Brands are everywhere. On your cereal box in the morning, plastered on billboards scattered along your morning commute, decorating mugs and ballpoint pens in the office – it’s safe to say, they’re here to stay. The brands that we’ve all come to know didn’t simply appear one day. Teams have carefully crafted these brands with an overarching vision in mind in an attempt to market themselves and connect with an audience that will support their products and services for decades to come. Whether you’re wanting to revitalize an age-old brand to connect with a modern audience or you’re an innovator developing the next viral startup, here are some initial tips to help get your brand off the ground and into the minds of potential future clients.
1) Find Your “Why”
Companies exist to provide products and services to their clients. When defining a brand image, it’s important to think about what your company is doing, but it’s even more important to address why you’re doing it. People have a tendency to develop dedication to a brand when they identify with company goals and messages. Talking about the “why” of a company is just as important as marketing the products and services that it’s producing. Customers use products, but they connect with brands.
2) Identify Your Audience
Tailoring content to fit your community is fundamental in creating a connection. Of course, the first step in creating a tailored fit is to take some measurements – define who your audience is or who you want the audience to be. By designing content for a specific group instead of a general audience, there’s a much higher likelihood of having an impact when the message gets to its intended target.
3) Why You?
Now that we are in the 2020s, nearly every industry has had the opportunity to fully develop. There is more competition than ever before, meaning that it’s more difficult than ever to find ways to stand out from the crowd. Even in the digital space, social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are bombarded with companies spreading their brands and promoting their products day and night. So, why should a client choose you? Being able to clearly identify how you provide enhanced value as compared to the competition is imperative in being able to grab (and hold) the attention of a public that’s constantly bombarded with information.
4. Share Your Story
Everyone has a story, so why wouldn’t a brand? Customers around the world connect with the legacy that a company has regardless of its actual age. Integrating your company’s history, expertise, and experience into the overall brand voice helps better connect with audiences by providing history and personality. In the same way that friends grow closer when they know more about each other, customers connect more with brands that they feel like they know and understand.
5. Define Brand Guidelines
Logos, fonts, colors – these are all minor parts of a brand that go a long way in establishing a reputation that lasts for generations. Being able to develop a design aesthetic that fits your company’s vibe and values speaks directly to your audience as soon as they come into contact with your brand. Once these guidelines have been developed, stick closely to them. A company’s online presence reflects directly back on the company proper – in short, a bad look online leads to a bad look in the real world. Ensuring clean-cut, uniform branding across the company website, in email signatures, and on all social media platforms lets clients new and old know that your company is a professional and responsible business partner.
When combined, these elements of branding and marketing come together to completely revitalize a brand. You’ll have it all - good looks and a great personality - standing out from the competition to attract new clients left and right.
The creative and marketing team at SeedSpark has plenty of opportunity working with companies of all sizes to evaluate their brand, refreshing what’s there or building a digital presence that’s entirely new.
