Market conditions are changing like never before! You will have to implement the latest marketing strategies and technologies to counter any competition. If you are a start-up company then you will have to look for newer branding strategies for its growth.
What is Branding?
Branding is what a company wants to showcase in their client's mind. It is an image that Brand creates. It starts from the most basic form of Art like a Logo. It then extends to your Tag Lines, Website Communication, Promotions, Ads and finally what a customer thinks.
Branding is complex as you might want to achieve 100 different things and only 1 or 2 things reach your Target Audience. Keep Branding as simple as possible. Do not overthink and over complicate things for people to understand.
Why is Branding important?
It creates the much needed perception about your brand among your target audience
It helps build trust within the marketplace
It increases business value
Branding generates new customers
Ideas for Branding:
1. Recreate your logo
The logo of your company says it all! Do remember that the logo is the face of your company. If your logo design is very casual and unprofessional then all your branding efforts are sure to go in vein. People will not take your company seriously if your logo isn’t doing the talking.
Simultaneously, you can also make changes in your business card, brochure design and other marketing materials. You can redesign your marketing material every time you launch a new product or service or simply revamp them to fit in the competition.
For instance, look at Coco Cola; the brand is synonymous with soft drink. And this has worked because of its unique logo. MacDonald is another brand that has made its mark among people. Whenever people think of burgers, they automatically think of MacDonald. This is the power of logo and branding!
So, if you find that the design of your logo is outdated or it isn’t good enough to draw the attention of your audience, it is time you change it.
2. Social Media Strategy
Social Media is a boon for almost all businesses today. Social handles such as Facebook, Twitter , YouTube, Instagram offer a wide range of opportunities to tap potential customers.
You can leverage social media to build connections and make communities of users around your products and services. Social media allows start-ups and small companies to build brand awareness with small budgets.
Dollar Shave Club, an American start-up was able to garner over 12,000 views and users within 48 hours of with its viral video. In 2012, YouTube helped the company get over 5 million views. This is the perfect example of branding using social media.
3. Brand videos
Videos are one of the easiest ways to engage with your audience. Videos can also be embedded and shared easily. You can use targeted videos to educate your users and help them recognize your brand and enable them to take an informed decision.
You can even explore other visual media such as graphics and illustration to present your brand in an engaging and entertaining way.
4. Recreate your merchandise
Ensure that your products are designed perfectly and stand out from your competitors. Be it t-shirts, bags, bottles, caps , soft drinks or any other product, consumers often look at how presentable it is before buying the product.
5. Beef-up your blogging
Blogging is a great way of branding. It helps you build authority in your business and industry. Post relevant and image based content regularly on your blog site. Also, give updated information about your products and services in your blogs.
In addition to this, make sure that your blog design accommodates both text and visuals effectively. You can try and explain certain issues with the help of images, videos and infographics wherever required. Such an interesting mix of content and images will attract more customers to your blog and helps build trust for your brand. This is a great brand building exercise.
6. Well framed Ads
Well framed and innovative ads are needed for effective branding strategies. Simply putting up ads in the newspapers or billboards will not serve the purpose. You must use compelling language such that users are forced to buy your products.
7. Evaluate your packaging
If you sell products, make sure that the packaging is attractive with some great work of graphics. Customers are more likely to be attracted to be attracted by the packaging which may also influence their buying decision to a certain extent. You can lose out customers in case there is a mismatch in type of products and packaging concept.
It is recommended that you take packaging seriously. Studies prove that most businesses lose out on customers and business owing to poor package designing. Poor packaging discourages people from buying your products as it creates some kind of doubt in their mind. People find it difficult to trust brands with poor packaging. Therefore, treat your packaging to create lasting impression on people.
8. Analyze your performance
Analyze the performance of your business regularly as it will help you understand your weaknesses and strengths. You can use them to strengthen your brand value. Proper analysis will also help build honesty, authenticity and credibility among people.
Whenever there is any issue with your brand, you can let your customers know about it and do whatever it takes to resolve the issue. Do remember that customers prefer brands that interact with customers and offer transparent deals to buyers.
9. Define your archetypes
Archetype was popularized by psychologist Carl Jung. Archetypes involve using characters from folklore, fables and novels to define your brand. This type of branding strategy has worked wonders for several brands as it makes easy for buyers to remember and relate with their favourite brand.
For example, Microsoft is the girl or boy next door. Creating such interesting archetype will help create a great story around your brand.
10. Leverage Email Marketing
Yes, you heard that right! Email marketing is still a great way to promote your business. Email marketing helps you deliver relevant information about your products or services. Again, try to use text and images in your email to make it more impactful.
Branding is important and every business must leverage it to beat their rivals. Work out a budget and allot it for proper branding of your business.