Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small.
Building your brand is more than just a catchphrase, style choice, or blend of colors (aka logo). It includes everything you do, or claim to do, as a business. To put it simply, your brand is your promise to your clients and customers. It tells them what they can expect from your products and/or services, and it differentiates what you offer from your competitors. Your brand represents who you are, what you believe in, and how you want to be perceived by your audience. That is why branding is so important. Before you think about building your brand, you first have to figure out your value and who you’re looking to serve. What makes you the best choice (your value) and who is your ideal client or customer (target audience).
Your brand defines the “YOU” in your business.
Knowing your value when building your brand is crucial.
Understanding your value forms the core of your brand and guides all aspects of your marketing and communication strategies. When you have a clear idea of what makes you the best choice, it allows you to establish a strong foundation for your identity and attract the right audience by aligning with their values. This also builds trust through authenticity and differentiates you from competitors. Ultimately, when you know your value you are able to create a loyal customer base that deeply connects with what your brand stands for. When a brand knows its value, it will feel more real and personal to its audience and its chances of connecting with that audience is higher. Your brand values should guide your business decisions and goals.
Defining your target audience helps you better understand and connect with your potential customers.
One of the most critical steps in building your brand for your business is identifying your target audience. This process involves understanding who is most likely to use or purchase your product or service. Knowing your target audience allows you to tailor your messaging, product offerings, and marketing strategies to resonate directly with the people most likely to engage with your brand.
Once you have these two things figured out, then you can dive deeper into building your brand.
There are 3 pieces to consider: Branding, Brand Identity, and Brand Strategy.
In that order.
Let’s start with Branding.
A business’s branding is more important than you might think. Branding is an effective way for businesses to communicate their vision. A brand clarifies what a business stands for and why. On the outside, your brand may seem like it consists only of elements such as logos and colors, but your brand is actually the entire identity of your business. Your brand gives your business personality. The goal of branding is to earn space in the minds of your target audience and become their preferred option for doing business. When you think of building your brand, I want you to ask yourself how you want people to FEEL when they think of your business. It is the emotional connection that your business builds over time and how your business is perceived by your viewers.
Branding has always been a vital part of business, but it may be more important now than ever before. With social media, consumers are exposed to new brands every day. This can be great for consumers who have plenty of options and are able to do the research they need to find the best one, but it makes it harder for businesses to stand out. When you invest in building your brand you have the chance to take control of how people perceive your business, so trust me, you don’t want to overlook this.
Next up, Brand Identity.
Brand identity is the visual and verbal expression of a business that helps consumers identify and distinguish your brand from others. It’s the look that represents your business and the tone in how you communicate. The foundation of your brand identity is your logo. Your website, packaging, and more should all integrate with your logo to effectively communicate your brand. When building your brand, you want to think of brand identity as the face of your business; the overall look and feel. It’s made up of many elements including:
- Visuals: color palette, logo, design, typography, imagery, and graphical elements
- Content: brand voice, tone, and the language and interactions a brand has with consumers
- Other elements: business name, tagline, packaging, website design, social media graphics, business cards
To create a strong brand identity, your business should consider its mission and overall business goals. Along with that, you should be sure to analyze the competitive landscape and your competitive position to make sure your brand identity is consistent across all marketing and messaging. A strong brand identity helps build a brand image in the minds of potential clients and customers. It can help your business stand out and build credibility and trust.
And finally, Brand Strategy.
A brand strategy is a marketing strategy that involves communicating a brand’s mission, values, and promises to consumers. Your brand strategy is the plan you make for HOW you ensure that wherever you’re communicating with your target audience, you’re aligned with your bigger vision. A successful brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. It can also help a business by attracting customers, building loyalty, and driving growth.
As you build your brand and put together your brand strategy, consider the following elements (many of which we’ve already touched on:)
- Storytelling: How does your brand communicate its story to potential clients and customers?
- Brand Identity: The visual and verbal expression of your brand and business, such as its logo, colors, fonts, and tone of voice.
- Brand Values: the values that guide your business.
- Mission: the purpose of your business
- Messaging: how your brand communicates across all platforms and channels
The main goal of a successful brand strategy is to let the world know that your brand exists, what purpose it has, and what defines it. Remember that a brand strategy is a fluid, long-term plan that may need to be revisited over time as your business grows and changes.
Now that you understand how to build a brand from scratch, you’ll continue brand building for the entire life of your business.
You may need to evolve your brand as your values shift or as consumer trends dictate. Remember that if you rebrand, loyal customers should still be able to recognize your brand and receive the same experience they once did. Get clarity on what you want people to feel when they hear your name or business name come up. This gives you direction on how to design your look and feel. And once you put all of these things together, you can build a strategy on how to get in front of your target audience with your strategic branding elements.
Building your brand doesn’t stop after all this is said and done.
It is a continuous process of cementing your brand identity in the minds of your customers. Building a successful brand involves being consistent with your messaging and deliberate with your marketing. Every single facet of your business, whether it’s your social media platforms, the tone of your communication, or the way you present, market, and deliver your product or service, captures the essence of your branding and sends an important message about how much you respect your own business. It’s the respective imagery, feeling, and reputation of a business that follows it everywhere. When built properly, your brand can help your business reach new heights of success. But when built improperly, your brand might push customers away and make turning a profit nearly impossible.
