Purchasing decisions of a buyer get influenced by several reasons, such as how a product looks, feels, costs, functions, etc. If a person can relate to a product, they buy it. This is what branding is about.
The power of branding encourages a person to buy products at higher prices. It builds a loyalty base of a company.
How one business distinguishes itself from other businesses or similar products and services is defined by its branding. It includes the brand logo, messaging, trademark, color schemes, etc.
What is branding? Why is it important?
Branding is a continual process of creating a brand. A branding agency plans all steps from planning to execution to the maintenance of a brand. It entails designing all elements to evoke a certain feeling among the targeted customers. Here is why branding is crucial:
Separates a business/product/service in the minds of targeted customers
Creates a brand recognition where customers can identify products with a glance
Evokes feelings in customers aligning with their identities
Unifies the brand marketing strategy around crucial brand elements
The product or service gets a unique advantage over the competition
Important elements of branding
Brand Strategy
The brand marketing strategy includes long-term goals to attract customers to your products. It also entails methods and actionable tips to accomplish those goals. Branding & design agencies can formulate these plans by considering various factors such as targeted demographic, growth factors, economy, etc. It can also include dealing with the negative press and perception via designing an effective brand communication strategy. It also involves improving tactics that have not worked out in the past.
Brand Awareness
Awareness means how popular your brand is among the targeted audiences. It does not mean how many people know of your product or service. For instance, high-end brands only target a niche audience who can afford their products. Whereas for a brand of masses, it is necessary to make their products known among as many people as possible.
Some of the dos of brand awareness are:
The logo of your brand should be easy to distinguish from others. You can use shapes, colors, and fonts to make a distinguishable and attractive logo.
Focus your brand marketing strategy around a single jingle or tagline. The message has to be uniform and catchy.
Once you have established the basic elements, you need to market your brand. You can do it by hiring a reputable brand marketing company or an in-house marketing team.
You can make your brand recognizable by deploying marketing channels such as podcasts, guest blogging, affiliates, social media advertising, search engine marketing, etc.
Brand Identity
The brand identity is everything a brand marketing company creates to convey the image of a product/service to targeted customers. It includes a core set of elements of the brand and everything a brand owner does in the public view.
Brand identity is imperative for online and small businesses too. They can interact with their customers on a personal level.
Brand Positioning
Brand position is the space or positions your brand/company occupies in the mind of its targeted customers. When you have a robust brand positioning, your product becomes a go-to choice for customers in the presence of numerous options.
Tangible elements of branding
Logos are the most prominent tangible elements of branding.
A logo is a snapshot of a brand’s representation. It sets a brand apart from its counterpart. Logos also convey messages to customers. Nike’s swoosh is one of the most popular and recognizable logos in the world. It indicates speed and movement.
Color
Colors play an crucial role in a brand‘s logo design and messaging. One example of brands using the same colors is Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both use red color in their logos. Coca-Cola used a darker classic red and the Pepsi logo has brighter red. It also includes blue and white to represent an association with American values.
Tagline
The tagline is also an essential tangible aspect of a brand. It is a short statement that conveys the brand’s message to its customers. The expression or statement has to be central to a brand’s strategy. Some of the most famous taglines are Nike’s ‘'Just do it’' and McDonald’s “i'm lovin' it”.
McDonald’s tagline has been around for almost 20 years and is relevant today. It conveys the love of food to its audience. Burger King came up with the ‘'Have your way’' tagline to distinguish it from McDonald’s. Its tagline conveys their flexibility to modify orders per a customer’s demand.
How to use social media in your branding marketing?
Social media has become one of the most effective and powerful platforms to market a brand. The world has become a smaller place ascribed to the internet. For online businesses, it is more crucial than ever to have a robust presence on the internet.
Social media is an interactive medium to market your brand. You can post videos, images, and messages to convey your brand message to customers. Your customers can review, comment, like, and share your content. It can enhance your brand’s position.
You have to be careful while crafting your social media brand marketing strategy. Your posts should align with your desired brand positioning. Branding is all about tapping into customers feelings and establishing a strong relationship with them. Your brand has to resonate with your targeted audience. You can hire a reputable branding agency to achieve these goals.
