When it comes to branding, a lot of times, business owners will try to cut corners. They may not view branding and graphic design as a priority because they simply don’t understand the true impact that it can have on a business.
What is branding?
By definition, branding is the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.
But if you take it a step further, branding is really the way that the world perceives your company.
When you combine unique and quality design work with engaging copy, you can create more diverse marketing campaigns that will expand your reach and convert more customers.
“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” – Jeff Bezos – CEO of Amazon
Why is branding important for your business?
When you invest in how your brand is represented across all of your forms of communication, you can take control of the way your customers see your company.
A good branding campaign will allow you to tell your story in an impactful way that connects with your target audience.
You want to focus on highlighting the most important qualities or features about your company, products, and services.
Brand Identity & Development take several hours of research and drafting before the final product can be brought to life.
What do you think people would say about your company if it was represented with a cheap logo from a logo design maker?
While logo makers do provide a cost-effective way to design your own logo, they’re all built with pre-made templates. There’s nothing unique about a logo that anyone can make.
Many people think that simply having a cheap logo design is good enough to represent the fact of the company. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
How much research & development do you think goes into a 5$ logo? Not much. Doesn’t sound like the best way to start your new company.
Instead of trying to save money by hiring a cheap logo designer, you would be better off finding a freelance graphic designer with a vast portfolio of work, or consider partnering with a creative branding agency that knows how to bring your brand to life.
Not only will custom graphics make your brand stand out from competitors, but it will also help create more brand awareness.
What is Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is the level of familiarity your brand has amongst your competitors.
The more times a person comes in contact with your brand, the more likely it is that they would be interested in using your goods or services. This is why it’s important to be active on all social media platforms that your audience may be on.
This isn’t only limited to digital advertising, though. You should also be sure to scope out how your competitors advertise with their signage, mailing, and marketing promotions as well. There may be a new opportunity for you to reach people in a way that you haven’t done before.
What social media platforms should you promote your brand on?
If your products are visually appealing, you probably want to be active on platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest. These communities have a passion for engaging with the latest design trends. Be sure to post high quality visuals consistently if you really want to build up an audience.
“We’ve seen great success promoting our branding agency on Instagram” Nick DePalo – Empirical
If your content is more informative, you may want to consider using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, where people are more likely to read your content. You can use these platforms to share quality content that promotes what you do. When it comes to creating content, you want to make sure you can offer something of value. No one wants to read a 300-word post on a topic that’s been discussed endless times.
Twitter is a great social platform because you can tweet out your links to content and blog posts, whereas Instagram keeps you limited to having one link in your bio.
Of course, the ideal scenario would be to claim all of your branded socials on the social media platforms, regardless of your plan to use them. These are some easy backlinks for your website to claim. Just be sure you fill out the bio completely and include a link back to your business website.
If you’re looking to create quality branded content, consider designing an infographic or an alternative type of data visualization. As humans, we tend to flock towards content that is visual appealing, so if you can create visual appealing content around a topic that people are interested in, you increase your chances of creating a “viral” piece of content.
Viral content helps create brand awareness because more people are exposed to your brand. However, it’s unlikely that many people will convert with a brand on the first interaction with them.
This is why you want to consistently provide quality content to your audience. When you put out valuable information on a consistent basis, it gives people a reason to follow, engage, and keep checking back for more updates. You can also use all of your social media channels to cross promote content and connect your audiences together.
The main purpose of combining all of your audiences together it to ultimately lead them to your website. In marketing, we call this funneling.
Build a funnel of value by providing free content that helps your potential customers. This helps position you as a thought leader in the industry. It also helps create trust between the brand and the user.
A helpful blog post that asks people to sign up for your e-mail subscriber list is a great way to start building out your company’s own e-mail marketing list. With your own list, you can constantly remind people about your brand’s latest content updates, offers, and discounts. Push them to your website to take full advantage of your marketing campaign.
A website is a property that you fully control, unlike social media platforms. You can use a website to collect e-mails and promote your content.
Build Your Brand The Right Way
Branding is a long-term game. How you decide to represent your company will determine the level of success your company can achieve. Create smart branding strategies that leave an everlasting impression on your customers. You only have one opportunity to make a first impression, so be sure to position yourself in the best possible way to get in front of more customers.
Be the first to comment on "How Professional Branding can Improve your Marketing"