Building an engaging and personable brand identity is a must for your business to succeed. Take a look at the numbers—77% of consumers make purchasing decisions because of the brand (Crowdspring). When you focus on branding, you’re really working toward creating a valuable reputation for yourself. A brand that builds trust is a brand with which your audience wants to do business. So, what exactly is this brand identity that’s so important?
Simply put, your brand is your reason for being. It is expressed by everything you are—including your name, logo, messaging, imagery and company values. Ultimately, your brand is how you are perceived by your audience. It encompasses the associations they make with your business and the value they place on it.
Consider some of the brands you know and love. Good branding stands out and imprints itself in your memory. Maybe that’s Starbucks, Target, Wendy’s or any other store where you can recall taglines, logos, messaging and more. Have a jingle stuck in your head? That’s branding. Can’t stop laughing at that commercial? That’s branding. Quickly associating a certain product or service with a specific company? You guessed it, that’s thanks to branding!
How to Develop Your Brand Identity
Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to build a brand identity that identifies with your audience!
1. Create Personas
Humanize your target audience by creating personas. You can develop a clear understanding of who they are and how you can best engage them to take action. What motivates a specific person to buy? What are their interests? What problem does your business solve for that customer? Humanizing the audience will help you and your team better understand what your audience is looking for.
2. Utilize Brand Archetypes
Discover your brand archetype and communicate to your audience who you are, what you do and why you do it. Brand archetypes are a way of categorizing your brand and how you convey it. There are 12 types, so find the best fit for your brand to better understand how you can convey your messaging, values and more.
3. Focus on Brand Alignment
Get your brand in character through a facilitated brand alignment team activity so that you can identify your brand’s unique characteristics and start relating to your audience in meaningful ways. Take a look at the article linked above to help answer the right questions and have a brainstorming session!
4. Create a Visual Representation
We’ve talked about who your brand is, why you do what you do and what you’ll say. Now it’s time to focus on the look! Define your brand in an instant with a well-balanced visual representation that echoes who you are and what you do. It takes 10 seconds for someone to form a first impression from a brand logo (Crowdspring), so make sure you invest in a quality one. Use focus groups and feedback from your team members to make sure your visuals accurately represent your brand.
Branding is the first step for your business to be known (and loved!). That’s why Firespring approaches branding as a vital communications strategy rather than a simple creative design project. If you’re still wondering who you are as a company, let’s work together to create a brand that’s uniquely you and strategically developed.