Benefits of Branding Your Business

Tips for Brand Building

Here are 5 tips to help improve your brand marketing and a few of the benefits that you should see as a result of your branding efforts.

What is Branding?

But first a quick primer. Skip down to the tips if you're familiar with the concept of branding.

You've heard people talk about branding for business, and surely you know branding when you see it, even if you aren't totally sure of what it is or does.

The Golden Arches, and "I'm Lovin' It" campaigns? You immediately know that's McDonald's. The retro-styled DD with a bright pink and orange color scheme, and that "America Runs on Dunkin" slogan? Dunkin Donuts has made an impact in our minds using brand marketing tactics.

Can people look distinct elements of your brand and immediately identify them with your organization?

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The Power of Building a Brand Identity

Large enterprises spend millions of dollars to create brand identities. In certain parts of the country--I'm looking at you New England, when you hear the word "donut," you think "Dunkin."

Brand marketing teams have worked hard to make sure that these associations happen. And the great ones have done this through years of clever brand advertising.

In a way, it is the greatest real-life Jedi-mind trick of all. You probably think that these companies achieve these results because they can spend a ton of money to get their brands out there. Well, you’re not wrong there, but don't pass it off as a strategy only the big guns can use.

With a focused brand strategy focused on a few key areas even SMB marketers can help their companies gain ground.

Branding Can Empower SMBs

Small and mid-size businesses can reap the same rewards by investing in the creation of strong brand identities. And, guess what? You don't need to drop millions to get there. SMBs can harness a few smart hacks to help improve the recognition of their brands. It all revolves around marketing strategy and the use of new social media tool.

Five tips for improving your brand:

Establish a unique visual framework for your organization
Your logo is an important place to start. Create one that's visually appealing, memorable, and unique. Here are 9 tips for creating an optimized company logo if you need some help here. Visual branding extends beyond just your logo though. Does your website, your corporate media, your letterhead, your company branded clothes, etc. have a distinct look and feel? When you see a piece of marketing material from your company, would you know it was yours even without the logo? Consider how your visuals make an impression on viewers and how you can use your visual assets to set your company apart from the competition. Once you establish these consider building brand syle guidelines.
Use social media to generate brand awareness
Social media can't be ignored. It is a perfect platform for building your brand. While your customers and potential customers might not be going to your website everyday, they may be logging into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Snapchat regularly. Think about how can you use these social platforms to extend the reach of your brand to create a following of customer advocates.
Look for earned media opportunites
Where are your earned media opportunities? Is there a unique story about your company that might be interesting to local, national, or trade related news outlets? Are there customers who are willing to tell the world why they love working with you? Can you push them to review sites or ask them to be in a testimonial video? People trust earned media more than other promotion outlets. It needs to be a part of your branding strategy.
Create content that excites
Generic is not a good look for your content. In highly competitive markets, you have to grasp the attention of users and potential customers, and stunning collateral is a good place to start. After all, content is your company’s megaphone. The voice and look of those pieces set the precedence for the quality of your company’s services or solutions.
Paid Media Strategy
All of the content and branding attempts in the world won't go very far if your audience isn't seeing your brand. This can be especially true early on before you've built up site visitors or fans and followers on social medial. Consider paid channels where you can gain brand exposure in from of a relevent audience of potential customers. This can be a good way to introduce your brand to people who've never heard of you.

And when you do take the necessary steps to improve your company’s brand, the benefits can be overwhelming.

Branding Benefits You Can Look Forward To

Customer Loyalty
– A successful brand will create customer loyalty, and will constantly build awareness even when you are not engaged in an active marketing campaign. Consider your brand a marketing campaign that never ends.
An Improved Image
– Your brand image will show your clients and customers that you care enough to put forward a professional image, and have the diligence and creativity to present what makes you unique in your market.
Increased Trust
– Both new and established customers will place increased trust in your business.
A Relatable Identity
– Your branding lets customers visualize your services and offerings. It's always good to put a 'face to the name,' so let your branding be the 'face' that your customers see.

Maintaining a strong brand identity should be a priority for every business. It is an investment that will continue to pay back on itself as your company grows and expands.

Does your organization have an effective brand strategy?

Find out more about TSL Marketing and learn how we can make your brand, recognized, known, and trusted by customers and prospects alike.