A brand is so much more than the products it sells. It is a set of features that help customers differentiate one brand from another. A strong brand will stay at the forefront of the mindsof customers. The name, logo, and tagline will resonate with them. It helps set organisations aside from their competitors. So, how do you create a strong brand? What are the secrets? This helpful beginner’s guide will tell you everything you need to know to bring your brand identity to life.
Find Your Target Audience
Branding is integral to any business as it creates awareness –to increase profitability further down the line. You need a target audience to create this awareness and trust around your brand. If your business does not relate to an audience, you will struggle to gain a loyal customer base and get your company off the ground. So, the first step in your branding journey should always be to find your target audience. Think about the people that your brand will speak to. For example, if your business sells baby clothing, your brand is most likely talking to parents. Research is key to helping you define this. You can learn more about how to define your target audienceonline. You may discover qualities in your target audience, which will help you make essential branding decisions later in your journey.
Pinpoint Your Unique Qualities
Now you’ve established your target audience, it is time to start planning. Rather than looking at your competitors straight away, think about your brand. What are the qualities that make your business unique? This doesn’t mean the colour of your logo or your motto. Instead, it focuses more on the products/services you sell. Why should customers purchase these products from you over others? Giving your audience a unique shopping experience – helps them differentiate your brand from others. It also creates excitement for your audience as you offer something new, generating interest inyour brand. A good place to start is to write down a list of the qualities that make you unique. Once you have your list, you can conduct competitor analysis to see how these qualities compare to others.
Get Creative With Visual Design
Let the creative fun commence! It can be easy to get carried away with the visual elements of your branding. However, this process requires a lot of planning and thought. Don’t be surprised if you need to go back to the drawing board a few times. Rather than rushing into the process, take time to create a brand style guide along the way. Write down every element of your colour palette, typography, and other visual components. This will help your business achieve consistency further down the line. When it comes to your logo, simplicity is key. You want your brand to be recognisable, so anything too busy and overcrowded will be hard for your audience to remember. Avoid using too many colours and keep wording to a minimum. Once you are happy with your visual elements, compare them to your competitors, as this will help you understand whether you have done enough to differentiate your brand from others.
Promote Your Brand
Once your visual elements are complete, you can start using these to promote your brand. Think about the ways that your brand wants to connect with its audience. Newsletters are always a great place to start. Encourage your audience to sign up for a mailing list through a call to action on your website. Create compelling newsletters with colourful infographics and PDFs with vouchers. Make sure you use your visual elements throughout your newsletters, such as your logo and colour palette, so your audience becomes familiar with them. Make your newsletter as enjoyable as possible, and learn the importance of merging your files before sending it out to your audience. Merging files brings all single documents together, making your newsletter easy to send.
Establish The Tone Of Your Brand
Your brand is much more than your logo, name, and colour scheme. Business leaders also need to think carefully about their tone of voice. It can be the one thing that sets your business aside from others. Your brand voice should reflect the aims of your business. For example, if your business isacademic–based, you may opt for a professional and enthusiastic tone of voice. If you are struggling for inspiration, you can find plenty of brand tone of voice examples online. Understandably, it can be challenging to start this from the ground up. However, it can help your business become more consistent and recognisable over time. Don’t be afraid to do some competitor analysis too. Using a different tone of voice from others can help you stand out from the crowd.
Be Consistent Across All Platforms
If there is one branding mistake that your business can easily make, it is inconsistency. After going through the hard work of creating your branding, the worst thing you can do is not use it to its full potential. Not only will steering away from your branding confuse your customers, but it will drastically impact familiarity. Every business wants to stick in the mind of its consumers. Consistent branding will help with this. Once your customers recognise your brand across different platforms, they will likely prefer you over competitors. More importantly, brand consistency evokes positive emotions from your audience, which can positively reflect their loyalty to your business. You can find examples of poor brand consistency online to give you an idea of what to steer clear of.
Create Relationships With Your Customers
One of the main reasons branding is important is that it helps businesses create relationships with potential customers. Once these brands enlist the trust of their audience, they become loyal customers that allow the company to thrive. So, when creating your branding, think of your brand as a person too. Ask yourself some all-important questions. What would the personality of your brand be? How would it introduce itself to your audience? How will your brand become memorable? The answers to these questions will help you make informed decisions regarding your branding. As well as thinking of your brand as a person, it also helps to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. It will give you an idea of whether your branding resonates with your target audience.
Always Use Your Company Logo
Although all of the visual elements of branding hold huge importance, the company logo should always remain a top priority. Your company logo facilitates brand loyalty and draws the attention of consumers. It is one of the first things your customers will recognise. Therefore, you should always use your company logo throughout your platforms and promotional materials that you create. This includes your social media platforms, emails, and website. You can also use your logo to promote your company by printing it onto stationary. Handing out free pens to customers with your logo can be a great way to make your brand more recognisable to others. Business cards are also another essential resource. This point cannot be stressed enough. Once you have worked hard on your logo, be consistent in using it and avoid changing it regularly, as this can confuse the consumer.
