Wouldn’t it be nice if a business could thrive on the quality of its product alone? Sadly that’s not the world we live in. The average consumer spends their life not to have a distinct visual element with countless brands and advertisements. Every day, no matter what they’re doing, people can’t escape seeing ads everywhere they go. Because of that, it can seem impossible to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Photo, Balázs Kétyi.
When there are thousands of voices yelling out at once, how can you make yours heard? Add to this the significant changes that have come about even in the last five years in how companies market themselves. Smartphones, social media, and modern search engines have provided so many new marketing avenues it’s insane. The big question that this poses for businesses is this. How do you create and maintain a strong brand identity in the modern world?
Get everyone on the same page: One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of smaller businesses make when it comes to their branding is a lack of consistency. No matter what your business is, it should have a distinct, recognisable and consistent brand. Whether that’s the signage above the premises of your business or the signatures on emails sent out to clients. You should make sure that everything related to your business keywords in the same way. It’s incredible what an impact this can have on the way clients and customers relate to your business. Not only that but it’s not even that difficult to do. There are plenty of services that offer document management to help you stick to the correct branding no matter what. That way, every single person involved in your business can always know the most effective ways that your business can put its best foot forward every single time.
Clean up your social media: It’s fantastic that businesses are learning that social media is an invaluable marketing tool. What’s less fantastic is the fact that so many businesses are still being incredibly sloppy with how they implement it. When it comes to social media, ‘focus’ is the most important thing. Don’t just throw out advertising and keywords on every platform available. Think about which social media platforms are best for your business. After all, depending on the kind of business that you’re running, your potential customers may not use, or want to interact with you using, certain platforms.
If you’re spread too thin then you’re going to be giving yourself a whole lot of extra work. Then make sure that your content is high quality, well optimised and consistent across the board. If you haven’t set up an employee as a dedicated social media manager, then consider doing so. That way you’re not going to find yourself with a bunch of totally different brand identities spread out across the internet.
Photo, Tim Bennett.
Focus on visual devices: Human beings are a visual species. We respond to visual stimuli better than just about any other kind. This means that for a business to create a strong brand identity, it cannot afford to not have a distinct visual element. This goes for everything about the business. Think about the most successful companies in the world. They all have a distinct style and colour scheme that you can find on everything to do with them. Coca-Cola is the best example of this. How many companies have such a strong brand identity that they changed the colour scheme of a holiday mascot?
Photo, Bantersnaps.
A visual identity can keep your brand permanently in the minds of customers. From product tags to the scheme of your website, it’s essential that you ensure that the visual side of your business’s branding is as strong and distinctive as possible. That way you’re giving it a much better chance to worm its way into your customer’s brain.
Lean on what makes your business unique: With the sheer volume of stuff being thrown in a customer’s face every day, it’s hard for them to tell a lot of it apart. That’s why you need to make sure that whatever your business has that sets it apart from the crowd; that’s the first thing the customer sees. You could have the most innovative and useful product in the world, but if your company looks dull and generic, then it won’t matter one bit. Pinpoint exactly what it is that your business does better than anyone else and make that a central element of your branding. If there is a market for what your business does then customers will be able to spot it a mile away. That way you’re able to focus the customer’s attention on your business perfectly.
It can be tempting to try and fit as much as possible into your business but this can often just make things a lot harder than they need to be. Look at what really matters to your business and what makes it stand out. Trimming away everything that doesn’t matter and matching your customers up with a product that they really need is an essential part of not only engaging them but keeping them engaged in the long run.
It may be difficult to find ways to make your business and your brand distinct in a world where the marketplace is more crowded than ever before. But in reality, the techniques that your business needs to use to create a strong brand identity are as old as business itself. For all the changes there have been, people have remained pretty consistent in terms of the things that they respond to and what they find generally appealing. This means that you’ve got decades, perhaps even centuries, of things to work from when developing your brand.
You might need to find new ways to do it, but in the end the most important thing that you can do is to try and find ways to draw in and engage your audience as much as possible. Once you’re able to do that, you’re going to be set up for success.
