Tips & Tricks to Build Your Brand

Branding without a consistent digital marketing strategy can lead to confusion. The right branding has the power to increase visibility and engagement which will turn those interactions into customers. Branding is what will set you apart from your competitors and help a customer decide who to give their business to.

Building a brand goes beyond first points of interactions and purchases, it is also what will keep customers coming back for more. By creating shared values and trust through your brand, customers are more likely to be loyal.

Now let’s take a look at what it takes to build your brand.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

Many businesses believe they have a marketing plan but it’s really just trying what’s new or what looks good. Although this may help increase reach, potential customers will become confused by seeing a lot of messages that don’t align. It is that consistency that will drive customers in and keep them coming back, which is why creating a brand strategy is so important.

Now ask what your goals for your business are. Do you want to be able to charge more for your product? Do you want to increase customer loyalty? Do you want to have a higher conversion rate?

Here are a few questions to ask when starting to create a brand strategy to achieve your goals: What do you have now? What do you like about it? What is missing? What needs to be said?

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?

Similar to defining your goals, you need to identify your business’ key qualities and benefits. What is it that sets you apart from your competitors and will make a lead turn into a sale? Most importantly, ask yourself why you are doing what you do. If you can convey that message through your branding, it will resonate with people and they will be more likely to buy from you.

It’s important to look at what your competitors are doing as well. What is their message and visuals? Does it create a cohesive brand image? Do they have marketing campaigns? Is it working, do they have good reviews?

WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?

By knowing who your target customers are, you can create your branding strategy around a typical buyer persona. This includes, but not limited to:

• Their goals and challenges
• Their likes and dislikes
• Their age and location

You want to get as specific as possible and figure out their behaviors and lifestyle. For example, instead of targeting “dog owners,” take it a step further and say, “dog owners that work full-time and enjoy the outdoors.” Now you know more about who you are targeting, what they do, what they like, and where they are spending their free time. You can now more effectively reach them by creating your brand to get their attention and providing content they’re interested in.

Being able to use real data is the best way to figure out how to reach your ideal customer.

DRAFT YOUR STYLE GUIDE

Your style guide will be a document to refer back to when developing your brand and marketing strategy. It helps to keep a consistent voice and campaign direction, as well as all graphic elements involved in your brand. In order to run an effective marketing campaign where a person follows a set of touchpoints that leads to a conversion, they need to be able to recognize the brand every step of the way.

A style guide will often include:

• Logos
• Slogan, tagline
• Font style and sizes
• Color palette
• Language and tone of voice
• CTA (call to action) button styles
• And more!

Any marketing done for your business (email, social, digital advertising, etc.) should follow the guidelines outlined in your style guide.

CREATE BRANDED CONTENT

Using your style guide, you can now create branded content that can be used for marketing. This includes templates for social posts, graphics, blogs, videos, ads, landing pages, emails, etc. Branded content is all about getting people to identify who you are and what you do.

The benefits to having branded content is that it increases awareness, builds trust, generates, nurtures, and converts leads into customers, and creates loyalty.

CREATE DIGITAL AND MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING

Now you know who you are reaching, why you are reaching them, and what you will be reaching them with. Here’s why you want to create a multi-channel marketing campaign:

1. Although many people are on several platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), some prefer a certain channel only (email over social media).
2. Some channels are better at connecting with people and converting them than others.
3. Different channels can better represent your brand.
4. A presence across multiple channels helps you creates more touch points for potential customers to interact with your brand.

Running a successful multi-channel marketing campaign means being able to reach your target customers through social media, email, advertising, display ads, and any channel you choose.

Here’s a few tips on how to build your brand on social media:

FACEBOOK: Facebook is the best B2C platform, meaning it gives your products or services directly to a potential customer.

On Facebook, you can create a business page that allows you to upload images, write an about section, and create posts. All of this content should reflect your style guide. Facebook is also a great platform to share industry news and stories that will relate and be relevant to your target customers.

People are also able to like and share your page as well as leave comments and reviews. It’s a great platform to connect with your customers and interact with them.

TWITTER: Twitter is effective at both B2C and B2B communication. Your profile and handle should reflect your brand and be recognizable.

When creating content for Twitter, it’s important to remember your goal is to get re-tweets. Post something that people will want to share which will increase your reach and click rate back to your profile or website.

INSTAGRAM: Instagram is a growing B2C platform that offers a way to directly sell to users through your posts. Your profile contains vial information: a short description of your brand, where you are located, a link to your website.

Instagram is the best platform to get the most use of your style guide. It is all about visuals and creating a story board through your color palette. Creating preset filters is a great way to make sure you have a consistent look.

LINKEDIN: LinkedIn is a great B2B platform to connect with professionals and stay up to date on industry trends and news. Your goal with your profile is to create a name that provides reliable news and tips in your industry, and gets people to discuss and share your content.

TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

For more tips on digital marketing, branding, web design, and more, check out our blog. If your business is in need of rebranding, a fresh website, or an updated social media approach, contact our team today to learn how Kraus Marketing’s team of experts can help.