So, You Want To Know More about Branding…
What is a Brand Identity?
The collection of everything that a company utilizes to portray the company’s message to consumers. Branding and brand image are different from brand identity. The term branding references the marketing practices employed to develop a distinct and cohesive brand. Brand image is the public perception of your brand, based on the interactions of your consumers. Your brand identity is the tangible elements that make your brand recognizable to your potential customers amidst the noise of the consumer world. Deanna DeBara at 99designs expresses it best, “Your brand identity is what makes you instantly recognizable to your customers. Your audience will associate your brand identity with your product or service, and that identity is what forges the connection between you and your customers, builds customer loyalty, and determines how your customers will perceive your brand.”
Why is it important?
Brand identity acts as the personality of your company. It is a visual representation of the persona that you have cultivated for your brand! The blog tbhCreative describes, “Identity design essentially sets the tone of your brand, and it can be used to evoke specific feelings in your audience. Your brand identity should be designed to communicate your company’s overall message and promote your business goals.” By utilizing a brand identity, you develop a consistent message for your consumers. This also fosters brand loyalty. Choosing to develop and maintain a consistent brand identity is what helps you stand out from your competitors. By creating a strong brand identity package, your branding will be at the forefront of all of your materials. The more that your brand is featured, the more memorable that it becomes to your customers. A brand identity is what makes for loyal customers. By having a recognizable and memorable brand, your consumers are able to make a connection between your brand and your product and will know it right when they spot it in their day-to-day lives.
3 myths behind branding?
I can do it myself!
Unless you have a degree in brand development and design, doing it yourself is never the right solution. People often will not take you seriously if your website looks homemade! By having a professionally created site, consumers will take you and your company much more seriously.
I can’t afford a professional brand developer.
While yes, brand developers and designers can be expensive, it can cost your company a lot more to not have consistency in your brand! If your company is focused on providing detail focused solutions to your customers, but your brand identity lacks the detail focused touch, you are providing your consumers with a conflicting message about what your brand stands for and what they can expect working with you.
I don’t need a cohesive brand.
In the online world, not having a quality and recognizable visual identity is the death of your company. Today, most first impressions with a brand come on visuals alone. You need to be utilizing quality branding in your web presence to attract any potential customers. Regardless of whether you have invested anything into it, your business has a brand! Debra Murphy from Masterful Marketing explains that, “Your company name, how you deliver on your promises and what your customers say about you when asked creates an impression of what it is like to do business with you – and that, my friend, is your brand. You can let it be developed for you through online customer reviews or your competition, or you can take control and manage it to your advantage. Your choice.”
Who needs branding? You!
So what is personal branding? Personal branding is making an intentional effort to control and influence the public perception someone has. Often there is an effort being made to increase status in a field and truly make a name for oneself! By utilizing branding, you are increasing your and your company’s ethos! By creating a strong and defined personal/professional brand, you are establishing yourself as someone who is established, credible, and knowledgeable in your field. If consumers know you as a mastery in your industry, it becomes much simpler to elevate your career and market your business. But establishing yourself as a mastery takes work! You need to be constantly proving yourself with content, products, service, and most importantly – consistency!
Why are you worth the investment?
By investing in you and your brand, you will be building a lifetime relationship with your company and your customers! But arguably the best benefit of investing in you and your brand? Growing your audience. Good content means more fans, just take a look at the Beatles! If you are providing your audience with a beautiful and easy to explore site or blessing their feeds with beautifully branded posts or content, you will have some happy customers! And the biggest business tip we can offer you? Happy customers tell their friends! By making an investment in your brand, you are making an investment in you and your future! And that is worth its weight in gold.
