business if you are consistent and quick to reply on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. You’re aiming to build trust and loyalty.
Things to Avoid
Try not to give your customers mixed messages. Use the appropriate language and visuals to support what you’re saying, and always be clear and concise. Don’t confuse them with contradicting details.
Don’t just copy your competitors, even if they’re hugely successful. Add your own personality and create something unique. Put a new twist on what they’ve already done, rather than trying to imitate them.
Keep consistency across all mediums. Don’t present a different brand identity online compared to offline. Your brand colors, language, theme and message should always be the same, and always be clear. Brand consistency will give you a competitive advantage.
Analyze the Results
Nowadays with advances in software and apps, it’s a lot easier to analyze the effects and success of your marketing. Download the lastest CRM app to help you evaluate your customers. This technology can give an in-depth analysis of all your clients and help you understand their preferences and quirks. It’s essential for analyzing your marketing efforts.
As your business grows it’ll be more difficult to manage the “big data” you have coming in from various areas. Look into data analytics software and how to use it. Data analytics provides an overview of old and new data. This helps businesses to understand their customers, improve their campaigns, and further personalize their content. It’s a very useful tool in evaluating your business and making forecasts for the future.
It might take a lot of work to create a powerful brand identity, but the results will be worth it. Consumer recognition is how you become a household name, so keep evaluating your branding.
