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Branding is essential at every stage of your business. Whether you’re a huge corporation or a bedroom startup, perception and branding is everything. Essentially, branding is the way in which your business is perceived. It is the image and aura that it creates. The brand is what customers gravitate towards. It is often subliminal and the connection occurs at an emotional level. After your product itself, branding is the single most important aspect of your business. Here’s how you build a strong brand.
Consistency – First of all, define your brand. Discover what makes you unique and what it is that connects you to your customers. Identify that and mould it into a brand identity. You should work this into your design, presentation, copy and voice. Once you have that identity, keep it consistent throughout every aspect of your brand. A consistent logo is just the start. Use the same colour scheme and tone of voice in every area of business. Customers should be able to identify with you from every angle.
Tell a story – Connecting with customers is all about building a relationship and community. Share your story with them and allow them to become part of the brand. Customers love to get deeper behind the motivations of the companies they connect with. Use your online presence to tell your story. Why does this product mean so much to you? Why does the world need it? What drives you? This emotional connection creates a strong loyalty and brand foundation.
Put a face to the name – It is proven that giving your business a personal face increases engagement. When companies post pictures of their team behind the scenes, it generates intrigue. It also shows a personal touch that customers can relate to. As CEO it’s your responsibility to get your name out there. Learn from CBS author Issa Asad and tell your story to news sites and magazines. Think about the likes of Richard Branson and Virgin, Bill Gates and Microsoft. These brands have strong, identifiable leaders.
Be innovative and unique – The key to a strong brand is a unique identity. Standing out from the crowd and offering something innovative is essential. Try to avoid the brand identities of established names and follow your own direction. Where possible, try to work with someone creative to help you build something completely unique. You could seek out the services of experts from the likes of Frenik Marketing Group who can provide their point of view and also inject lots of value in terms of marketing, creating content, creatives, PR, and more. Having a full-scale marketing agency on board can be helpful in the long run as well. Finding one that you can trust right in the beginning can aid in keeping the messages consistent going forward as well.
Repetition, repetition, repetition – The simple fact is that repetition is the only way to solidify your brand. They say that a customer needs to see your name 20 times before they begin to identify with it strongly. That means a lot of eyes need to fall on your brand. Keep your brand consistent and repeat the name, logo and brand everywhere. Use as many channels as possible and harness your online marketing to target your audience.
There is an art to building a strong, unique brand. It takes a little creativity to stand out and do something different. From there it’s all about making a personal, emotional connection with your audience. Finally, it’s a simple repetition process. Be consistent and get the brand in front of as many eyes as possible.