Brand building is essential to any company’s image. You want to be recognizable and for consumers to trust your brand. Building that image, however, takes time and forethought. We have ten simple branding tips to help you build a better, lasting company image.
Create a Clear Identity for Yourself
From your logo design to your messaging, it’s important to be clear about who you are. While you may be tempted to focus on something flashy or jump onto current trends, these things can obscure who you are as a company. Make sure that your brand identity clearly communicates who you are and what you have to offer consumers as well as your potential affiliates.
Pass the Radio Test
The radio test is simple: have a name that a person can spell upon hearing it a single time. In the age of auto-correct, a consumer does not necessarily need to be able to spell your name correctly. However, your name should be clear and memorable enough that they can remember it after the first time they hear it. Moreover, it needs to be unique enough that the auto-correct feature of search engines doesn’t redirect a potential customer to a competitor.
Create a Mission and Vision Statement for Your Brand
A mission and vision statement are vital for your brand image. Be careful not to think too wide or lofty. Everyone wants to make the world a better place. Tell consumers how your brand serves the community and industry around you. Be sure to include your corporate values as well. What is the ideal behavior you want your executives and employees to embody?
Build a Brand Story and Clear Messaging
Once you have your identity, mission, and vision, it’s time to create your brand story. This is where you connect your mission and vision statements to the consumer. Know your target market and build an ideal customer that consumers can identify with and who will embody your brand story. Tell how your products and services help your ideal customer in a way that consumers can envision themselves in the scenario.
Be Creative and Approachable
Two things that will help you pass the modern radio test and build a strong brand story are creativity and approachability. As you build your messaging, look for new ways to present old concepts. Be careful, however, not to create a sense of aloofness in your creativity. The more approachable and relatable your brand is, the easier it will be for consumers to recognize and identify with you.
Create Memorable Brand Associations
Locations, items, emotions, and people help to create a strong connection in the brain. Consider how you can incorporate things outside of your brand into your image through association. Remember, a person does not have to be a single individual (though celebrity and influencer marketing are a boon here). You can connect your brand to the idea of a person – a parent, a grandparent, or a best friend, for example.
Recognize What Makes You Different and Incorporate That into Your Branding
As you build each of the above elements, consider what separates you from your competitors. What makes you stand out? Incorporate this into your branding. Make it a part of your brand story and bring it into the associations you create.
Plan for the Long Term
Remember that you want your brand to last. More than that, however, you want your brand image to be flexible. You want to be able to change over time and still be recognizable. Build adaptability into your brand and you will find rebranding later, when you need to refresh your image, to be easier. You will also find it easier to change as styles change.
Ask Questions that Prompt Your Customers
As you build and communicate your brand, ask customers questions that will prompt thought and action. Think of UPS’s familiar “What can Brown do for you?” It is more than a question: it prompts a call to action in the consumer. By answering the question, the consumer provides their own invitation to reach out to UPS. As you create the questions to ask your customers, make sure that the answer brings them to you.
Make Sure Your Logo Is Present in Everything You Do
As you are building your brand image and awareness, make sure that you incorporate your logo into everything that you do. It should be in all official messaging, from emails between colleagues to press releases. You want people to see and recognize your brand.
Are You Building Your Brand Image?
Media Components can help you build and market your brand. Whether you’re an entrepreneur starting out, a small business, or a large company, we have digital marketing solutions we can tailor to your needs. Contact us today.
