Back to articlesHey there, lovely people! What do you think when you hear the word ‘Branding’? There is a common attitude people have towards branding. They think it is an unnecessary and time-consuming expense.
“Why do I need to spend my time looking at pretty designs?”
“I have a great product, I don’t need to put a bow on it.”
Sure, you may have a great product/service, and you may think that customers will naturally flock in because of it! This is not the case. You can create the most beautiful, revolutionary product and nobody will bite if you don’t know how to show it to them.
Branding plays a massive role in drawing customers in and giving them a reason to stand behind your business. In today’s overcrowded market, you can’t afford to turn a blind eye to your branding any longer. There are businesses just like yours that people can choose before yours. You need to stand out.
“How am I supposed to stand out?” you ask. This is where your brand comes in!
Let’s kick out those outdated attitudes and confusion, and introduce you to the exciting world of branding! Branding is the process of creating a unique identity for your business. This includes everything from your logo and colour scheme to your brand’s values, personality, and messaging. By branding your business with care and taking into account your target customers, you can establish a positive and memorable image for your business that sets you apart from competitors and most importantly, it resonates with people.
TLDR, it’s only the foundation of your business’s reputation. Nbd!
Here are 4 steps to getting started on your brand today:
1) Defining your brand values and mission
Listen up! The key first step to building a killer brand is getting in touch with your emotions. That’s right. Everyone’s favourite!
What do you stand for? What’s your mission as a business? What do you care about that your competitors don’t? These aren’t just questions – they’re the foundation of your ‘why’, and they’ll help you connect with your audience in a way that they’ll never forget.
By defining your authentic and unique tone of voice, you’ll have people feeling like you truly understand them, which you do! And that’s how you turn ’em into loyal customers, or at least dedicated followers (for now!).
An important thing to remember when defining your brand values, is this: People remember how something made them feel. What emotions do your customers feel that you can get in touch with? Waste no time, let’s get emotional!
2) Developing a visual identity
It’s time for the fun part that everybody loves; developing a visual identity that truly communicates your values, and suits your audience.
This includes creating your logo, choosing your colour scheme, selecting fonts, and designing marketing materials. All these things should work together to create your gorgeous and cohesive brand identity.
It is so important to keep your ‘why’ in mind during this process. Reconsider adding a design element to your logo just because. Instead, ask yourself: “Why is this important to my business?” Asking yourself questions like this during the process is how your brand will end up standing out and getting noticed. Because you care, and it shows!
A lot of business owners currently in the market don’t care or understand the why, and are stuck in the belief that branding is just design. Beat that old mindset, and make yourself known! Your business deserves it.
3) Creating a brand voice and messaging
Ready to discover your brand’s voice? You are giving your business a personality that your customers will relate to and remember!
To start, identify your target audience and what kind of tone and language will resonate with them. Are they more corporate or casual? Fun or serious? Gentle or bold? Think about your values and mission – what kind of voice aligns with them? Get creative and introduce some personality into your messaging!
Establishing a brand voice and messaging that’s consistent across all channels (including social media, email, and website copy) can help you build trust and credibility. Once you’ve defined your brand voice, you will be creating content that helps your audience relate to you. Lets goooo!
4) Be consistent
Absolutely saving the best for last, we present to you, consistency! A good brand is a consistent brand, and that builds trust and credibility for your customers.
Imagine for a minute: you walk into a cafe, and you are trying to choose what to eat. You can either choose the muffin with a piece of A4 paper written in sharpie for a sign, or you can choose the muffin with a gorgeous sign that matches the branding of the store you’re in, in a really nice font. Which one of these muffins are you more inclined to buy? Which one do you trust more? This is the importance of consistency.
Your visual identity, messaging, and overall brand image should be consistent across all channels, from your website to your social media profiles to your physical marketing materials. Customers should be able to walk into your shop and know what beautiful atmosphere to expect. Customers should be able to call and know what type of person they are reaching. Customers should see an Instagram story and know who it is based on your gorgeous branding that you have worked so hard on!
And there you have it!
By following these 4 easy steps, you can get started with or at LEAST start thinking a bit more about your amazing brand identity. If you have any questions about branding or want to take your business to the next level, we would love to hear from you!
Book a discovery call with our lovely strategist and director Emma to find out more.
