How To Create A Brand Identity For Your Business

Why your business needs a face :)

From McDonalds to McAlpine to McLaren, everyone is aware of certain brands, what they do, and what they sell. They may have a great reputation, or sometimes not so much, but even then, the businesses that keep themselves in the public mindset always seem to perform well.

By creating a public image that encompasses the benefits of your products and services, you can help people remember you when they want something.

If you are looking for ideas on how to create a brand identity, we have a number of ideas to help with this.

How to become a recognised brand

A logo, colours, and a recognisable motif, such as a mascot, slogan, or even equipment unique to your business, can become part of your brand.

Many small businesses and tradespeople use their van as their branding, with a distinctive logo or colour scheme helping them to be recognised as they travel from job to job.
Many businesses involved in technology or retail use a charismatic front-person to help sell the business identity. This might be the director of the company, for example Richard Branson or Elon Musk, or it could be someone who embodies the company's ethos and spirit, or even a made-up character such as Ronald McDonald, or Aunt Bessie.
Finding the right logo, colours, and artwork to supplement these ideas is vital of course. Not only does your branding need to be memorable, it needs to be appropriate to your business, products and services. Here at DotGO, we offer full logo design services, enabling you to make a great start on creating your company brand.
Your brand's colours can give you warmth, sophistication, or sustainability, or make you stand out from your competitors, and can be used in combination with other accessories and equipment, such as the transportation, disposables, and stationery.
A particular font can make all the difference in defining a traditional or modern business, or whether the emphasis is on customer friendliness or business professionalism. This can often become part and parcel of your logo.

Becoming a social media mogul

Social media is more than just a place to catch up with friends and gossip. You can use it to keep your customers updated with news and deals, showcase your newest products or special offers, and even created targeted adverts, so that your business appears to people who might be interested in what you have to offer, while they're browsing.

This is a superb place for the face of your business, whether it is yourself, your best employee, or a character, to portray themselves and give the company brand some personality. If you are considering how to create a brand identity social media is a great place to begin.

You can join local or topical groups to discuss issues and promote your expertise or involvement.

There are three main social media platforms that every business should have a presence on.

Threads: Threads is the charismatic business leaders platform of choice. It's for those who enjoy talking about their work, and almost anything else too! While the chances to promote company branding and products are more limited, Threads is still a great place to get your name out there, especially to your existing customer base.
Facebook: Whether you want to sell your products online, or promote your business branding, Facebook is a fantastic way for businesses to reach their potential customers. With targeted marketing opportunities and active communities in virtually every locality and business niche, you have so many chances to engage with your customer base, and other businesses too. There is also the chance for customers to leave reviews of your service on your page, and these can be managed, using your online persona to interact with them in a friendly way.
Instagram: This platform is ideal for showcasing products, especially ones that are photogenic and appealing. You can even employ influencers and use them to increase your brand's reach, associating it with an ideal or type of person who you would like to sell to.

Whichever platform you choose, being present and active on social media is a great way to get your brand and image out there, and show it off in the way you intend.

Invest in public relations

Social media and customised stationery is all very well, but being active in person, and in the community is also vital to increasing brand awareness. The ‘face' of your brand can often back up your online persona with real world promotions, interaction, and engagement. Some businesses sponsor sports teams, charity events, or community programmes, to improve public opinion of their company, and increase consciousness of their brand.

There are three main things to remember with public relations:

Consistency is key. It might not sit well if a company built on its promise of environmental stability were to sponsor a motorsport event. If your company is sportive, sponsoring a sports team is a great idea. Then again, if your business is more about the soft skills, supporting a charitable endeavour. Knowing your message, and making sure it is consistent across your advertising, social media pitches, and branding, is critical here.
Establish relations with clients and investors. Making sure each client or investor knows you personally, and knows they can talk to you easily, is the single most effective way of retaining customers. You may not be a social butterfly, but going the extra mile, by calling to say ‘thank you' or offering help when you can see you are needed, will give you a head start in attracting repeat custom.
Get in the news. Whether you are in the news for your expert trade opinion, or for a charitable endeavour, the local news is a special opportunity to put forwards the face of your business, and is a superb place to progress your brand awareness. A ground-breaking product, service or approach that is new to the industry may also be enough to get in the news, gaining your business more exposure.

Get advertising

This is where you can have almost complete control over the message you send to your customer base. You have control over where you advertise, what your advert says, and which aspects of your brand come to the fore. Whether you are running a social media ad campaign, a newspaper advert, or a full TV commercial campaign, by having an advert that matches your brand you can solidify your public image into the minds of your customers, and leave a good impression.

What do you want? With advertising, deciding what you want from your advertising is the best place to start.

If you are running an ad campaign to boost revenue quickly, advertising a sale or special offer is a great option. With this style of advertising, your brand often takes a back seat to the product and offer, but it is always important to have your logo, colours, and company image involved.

If you wish to improve your business profile, and are not worried about immediate revenue, you can potentially get more creative with your advertising. Giving your customers a pleasurable viewing or listening experience, where they'll associate it with your company brand, can improve public perception remarkably.

Most studies show that media advertising drives 12% of sales on average. However, the average marketing spend in total is only 9.5% of revenue. This means that if everything was evened out, advertising and marketing gives a great return on investment. However, having a strong brand, and carefully considering your marketing campaign, is probably going to be the difference between success and failure.

More advice for small business owners from DotGO

Why a Domiciliary Care Company Needs a Website for CQC Regulation Compliance

Why advertising is so important

Why you should be creating content

Why does my hotel need a website?

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