A good brand should represent and define who you really are and what you do. It should help you distinguish yourself from the competitors in your market and keep you at the top of your customers’ minds. A well thought out brand also allows your customers and clients to know what to expect from your company.
A business needs a specific and long-term brand strategy that encompasses specific, long-term goals that can be achieved with the evolution of a successful brand. Brand strategies have a massive impact on businesses because they are directly connected to consumer needs, emotions and competitive environments.
A robust brand strategy will keep your brand around for years to come. Here are a few basic components that a brand strategy should include to survive the cut-throat competition and economic disturbances in the market.
People recognize and remember your business by your brand logo. A logo visually defines everything for many brands. A proper logo is extremely powerful for promoting your brand across traditional and digital marketing channels. The world’s best logos survive, even when the brand is in crisis. People recognize and relate to brands through their logos. Resilient and impactful logos have three common elements which are:
Simplicity – The most admired logos are graphically simple. Many logos are just lettering without any graphics like FedEx and Lego.
Memorability – The memorability component of the logo is often directly related to its simplicity. For a logo to be memorable, it should be identifiable with a simple idea.
Abstraction – A common misunderstanding is that a logo should be a literal representation of the brand. Conversely, connecting with the brand is often helpful and stimulating, consider Apple.
All the brands in the market make a promise to their customers. In a sluggish market where customer confidence is low and budget based decisions are extensive, it’s not just making a promise that differentiates one brand from another — it’s having a defining purpose.
While it is vital to know and understand your brand’s offerings and promises, you should also know the reason behind it – Why do you do it? What do you do? Finding your brand’s purpose is a more specific differentiator from the other brands in the market.
Intentional – The concept is based on the ability to make money and impact people positively.
Functional – This concept is more focused on evaluating performance in terms of immediate and commercial reasons, for instance, the purpose of the business is to make money.
Just look at IKEA for example. IKEA’s vision is not only to sell furniture but to create a better everyday life. This distinction is very appealing to potential customers because it shows their commitment to providing value even after making the sale.
The primary idea behind consistency is to avoid sharing information that is irrelevant to your brand or does not enhance it. If any message shared on social media do not support your brand, it will confuse your audience.
To create a strong online presence, you should be sure that your messaging on social media is cohesive. A cohesive message plan will ultimately gain recognition and customer loyalty for your brand, and you should start by defining clear goals for your social media marketing campaign.
Coca Cola is a great example of consistency in messaging. All their social media posts are intertwined to support and enhance their brand. If the social media page for your brand feels scattered, use a style guide to maintain a theme, confident tone of voice and color scheme for the profiles.
Humans are highly emotional beings who have an innate desire to build relationships. They also have a need to feel closely connected with one another and enjoy a sense of belonging. A good brand strategy will harness these emotions and use them to build loyalty among its customers. Therefore, it is essential to find a way to connect with your target audience on a deeper and more emotional level. Your brand should make them feel at ease, simplify things, and make them feel like family all at the same time.
Harley Davidson is a classic example of emotional branding. Harley Owners Group (HOG) provides people a sense of belonging that helps customers feel connected to their brand and each other. Thus, they built a tight-knit community of bikers and positioned themselves as an obvious choice for someone looking to purchase a bike and be a part of a community.
These are just a few basic components that you can consider while developing a strong branding strategy for your company. There are also several other aspects like competitive awareness, flexibility, and employee involvement that can raise your brand strategy to the next level.
If your business or company is wanting to incorporate branding into your overall digital marketing strategy, get in touch with a marketing agency that specializes in providing digital growth solutions through branding. Our brand marketing experts at KISS PR Digital Marketing in Dallas have helped grow small and large businesses by increasing their online visibility through top-notch brand marketing campaigns. Take the first step today by calling 239-373-5255 for a free consultation!
