Simply put, branding is how people perceive your company.
In today’s hyper-competitive environment, people buy into brands. Yes, they buy products from global brands and startups but they increasingly care about your mission, your vision, and your values, and more importantly your brand story. Simply put, branding is how people perceive your company. In short, your reputation.
Here are a few tips on how you build brand loyalty and create repeat customers! Do you have tips you want to share? It’s an open door here at PUNCHY – we want to hear what you think about this subject!
Develop a Brand Identity System
Branding starts with an iconic identity that symbolizes who you are.
When selecting a logo, in today’s oversaturated marketplace, it’s got to be (1) memorable, (2) impactful, and (3) versatile. Let’s go into detail in these three aspects.
A memorable logo is easy to identify and remember. Think of the biggest brands in the world, from Mercedes-Benz and Chanel to Apple and Nike. They distill their logo down to the basics and use their logo everywhere. Be shameless about utilizing your logo to build brand equity!
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Moreover, your logo needs to have impact. Let’s be frank – scrolling through Instagram or LinkedIn, we see too many generic brands out there! Generic designs end up blending together and fail to convey meaning to your audience.
Lastly, a strong logo is versatile. Your logo needs to look great on your website and on social media, on small screens and on large screens. It will have high contrast on light backgrounds and on dark backgrounds.
Test your logo concepts in multiple different situations to see if they fit your needs!
Being Consistent Across Channels
We often see companies making the same mistake in the early days. They use different logos, slogans, and even colors across different channels.
When you are a new company (or an existing company launching a new product), this can actually work against you because you lack consistency. One mark of a successful brand is top-of-mind awareness for users and customers.
In order to gain that share of attention, you need to have an incredibly consistent branding across your website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, emails, and more.
Find a single logo and tagline, and use it over and over again until people remember!
Having Real Opinions
Here is some feedback that we hope is not controversial – your brand should have real opinions! There are enough people playing it safe and putting out generic information.
To stand out, we recommend thinking about what you believe in and making those values a core part of your brand. Sure, there are tips that we can share along the way (like being consistent and thinking about how your brand will resonate across different marketing channels) – but the foundation has to come from you.
For example, at PUNCHY, our brand is inspired by everything from film, music, art, photography, fashion, writing and you guessed it….design. We take our work seriously, but not too seriously. We realize the magic happens when you devote time to playing, experimenting and trying new things. That distinction allows us to have a lot more fun and come up with truly creative and unexpected results, which harkens back to one our core brand values: PLAY.
Employees and Customer Advocates
Advocates are an amazing way to elevate your brand and bring in authenticity. Yes, you can shout from the rooftops about how great you are – but I’m sure how many people will actually hear you.
When you feel that your brand is being too self-congratulatory, it’s time to bring in another voice. We strongly recommend recruiting your existing employees and customers as advocates.
For example, the chatbot service Drift does a great job of having employees post photos and videos of themselves on social media. This content strategy helps Drift feel more human and approachable. Live videos on LinkedIn feel much more approachable to an audience than, say, a press release.
Our advice here is to start small. For customers, you can ask a few power users to give you a 1-2 sentence quotation about why they love your service. These mini testimonials can be used on your website to help prospective customers understand your exact value proposition.
At PUNCHY, we help create 100% authentic brands. That comes from utilizing a combination of confidence, great design, and understanding how to solve real business problems.
When looking to create an authentic brand, remember:
- It starts with a Brand Identity System
- Be consistent when sharing your brand stories across different digital and physical channels
- Have real opinions: what makes your brand different than the next?
- Leverage employees and customers as advocates
Interested in learning more? Reach out to us – we’d love to learn more about your business and see how we could work together!
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