So, you want to learn about branding and if it’s important for my business? In this article, we will answer those questions and more. When it comes to established companies that have been around for years, branding is nothing more than an afterthought, but it is something that can greatly impact the success of your business. A company wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for its identity, which is exactly what branding is. Effective branding helps to identify companies and make them stand out to a specific demographic of current and prospective customers.
When you think about branding or brand identity, think of companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Nike. They all have iconic branding that makes them easily recognizable to so many people as soon as they see the logo.
Fun Fact
Brands that are consistently presented are 3.5 times more likely to benefit from exceptional brand visibility than those companies that suffer from inconsistent brand presentations.
The beneficial aspect of your brand logo extends far beyond just being memorable. It also serves as a window to let the outside world see you and the values of your company. A strong brand identity improves trust among your customers and helps build long-term relationships with them.
Once we understand that our brand is more than a logo, color scheme, or name, we need to consider what does a person thinks about our particular product or service? What kind of idea comes to their mind or what type of feelings do they have towards our brand or that of our competition? A successful brand should be consistent and be relatable in every corner of the business.
Sure, creating your brand can be a daunting process but the best way to start is by answering two questions.
- How do you want the world to perceive you?
- How do you want the world to feel about your business?
After you’ve figured these out, it’s time to start working backward and begin mapping out an easy step-by-step plan to start establishing your brand.
What Types of Branding are Out There?
It’s easy to see how branding can really help to take your business to the next level and aid your company in establishing its identity. But did you know that are multiple ways to go about branding? I’ve put together a list of some of the most popular ones here.
Corporate branding
This method of branding is used by big corporations to make their name well known and stand out to the masses. Corporate branding consists of making sure their name sticks to a certain mission or promise, or that the business lives up to its reputation by consistently providing positive experiences and stellar performance for its customers.
In regards to successful corporate branding, they always take a strong stance regarding the service they provide. With being a bigger fish in the pond, there are some perks to enjoy. To name a few, name-brand recognition is huge, it’s easier to win over the trust of customers when offering new products, and overall familiarity.
Product branding
Product branding is the most popular or common type of branding on this list. I would challenge you to walk down the street of any town and not find product branding happening somewhere. This method establishes a strong brand utilizing a memorable logo, catchy slogan or phrase, and eye-catching image that differentiates it from that of its competitors. One popular example is Nike’s popular swoosh logo and “Just Do It” tagline, which has become synonymous with quality and performance for the company.
Geographic branding
Geographic branding is exactly what it sounds like. Companies in specific locations can showcase certain geographical elements like food, culture, cities, regions, countries, and more to appeal to their customers. This method is widely used by travel companies and tourist businesses all over the world. Come spend a week at our beautiful beaches in sunny California, or spend the weekend hitting the fresh powder in Aspen, Colorado!
Service branding
Regardless of whatever type of industry you’re part of, its very important for you to provide phenomenal service. This method of branding focuses more on the customer and how the service you provide makes them feel valued. This oftentimes results in the company adding extra items or incentives to your service to make sure that your customers remain loyal to you and your brand. You may have seen advertisements for companies saying something like, “sign up now and receive this!” or “we now offer this to new customers and old customers who upgrade.” Both of these are popular models used by phone companies like Verizon and Boost Mobile.
Online branding
Online branding means that the company is primarily interested in creating a presence and positioning itself to its audience online. Generally, this method of branding consists of creating a website, media app, social media channel, or publishing a blog. Companies like Google, YouTube, and Wix take full advantage of online branding and do it better than a lot of other companies in the industry.
Offline branding
Offline branding used to be the primary method many years ago. Before computers and smartphones, businesses opted for this method to get their products and services seen. Common examples would be print advertisements, billboards, commercials, and more.
Minimalistic branding
The minimalist approach is derived from the idea that “less is more”. While this method isn’t quite as extensive as other methods on this list, it is still a viable option for some. This type of branding does retain the main ideas of branding, but it takes a cleaner, sleeker, and simpler approach to pull it off. Mixing a clear layout with a subtle design, this way will produce a clean image.
Activist branding
Activist branding is reserved for companies that have some sort of strong social values and want to use that approach to create their brand identity. This method is great if you want to focus on positive social impact and incorporate that trait into your identity both online and offline. If you’re successful with this approach, you will find that your customers will begin associating your brand with your social cause. While activist branding may be better suited for a campaign, like that of the Adidas’ Pride Pack, which is a collection of rainbow-colored shoes and clothes that celebrates the LGBTQAI+ community while also promoting diversity, then it is for an entire company mantra. But it does work for some unique businesses such as Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees every time you use it.
Personal branding
Unless you’re already famous or some type of influencer, this method is not a very viable option but it’s still pursuable. This type of branding is better suited for individuals or self-employed people like actors, athletes, politicians, celebrities, social media influencers, and other people who may have already amassed a respectable following. Even if you’re on the up-and-coming circuit, this method could inevitably springboard you into more fame but you will have to put more into it than a well-known figure. Be warned though, that if you take this approach, people will eventually start to associate your name with the product or service you’re providing. Just saying, keep that in mind before you start a septic tank cleaning business and slap your name on the side of the truck, so everyone knows the name Steve Smith goes hand-in-hand with septic services. Unless that’s what you’re going for, then power to you!
That’s it. Time to Get Started on YOUR Brand Identity!
Thank you for reading this article, I had a lot of fun putting it together and explaining how choosing the right type of brand identification could be a huge boost to your business. Hopefully, you found some interesting information here and now you’re ready to get started on building your brand. Best of luck!
