Branding is a central concept to marketing, in any form. While we see thousands of dollars contributed to establishing branding for large corporations and big-name companies, many small business owners struggle to realize the importance of a good brand strategy. We’re here to tell you that devoting a little time an energy into establishing your brand is more important than ever. And trust us, it won’t take thousands of dollars to do so.
But why should you care about branding in the first place? Well let’s take a look at what branding really is.
Branding, in its most basic form, is a combination of name, symbols, colors, and tone that are easily identifiable by your audience. This can be as simple as a logo and as complex as a full 30 page branding guide. We’ve worked with some well-established clients who have pages and pages of how to use their logo, down to the exact degree of the angles allowed to be used in any graphics or promotions.
While you certainly don’t have to go that far, it is important to establish some ground rules for your personal brand. This will do a few things for your business that are incredibly important. Luckily for you, we’re going to outline what a good brand can do for your small business.
RECOGNITION
First and foremost, good branding will help establish recognition for your business. Seeing your logo will help improve recall, which is essential for potential new business. This all starts with a powerful and well-designed logo. If we could recommend one area to invest in branding, it is to start with your logo. After all, this will be the face of your company.
CONSISTENCY
This works in two ways. By establishing a well-defined brand, the marketing efforts you put out into the world from your website to business cards and advertising will all establish the same core message. This makes your job easier when creating new content, as you have guidelines to go by that keep you consistent.
TRUST
With recognition and consistency comes trust. A business that has invested in an established logo, color scheme, and tone knows how to present themselves to their audience. Your followers will know what to expect from you, and the consistency you established will bring trust in your brand. You know who you are, therefore your customers will, too. And soon that trust will turn into loyalty, meaning repeat business and spreading the word. And who doesn’t want that?
PROFESSIONALISM
Ultimately, giving thought to your brand will help solidify your professionalism. You care about your business image enough to make sure it is presentable in any format. You could be the best company in your field in the world, but without presentation, your company image will fall flat.
So where do you start to establish a good brand? Sure, you have a logo, but what’s next? How do you make sure your website maintains the same tone? How can you establish colors that work for your image? What does all this have to do with social media graphics, and how can you tie it all together?
There seem to be endless questions, and our answer isn’t exactly simple. We always recommend establishing a Branding Board before getting started with any marketing efforts. This will establish things like logo, colors, tone, message, goals, and even things like hashtags in one place for you and your team to stay cohesive.