If someone were to ask you: Who are you as a business? What is your voice? What is your brand? Would you know what to tell them? If you don’t have a solid and confident answer, then keep reading!
Branding is…What!?
Branding is more than just your logo, slogan, products, and services offered. It goes deeper. Much deeper…we’re talking psychology, deep!
So what is it? Visually, it is the creation of symbols, designs, images that have an over-encompassing message that highlights: who, what, where, when, why for your company. Of course, branding includes how you speak/write on social media, company dress code, your ethics, customer service experience, advertising method, reputation and charities you associate with, etc.
All these pieces are going to come together and make a memorable impression (usually the first) on your audience.
For example, a branded voice is a conscious choice in how you communicate with the outside world. If done well, it controls how you are perceived by the public. You could make a conscious choice to be relaxed, use chatspeak (lol, tho, luv u), and emojis. Or maybe your voice is professional, rigid, and formal.
How to Create Effective Branding:
Think three C’s: Consistent, Convincing, Creative.
Consistent: Your company logo should not change dimensions. It should not be blurry/pixelated on social media or cropped weird…same goes for print media. If you have a brochure and your logo is blurry, you have a big problem. Your visual brand should have a colour palette, chosen to symbolically illustrate your company (see this blog – link- for more info). With that being said, your colours should always be the same (not similar, the same!) In addition, your typography (font) should not change. Choose which fonts speak to your business and keep them! Having a brand guide really helps keep everything consistent. Get a graphic designer to help with this, if you need more info. Consistency is important because people need to trust you and your branding. You want them to know it instantly when they see it. How are they going to recognize you if it’s always changing?
Convincing: Your brand needs to be eye-grabbing, make a good first impression, and really speak to the audience. It needs to have research, development, and careful consideration put into it. Everything you do has a meaning and that meaning relays a clear message to the audience. Again, this is where psychology comes into play. Ask yourself, why is my business doing these things, what do I want to gain, how do I want to be perceived?
Creative: You don’t want your brand to be like everyone else’s brand. What sets you apart and makes your business special!? Highlight whatever that is; and, do so in a unique way.
If your brand does not hit these marks, then there is room for improvement. It’s important because branding is so heavily connected with advertising and marketing. If you want your services and products to sell, one of the tools in your toolkit is having an impeccable brand that helps convince people to buy from you.
Some extra tips:
- Try your absolute best to stay away from using stock photos! Even if they are pretty. Put in the effort to make your own visual content. Stock photos are impersonal, bland, and untrustworthy.
- Hire a professional designer initially. They can help you make a strong logo and brand. They can make you a brand guideline. They can deliver high-quality vector logos which can be freely scaled to avoid pixelation.
- Think of your brand in the long term. Will your brand age well, or is it built on a trend?
If you still feel like you need some help, contact us for an in-depth brand consultation with one of our jsm) team members. Visit Us!
