Branding nowadays is more important than ever. With the average person constantly exposed to advertisements and marketing, it’s hard to stand out among the competition. Maintaining a consistent and meaningful brand, however, is key to getting your message across and succeeding in your industry.
Branding itself is more than just a logo or colors. It’s how you present yourself and how people connect with your product, service, or experience. Your brand gives consumers a reason to care about you. With 81% of consumers admitting that brand trust is a deal-breaker when considering a purchase, building a recognizable and reputable brand should be a top priority for any business looking to gain long-term success. So, how do you develop a meaningful and recognizable brand to connect with your audience?
How to Develop Your Brand
In a nutshell, creating a strong and meaningful brand can be broken down into four elements: Existence, Purpose, Identity, and Connection. Let’s take a closer look at what each of these entails.
Existence
Your brand’s existence represents who you are and why consumers should care about you. It’s the first step in establishing trust with prospective customers. Define who your business is, when it was launched, and what motivated you to start it. Explain your unique take on the business and what/why you decided to do things differently to others. Every business was started for a reason, so create a story, starting from your business’s beginnings to where you are today.
Purpose
What do you do and why do you do it? Generating revenue aside, defining your brand’s true purpose essentially allows you to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Review and ask yourself what your brand stands for, what it is, and what it isn’t. Combine your Existence findings with your purpose to create a brand statement that accurately represents what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for.
Identity
Your brand’s identity is the way it looks and feels. It’s what attracts and resonates with your audience. Create a mood board based on the 3 keywords that best express your brand’s purpose. Search online and through social media to find imagery related to your keywords and aim to capture everything that inspires your brand. Find the most dominant colors on your mood board that best reflect the meaning/purpose of your business — these are your brand colors.
Next, choose a typeface. Look at any existing typefaces you already use and compare them to your competitors’ and your mood board. Choose one that best reflects your brand’s personality. Finally, pick a bold and easily recognizable logo that you’ll be proud to use as an opener and throughout your creatives. Think of the most prominent logos in your field. What’s the first one you think of when you think about your industry? Combine that inspiration with the imagery on your mood board to design an attractive and unique logo.
Connection
Connection is the way your brand connects and builds relationships with consumers. It’s the language and tone of voice you use to reach out to them and what makes them choose you over your competitors. Is your business funny? Adventurous? All business? Whatever it is, let it shine through when connecting with consumers, but remember to keep it real. The more authentic your communications are, the more effective they’re likely to be. Whether it’s social media, your website, taglines, newsletters, or emails, be yourself and be consistent anywhere and everywhere you publish content.
How to Implement Your Brand
Now that you’ve developed a unique brand, it’s time to share it with your consumers and potential customers. Consistently implement your branding across your website, social media, and any other communication tool you use. Review your ads, website, and content and update it to be consistent with your overall branding or create new ones from scratch.
Think of instantly recognizable household brands like Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola. How often do they change their branding? Do they use different logos on different media? Consistency is what will ultimately make your brand recognizable in the eyes of consumers. If you’re going to invest in branding, you need to invest in consistency, there’s no way around it.
Grow Your Brand Online with The Three Marketers
Branding is only part of the battle when it comes to building a successful business. To effectively implement your brand and get the word out, you need a solid marketing plan. At the Three Marketers, we’ve been helping businesses in Calgary and across the globe grow their brand online since 2003. Contact us today to find out how effective branding combined with professional digital marketing can take your business to new heights.
