This it the third post in the Small Business Branding Made Easy Series. Today’s post is all about building a brand identity.
What is Brand Identity?
Brand identity is the message the consumer receives from you, your business or merchandise. Now that you have thought about and determined how you want your customers to perceive your business it is time to start working on the components of its identity. Your brand components are things like your business name, your logo, the tagline, style, and colors that work together to create customer appeal and increase consumer recognition. These components and the message we want them to portray should be a consistent across all aspects of your business.
Components of a Solid Brand Identity
The following are a few simple strategies that will help you build the right components in order to establish a solid brand identity:
– Logo and creatives
Creating a logo is the first aspect of developing your brand’s visual identity. In addition to the logo, you will need to create a specific look and feel for your brand that will be consistent throughout the various platforms you will use to promote your brand. This means that every aspect of business, your website, your social media pages and even your business cards, should feature the same creative elements.
When determining the colours you want to use, it is important to remember that specific colors tend to evoke very specific emotions. Yellow for example is associated with happiness, while red is associated with anger or romance and blue with trust. Research the colours you want to use and see if they fit with the message you want to convey to your customer. Do not just choose a color because you think it looks pretty.
Always keep your target market in mind when developing your creative elements. The occupation, age and even social status of the group you aim to target will influence how they view your logo, colours et cetera. Be sure to also test your logo with a focus group or through a survey targeting your ideal customers before you launch it.
Some logos, as creative as they may be, can be misinterpreted or even confused with the logo of a similar brand. Whatever you decide, ensure that your creative elements are memorable. You want your ideal customers to take notice of your brand, and even if they don’t buy immediately, you want them to recognize your brand if they see it again. It is this recognition factor that builds trust and helps create sales.
– Social Media Presence
Social media allows you to reach the right people, with the right message, all the time. Additionally, social media is one of the most affordable options to reach your target audience. So why not make full use of it?
There are many social media platforms available that can help you build your brand. In fact, many successful brands invest heavily in creating a strong social presence. When your business is small it is even more important to connect with consumers on a more personal level. Social Media allows you to do this.
Many small business owners shy away from social media because they think it is expensive and time consuming; But done right it can pay off hugely. Just like any other type of marketing you must keep your ideal audience in mind. Take the time to post content that will appeal to them on a regular basis and engage with them as much as possible.
– Optimize Your Website
Your website (if you have one) should be loaded with useful content, easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing. While building a website is beyond the scope of this series I feel it is essential to highlight the importance of having a well-designed, mobile friendly site that loads quickly on multiple devices. If you don’t have one, you can get one from here: https://www.miware.co.za/basic-website-design/ use discount code BRANDWEB to get 30% off. A website is one of the few points of contact that you have full control over so make sure you have one and use it to your advantage.
TASK
Take some time to think about how you can develop the different aspects of your brand identity that we went over in this post. Write a comment below telling us about the colours you decided to use and why.
