There’s a lot that goes into building a brand. It’s more than just a sharp new logo and a clever tag line, although those are both really cool components to have. A brand has a much bigger responsibility than that. It needs to reflect your business and what it’s all about. It needs to deliver a message, but also an emotion. It’s not just how you look, it’s how you’re perceived, how you make people feel and think, and how you set yourself apart from your competition.
The first step to building a brand is positioning it to stand out and represent you well. This starts by identifying your target audience, you know, so you’re positioning yourself in front of the right people! Enter buyer personas.
- Buyer Personas – also called audience personas, these are fictional representations of your ideal customer. Though fictional, these profiles are based on facts, built from research of an “average Joe or Jane” who is a member of your audience. This allows you to have a better understanding of your customers, their goals, their challenges, and their pain points, so you can swoop in and save the day by solving their problems with your products and services.
Once personas are developed, they can be used to create the other elements involved with brand positioning, for both external and internal use. It’s important that not only the outside world sees your brand consistently, but those within your company present it and talk about it consistently as well. For this to happen, the following additional elements are needed:
- Brand Story – a synopsis that conveys who you are and what you’re all about
- Brand Promise – a short paragraph that explains what customers can expect when working with you.
- Tagline – a short but sweet representation of your business that is immediately identifiable by your customers.
- Unique Value Proposition (UVP) – a statement that reflects what makes you different from your competitors and what you can provide customers that no one else can.
- Elevator pitch – a brief description of who you are and what you do that everyone in the company uses across the board, whether someone asks about your business in an elevator, a party, a bathroom, a back alley – you get the picture.
- Voice Guide – this is a compilation of everything above all wrapped up with a bow for all to use as a guide on how to speak, write, present, and live your brand.
Why is it called a voice guide? Well, because your brand should have a specific voice and tone just as it should have a unique look and feel. It’s part of your identity, which just happens to be step two in building your brand.
This is a key factor in reinforcing your brand and keeping it consistent and recognizable. A strong brand identity reflects your values which should resonate with your audience and keep you top of mind. Your identity consists of:
- Naming – if your name is not memorable, distinct or meaningful, it may be time to consider one that is.
- Tagline – as mentioned above, this important one-liner should be easy to remember and reflect your story, promise and values.
- Logo library – whether it’s a long-standing logo or a newly designed version, it’s important that it is used properly every time and on every thing. A logo library is a guideline of proper colors, sizes, positions, and instructions for use in every medium.
- Brand standards – like the logo library, this is your brand’s rule book and should be followed by everyone to a T. It explains how your brand should be treated and presented to ensure consistency right down to the smallest of details, like your…
- Stationery Package – branded envelopes, letterhead and business cards should be used every time you communicate, placing your brand front and center.
Okay, we’ve got the groundwork done, now what?
Now it’s time to unveil your brand for all to behold. To pull this off, it takes a whole lot of marketing tactics and techniques, the combination of which we believe should be tailored to your needs. After all, your brand is unique to you, so how it’s marketed should be too. We’ll determine a plan of attack to help you not only build your brand, but also overcome your challenges and reach your goals using a holistic combination of services like these:
- Content Creation
- Graphic Design
- Video Production
- Photography
- Website Design & Development
- Website Management
- Managed Website Hosting
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Social Media Strategy and Management
Ta-da! That’s brand building in a nutshell. Obviously, it’s a pretty big nut to crack, but with our proven process, we’re up to the challenge. We’ve built tons of successful brands.
