Your brand is much more than just a logo or a complementary color – it embraces everything you do as a business, defining the company. Without a brand, you are just another generic company.
According to insights from the Content Marketing Institute, nearly 90 percent of marketing professionals interviewed said brand awareness was the most important goal, even before sales and generating leads.
Branding is what makes the difference between becoming the next Apple or Tesla, instead of becoming the next company that “makes phones, or cars.” Keep reading to discover how to create a brand for yourself and establish a superior position in your industry.
Find Your Purpose
Before jumping in and establishing a name for yourself, it’s critical to decipher what your purpose is as a company and what you’re trying to accomplish. A few questions to ask yourself to help can include:
- What is your ultimate goal?
- How are you different?
- Is there a problem you solve?
- Why should customers care?
Answering these questions will give you a better understanding of your company’s purpose if you haven’t already established one. Writing out a brand positioning statement can help narrow down your thoughts and hone in on your company’s efforts.
If you listen to Simon Sinek’s explanation of the golden circle model, he explains how great business leaders like Steve Jobs were able to establish such a dominant brand. He explains that all organizations know what they do and might even know how they do it, but only a few know why they do it. The golden circle consists of three circles, all within each other. The outer circle represents “what,” the middle represents “how,” and the smallest inner circle represents “why.”
When brand marketing, most companies will relay “what” they do to consumers, like “we make phones.” Apple differentiates itself by starting with “why” – “we challenge the status quo.” They do so by building sophisticatedly designed devices that are built around the user experience.
Create an Image for Yourself
After establishing your purpose as a company, it’s time to put it into effect and show the world what you are all about. One of the best brand awareness techniques is being consistent with your purpose and integrating it into every aspect of your business.
One of the first things people recognize without consciously thinking about is the color of the brand. Brand color plays an important role in how consumers view the brand, believe it or not. According to recent insights, blue is easily the most used color among the fortune 500 companies, followed by red.
Why blue?
Because consumers associate the color blue with feelings of trust, logic, and intelligence. Red is the second most popular, promoting feelings of strength, excitement, and courage. Interestingly, blue is most popular for certain industries like finance and tech, whereas red was most prominently seen in the food and retail industries.
Your logo is another important factor to consider when thinking about brand awareness. An effective logo should be:
- Simple
- Visually appealing
- Memorable
- Easy to read
- Embracing the brand’s purpose
A logo should also have the ability to be seen near or far away. You want your logo to encompass everything you are as a business in the simplest of ways.
Give Your Brand Personality
The best brands also have something that is referred to as “brand personality.” The brand’s personality will help a brand “come to life” or allow consumers to relate to it.
For example, Apple has done an excellent job of giving its brand personality. This was one of Steve Jobs greatest accomplishments. Steve insisted everything be perfect and up to standard even though employees would say it’s impossible. Now over 40 years later, everyone relates Apple with being sophisticated and innovative.
These traits make Apple who they are today and have allowed them to enjoy the unprecedented growth they have experienced over the years. Other companies have also done well with this, including coca-cola, which is now the second most recognized term in the world right behind “ok.”
If you are wondering how to create a good brand, giving it a personality is a great place to start. It’s important to realize that a brand’s personality is formed over years of hard work and determination, it doesn’t just happen overnight. The personality will come along by continuously emphasizing your purpose and visions.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key to getting your message across. Imagine if some of the greatest leaders in the world just gave up. Imagine they didn’t continue to push for their message or purpose – this is an easy path to failure.
Things to keep consistent with your brand include:
- Colors
- Fonts
- Logos
- Slogans
- Styles
- Images
- Purpose
Being consistent with these items will give your consumers a better understanding of who you are as a business and will allow them to connect with the brand. You should be consistent on all channels, whether it is social media, tv advertising, or anything else, to give your customers the ability to distinguish the brand.
Get Social
Engaging users on social media can accelerate your brand awareness efforts through widespread sharing. The more your information gets shared on social media, the more people will see it, and the better results you will have.
Building up a social media following can bring its own benefits like having the ability to:
- Answer questions
- Ask for feedback
- Test new products
- Hold contests
Anyway of engaging the user in a positive manner will be beneficial to the business. The more users who are engaged with the brand, the higher the potential reach you will have as a company.
Keep in mind what you are sharing on social media reflects who you are as a company. Or, as Warren Buffet would put it, “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
For More Information on How to Create a Brand
Creating a brand and developing it to become a household name is one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world. A valuable brand is worth a lot more than just a product itself – products are replaceable over time, brands are not. Keep working hard and spreading awareness around the brand, and you too, will have a chance at becoming a household name.
Are you looking to create a brand? Check out the rest of our website to find more information on how to create a brand for yourself.
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Hey guys it’s Andrew! I am a writer, a blogger, and a curious human being full of ideas. I remember as a teenager going to my local store to grab a freshly published magazine about the ins and outs of the online business world.
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