Over the past few months we have gone over the steps in our Visual Branding 101 Guide on how to create a strong Visual Branding strategy. With so much competition out there now, it is crucial you plan out your strategy if you want to be successful. It is also important to remember that your Brand is an ever evolving asset. It is something that you will always need to foster too, making adjustments as your business grows and changes. Here we will sum up the sections in one post but go back and read our original posts as they will hold more details to each step through the process of building your visual brand.
Part 1: Building Your Brand Identity
If you remember from Part 1 of our Visual Branding 101 Guide; we discussed that the first step to building your brand is to understand who you are. From what your brand says, the look your brand portrays, what its values and goals are, to the feelings people get when they hear your company name. It is creating your story. We then went on and outlined a few questions that will help you figure out exactly what your brand identity is all about.
- What’s Your Company’s Vision / Goals? – where you want your company to be in the future.
- What Makes You Different? – Why should consumers choose to purchase from you instead of your competition?
- Who Is Your Target Market? – helps you decide what your brand should look and feel like so you can market to those people specifically.
- What Is Your Company’s Mission? – capture not only what you do, but why you do it. It should be clear, memorable, concise, express your company’s uniqueness, and finally it should set the tone of your company.
By answering these questions you will have a clearer picture of what your business is about and where you want it to go.
Part 2: Make Your Brand Memorable
In section two of our Visual Branding 101 Guide we outlined how you can make your brand memorable. We talked about how choosing the right name for your business is one of the most crucial decisions you will need to make. A great name needs to be strong, simple & easy to pronounce, unique, fresh, and something that will embody your company values.
We then outlined a few key areas that will help you choose the right look to make your brand memorable:
- Choosing the right Logo as it is the most essential and valuable visual component of your brand.
- Colour can have a huge impact on a user’s perception, feelings and emotions. Therefore it is important you choose the right colours to tell your story.
- Keep it Simple – don’t confuse your audience.
- Font Style – Every font has a distinct personality and character, so you need to be thoughtful when you select one.
- Keep it Consistent – using the same size images, filters, colours, and font styles across all your visual platforms is key.
The last area we covered in this section was about finding your businesses voice and personality. If developed correctly, your tone of voice can be the secret to the success of your company. As a result, all these areas have one thing in common, how they make your user feel. You want to make sure the first impression people get from hearing your name, seeing your logo, or interpreting your voice are all positive. You want to make your brand memorable in a positive way.
Part 3: Get Your Brand Out There
In the third section of our Visual Branding 101 Guide we detailed how to get your brand out there. You might now have your name, look and story, but that is not going to help you bring in clients if you do not get your brand out there for people to see. We highlighted a few affordable options like:
Connecting to your potential clients using social media and your blog. This will allow you to provide valuable content that your followers want to read and share. You are also able to interact with your audience to get customer feedback which is vital in building positive social interaction.- Run Contests and Campaigns
- Give Away Branded Products and Wearable Marketing – this is a great way to have your brand in users hands at all times and will market your product to others who see it.
- Provide Great Customer Service – plays a huge role in the success of your business. In today’s world everything is instant, one negative “Tweet” could spread like a wild fire and it might be too late to save your business if not handled correctly.
- Referral Programs – one of the best forms of marketing. Referral marketing, also known as word-of-mouth marketing, is when people make a purchase based on someone else’s opinion or influence. It’s a powerful marketing channel because people trust the opinions of their friends and family.
Trying a few of these options will help grow your brand following. There are many other paid options as well but be sure you do your research to see what will work for your business before you go paying a huge fee.
Part 4: Long-Term Success Strategy
In the final section of our Visual Branding 101 Guide we discussed the ongoing marketing and care for your visual branding long-term success strategy. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, your branding is an ever evolving asset to your business. The success of your business will be dependent on your long-term strategy and we detailed a few points to help.
- Continuous Good Customer Support – solve any issues that come up quickly and smoothly.
- Stay Flexible – as the market, consumers, and competitors are constantly changing.
- Employee Involvement – it is important that your staff know and understand your brand identity.
- Have A Loyalty Program – saying thank you will go a long way. Highlighting a positive relationship between you and your existing customers sets the tone for what potential customers can expect when they choose to do business with you.
As a result, you can see all the aspects that tie together in order to create a strong visual brand for your business. Following our Visual Branding 101 Guide will help get you on your way.
If you missed any of our previous sections to our Visual Branding 101 Guide you can find their links below:
Building Your Brand Identity: Part 1
Make Your Brand Memorable: Part 2