You can ask any marketer worth their salt, and they will tell you that in today’s competitive market, branding is everything. Take soft drinks for example. There are only two big brands in this space- Coca-Cola and Pepsi. However, they both have respective fan bases as they have created two distinct brands.
If you want to make your business successful, irrespective of the industry that you are in, then you need to create a unique and powerful brand. The question is- how do you go about it? Well, you can take the following steps for that:
1. Create Top-Notch Brand Materials
A brand comprises of all kinds of visuals- website, blog, videos, etc. So, it’s important that you take measures to improve the quality of all these as much as possible.
There are ways to create branded collateral without breaking the bank or spending days or weeks in the process. For instance, you can use a tool like Tailor Brands to create premium logos in a matter of minutes by using its artificial intelligence technology. In fact, you can use it to create other creatives as well such as social media banners, digital ads, etc.
2. Become Active on Social Media
Social media is a great place to establish and promote a brand. For starters, it has billions of active users that can be reached out easily. You also get all kinds of ways to establish two-way communication which is hard to find in traditional marketing techniques.
When building a brand on social media, you need to keep a few things in mind. For instance, you have to understand how different social media platforms are suited for different purposes- Instagram for visual appeal which also makes it suitable for fashion brands, or Twitter which is excellent for personal interactions and dialogue. It’s also a good idea to use a social media manager like Hootsuite and Buffer as they can help you learn what your customers are saying about your brand (positive and negative sentiments), how widespread your posts are getting, etc. You can also learn how to create actionable strategies for social media branding.
3. Give Your Brand a Human Touch
Many companies, when they try to get everything perfect for their brand, they end up setting up an identity that’s artificial or corporate-like. However, what you actually need is a brand that has a personality or a “human touch”. After all, how else can you expect to connect to your customers on an emotional level? Unless your brand evokes real emotions, you can’t expect to mark a presence in your industry.
There are various ways you can make your brand more “personal”. For instance, you can pick an ideal tone and language for your content that includes blog posts, social media content, videos, etc. It could be witty/humorous, formal/chic, educational/authoritative, etc. It doesn’t matter which tone you pick, as long as it fits your brand’s personality and identity.
4. Improve Customer Service
So many companies overlook one of the most important ingredients for creating a perfect brand image- customer service. In fact, many branding experts believe that customer service is actually the new brand!
Remember- your business can exist only when the customers do. So, it’s your responsibility to take good care of them so that they stay loyal to you and contribute towards its growth through word-of-mouth marketing.
You can do all kinds of things to improve the satisfaction level of your customers. You can start with the communication channels- offer as many of them as possible. Examples include social media, live chat service, and of course, dedicated customer service phone number and email. You can also stay paying attention to the online reviews that you receive. If a customer raises a complaint through any of these platforms, then you should ensure that their concern is resolved as soon as possible. This helps in building trust and loyalty both of which are important if you want to build a perfect brand image.
5. Leverage Storytelling
Here is something that you may not know already- every business needs powerful storytelling to grow. It’s an art that continues to exist even after centuries because it’s more engaging than anything else.
You can use good storytelling to communicate your brand, vision, and values. If you are able to win the hearts of the people, then you can also convert leads into customers with ease.
6. Develop Consistency
Consistency in branding means using the same language and tone, color palette, typography, etc. across all communication channels. These include social media, company website, digital ads, and videos. This is important because when there is a deviation in the content, then it can lead to brand dilution that can come in the way of creating a unique identity in the market.
Conclusion
Creating an ideal brand image is crucial in today’s competitive market. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, you need to work on your identity if you want to be successful. The good news is that you can easily take care of it with the information that’s shared above. Good luck!
