Branding plays an integral role in the success of any company by setting a business apart from the competition and cultivating brand loyalty. It also makes it easy for potential customers to see at a glance what a company has to offer. Branding is not easy to modify or replace once it’s been established. So new business owners would do well to pay attention to branding early on in order to build a solid foundation for the new company’s success.
While branding styles and strategies vary by industry, there are five main elements a brand will need to include to increase the odds of success. These are outlined in detail below to make it easy for entrepreneurs and new business owners to design a brand that will appeal to the company’s target audience both now and in the future.
1. Include your logo
Your logo should appear in a highly visible location on your website, social media platforms, business cards, letterheads, and newsletters. Stores that sell physical products will want logos printed on certain products and packaging such as bags and boxes. In this day and age, there are many logo design tools that are built to give you a professional result.
Your logo is a visual image that defines your brand. It reflects who you are and is designed to appeal to your target audience. The image should be high-quality and easily scalable to ensure it looks good in any setting. It should also be chosen with forethought to ensure it will meet your current and future needs. Let’s assume, for instance, there is a chance you may offer additional products/services at a future date. In this case, you should make sure your logo is open-ended enough that people can identify your business even if it expands later on.
Many businesses, including internationally-known corporations such as Google use a wordmark logo rather than an identifying image. This works well for many companies but may not be the best option for a new company that does not have widespread brand-name recognition. The human brain processes images faster than words. For this reason, having a pictorial logo accompanied by the written brand name is appealing. An eye-catching logo is an effective branding option to help people see at a glance who you are and what you have to offer. If you’re at the stage of designing your logo, you can find a professional logo designer on a design platform like crowdspring or a logo maker online.
2. Create a color palette that resonates with your logo
Colors and color combinations have meaning. Blue and red, for instance, are subconsciously associated with strength and durability respectively. The combination of yellow and orange triggers hunger and is used by fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King. Pink and purple are commonly used by companies that want to appeal to a female demographic. Green symbolizes nature and is typically used by companies promoting natural products. It is also used by companies that put a premium on protecting the environment.
Your color palette is just as important as your logo, as it helps define who you are and what you offer. A nice example of color use is the discount code website Dealhack, where the purple homepage color scheme suggests trust and reliability.
Swab the World is an organization that encourages BIPOC individuals to enter the stem cell donor registry to help people of color overcome cancer. They’ve done a great job of using colors to define a brand, capture attention, and convey a message. The organization highlights the need for donors from various ethnic backgrounds. It uses multiple shades of colors to convey the message that minority stem cell donors can make a life and death difference in the lives of the people they are helping.
3. Pick the Right Image Styles
Statistics show that sites with images get nearly twice as many views as sites that don’t have images. Furthermore, images can boost on-site optimization and generate shares. This is in addition to enticing people to purchase the products and/or services featured on your site. However, you have to use the right images if you want your business to succeed long-term. Your chosen images must not only be high-quality but also resonate with your target audience.
Tailor Brands, a branding business that specializes in services such as logo and website creation, product branding, and business listings, is designed to appeal to anyone who wants to start a new business or rebrand an existing one. The images used on their blog have contrasting colors to draw attention while making a point. They feature a single image on a solid-colored background with windows and arrows to draw attention to a particular point. Using this consistent style in all the blog images makes it easy to identify as the brands’ content.
4. Pick Two or Three Fonts and Use Them Consistently
Subscribers and customers expect companies to not only use a consistent tone but also consistent fonts. Effective advertisers often pick two or three fonts to set apart text segments and draw attention to certain portions of a page. In most instances, one font is used for the heading, one for the body, and one for the call to action.
There are two points to bear in mind when picking a font. These are readability and brand identity. Your text must be easy to read on any device or potential customers won’t even bother paying attention to what you have to say. At the same time, it has to resonate with your overall branding style. If you offer luxury goods, for instance, you may want a cursive script as one of your chosen fonts. On the other hand, companies appealing to families with kids may want to use one or two informal fonts to capture attention and reflect their core values.
Emcap does a great job of using consistent yet appealing fonts to grab attention while showcasing the business in the best possible light. Color is used to add variety to the font used for most of the site text. At the same time, font size varies to make it easy for readers to skim the site for important information.
5. Use Templates for Pages
Would you like to ensure your email and print newsletters are consistent with your website, blog, social media pages, printed advertisements, and business cards? If so, using templates for pages is your best bet. A template has a pre-determined structure and layout to ensure consistency. At the same time, it enables users to make needed customizations to ensure that each page, post or advertisement is appealing to the company’s target audience.
MailChimp has mastered the art of using templates to maintain consistent branding. The logo is always on top, and the body of the email or blog posts follows. Moreover, one or more call-to-action buttons can always be found under the body. This makes it easy for potential customers to get further information on products, services, and/or special offers. An image that is in line with the subject of the text can be found after the call-to-action buttons.
Creating a winning brand will take research and a great deal of thought and planning. You’ll want to start by identifying your target audience. In this way, you can find out which colors and images would appeal to the people who are most likely to buy your goods and/or services. You’ll need to create a list of your company’s core values and identify the main purpose of your business. Once you’ve completed these tasks, you’ll need to select colors, font styles, and a logo to help customers and potential customers identify your business with ease. Finally, you’ll need to select effective images and templates to keep your branding consistent on all platforms. However, the time and hard work you put into branding will pay off many times over as a winning brand will consistently bring in site visitors. Moreover, a memorable brand will generate sales and keep people coming back to your business.