Branding is one of the pillars of a successful business. It is the process of developing and shaping your brand into what you want the public to perceive it as. The purpose of branding isn’t just to convince people to buy your products or services but to transform them into lifelong users.
With all that said, you can imagine how vital this process is for your brand to break through, survive, and thrive. Doing it right will give you a competitive advantage right from the start. To learn more about the nuances of branding and how it can help your business, check out the article below.
Branding vs. Brand Marketing
If branding creates your brand’s identity, then brand marketing would be a long-term plan to increase your brand’s reputation and solidify its spot on the market.
Both are seen as separate ventures, but in reality, they are not. Marketing and branding cannot be separated. So if you want to make sure you stand out from your competition, you need to start planning your promotion strategy before you begin your branding journey.
The four-step approach shown below is a symbiosis of branding and brand marketing. It explains the most important things to think about before developing a brand. It inspires you to view a brand’s promotion from a different angle.
1. Create A Distinct Visual Identity
Branding is all about having a distinct visual identity, and the logo is the centerpiece. It represents the vision of your brand, differentiates you from the competition, and enhances brand loyalty.
Without a professional-looking logo, nobody will take you seriously, and achieving any success will be notoriously hard.
So, how can you get yourself a logo?
You can hire a designer to create one for you, or you can do it yourself by using an online logo maker. The latter is much cheaper and, 9 out of 10 times, the result is more than satisfying.
2. Know Your Higher Values (and Promote Them!)
A vital component of a good branding strategy is deciding what values your brand stands for and figuring out how to convey them.
Having people associate your brand with a higher value or a positive emotion is arguably the best way to turn them into customers, and eventually, ambassadors.
For instance, do you know those seemingly pointless motivational/funny/entertaining videos that pop up on your IG and Facebook feed? They’re (usually) fun to watch, but they are not just designed for entertainment purposes – they are promotional videos.
The difference between these videos and traditional ads is that the former will not directly show the product/service that they’re promoting. Instead, they aim to grab your attention by entertaining and sending a message that resonates with their potential customers (and their values). That hopefully leads the viewer to learn more about the brand.
Another relevant example of this is how dozens of big companies incorporated rainbow colors in their logos as a sign of support for the LGBTAQ+ community.
3. Focus On Creating A Consistent Brand Experience
Whether people visit your website, social media, or physical store, make sure that they always see your brand’s signature look. In other words, the user should know, just by looking at any of the aforementioned things, that it belongs to your brand.
To do this, first, you have to have a strong brand identity. That means having a well-designed logo or a symbol, as well as a distinct color(s) of your brand. Think Benetton, for example. Then incorporate all of these elements into every location, online or offline, of your business.
Aside from this, do everything you can to make the visitor’s experience as pleasant as possible. Not only will this make your business look highly professional, but it will also foster strong brand loyalty.
No matter where they go to engage with your brand, your customers will know that they’ll have a delightful time. And that, in itself, is extremely powerful.
4. Invest in PR to manage brand reputation
A good public relations strategy will help you build a positive and memorable brand image. To some brands, PR seems like a waste of time. On the contrary, when combined with marketing, PR can yield amazing results. If you want to connect with your audience in an authentic way and build positive, long-term relationships with them, then you need to invest in PR. A public relations specialist can help you develop a winning strategy that includes elements of media relations, guest posting, and social media outreach.
Public relations starts with understanding what kind of information, content, and products your audience needs and then giving them these things. Anyone can draw up a budget and spend thousands of dollars in marketing. However, it is the brands that take time to connect with their audiences that make it in the long run. By giving your audience what they need, you can earn their trust. Audiences that trust you to educate them and give them exactly what they need will start to see you as a thought leader. Ultimately, these audiences that trust you will eventually convert into paying customers.
While developing a public relations strategy that works for your brand is worthwhile, many founders can’t manage this added responsibility on their own. If this is the case for you, you should consider partnering with PR specialists, expert writers, and certified designers at Pressfarm. Given their industry experience, they have what it takes to help you develop a PR strategy, create quality content for you and distribute this content widely. They can also offer you access to a network of 1 million+ journalists, bloggers, and influencers to help you tell your brand story.
4. Ambassador Marketing Is Key
As the old saying goes: “A satisfied customer is your best salesperson.” We couldn’t agree more, and that’s why you need to do everything you can to turn as many customers into brand ambassadors.
One way to do this is to make special offers to your ambassadors, such as discounts and insider information.
Your goal should be to get some celebrities or social media influencers onto the brand promotion wagon. A single post by a person with a lot of followers can do wonders for your business.
The role that branding plays here is enormous. The better your brand looks and the more reputable it is, the more people will want to stand behind it.
Just think about how many people flash their Apple products just because they think they look fantastic. Some would even say that the design, not the quality, is the main reason behind this brand’s stellar success.