branding design

Properly Brand Your Business

Branding your business successfully is to perpetual be in the process of identifying, creating, and managing the cumulative assets and actions that shape the perception of your brand in all stakeholders’ minds. Branding is a perpetual process because it never stops. People, markets, and businesses are constantly changing and your brand must evolve in order to keep pace. There is a structured process to branding, one where you must first identify who and what you want to be to your stakeholders (internal and external customers), create your brand strategy to position yourself accordingly, and then constantly manage everything that influences your positioning.

Your positioning must be translated into assets (e.g., visual identity, content, products, ads) and actions (e.g., services, customer support, human relations, experiences) that project it into your stakeholders’ minds, slowly building up that perception.

“Brands are essentially patterns of familiarity, meaning, fondness, and reassurance that exists in the minds of people.” – Tom Goodwin.

When it comes to branding your business, there are a few key things you need to keep in mind if you want to be successful. First and foremost, your brand needs to be unique. It should stand out from the competition and be immediately recognizable. Secondly, your brand needs to be consistent. You need to use the same colors, fonts, and logos across all of your marketing materials. And lastly, your brand needs to be relevant. It should appeal to your target audience and reflect the values of your company.

Perception of a Brand

Also known as reputation. This is the association that an individual (customer or not) has in their mind regarding your brand. This perception is the result of the branding process or lack thereof. Branding is absolutely critical to a business because of the overall impact it makes on your company. Branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can drive new business, and increase brand value – but it can also do the opposite if done wrongly or not at all.

Creating a Brand

The first step is to create a brand strategy. This will be your foundation and will guide all of your branding decisions moving forward. Once you have your strategy in place, you can begin to create your visual identity. This includes things like your logo, color palette, and typography.

Your visual identity should be unique and reflect your brand’s personality. It should be consistent across all of your channels, from your website to your social media accounts.

Building Brand Awareness

Now that you have a strong foundation and visual identity, it’s time to start building brand awareness. There are a number of factors to keep in mind.

First and foremost, your content must be high-quality and informative. It should be shareable and relevant to your target audience. You also need to make sure you’re using the right keywords so that people can actually find your content.

Another important factor is SEO. This stands for “search engine optimization” and heavily influences how your business is found and displayed on Search Engines. Make sure to do your research and utilize relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions.

Once you have all of that taken care of, you can start promoting your content across different channels. This could include social media, email marketing, or even paid advertising. The important thing is to be consistent with your branding across all channels.

Tips and Tricks

Email

  • Create your signature.
  • Find your font.
  • Find your color.
  • Add your social branding/handles.
  • Spelling, always double-check your words. Add a quote that helps people remember you.
  • DO NOT leave “sent from my iPhone” !
  • Or “excuse errors”. Don’t make them.

Phone & Voice Settings

  • Setup your voicemail.
  • Keep your voice mail concise and consistent across your organization.
  • Don’t have a full mailbox.

Social Media

  • Create a social media policy.
  • Make sure everyone in your company is on the same page when it comes to social media.
  • Be consistent with your branding across all platforms.
  • Use hashtags, but don’t overdo it.
  • Engage with your audience.

Final Thoughts

To successfully brand your business you need to keep consistency as the foundation. You also should have a strategic communication standard, with all internal stakeholders (including employees) understanding and projecting your message to all who interact with your business, ultimately managing your company’s customer-facing communication. And wherever you choose to market or be visible, be sure that customers and potential customers know it’s YOU, whatever the format, platform, or medium.

Now that you’ve learned a little about how to brand your business, put these tips into action and see the success for yourself! With a little effort, you can create a strong and recognizable brand that will help your business grow.

The AD Leaf Marketing Firm Can Help!

Need some help to help develop and implement a successful branding effort, contact us today! Talk to one of our experts here at The AD Leaf Marketing Firm LLC.! To schedule a free consultation with our marketing teams, call us today at 321-255-0900.

About The Author

Brian J Wallace Brian J Wallace