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Wouldn’t it be nice if a business could thrive on the quality of its product alone? Sadly that’s not the world we live in. The average consumer spends their life not to have a distinct visual element with countless brands and advertisements. Every day, no matter what they’re doing, people can’t escape seeing ads everywhere they go. Because of that, it can seem impossible to find a way to stand out from the crowd. When there are thousands of voices yelling out at once, how can you make yours heard? Add to this the significant changes that have come about even in the last five years in how companies market themselves. Smartphones, social media, and modern search engines have provided so many new marketing avenues it’s insane! The big question that this poses for businesses is this. How do you create and maintain a strong brand identity in the modern world?
- Get everyone on the same page
One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of smaller businesses make when it comes to their branding is a lack of consistency. No matter what your business is, it should have a distinct, recognizable and consistent brand. Whether that’s the signage above the premises of your business or the signatures on emails sent out to clients. You should make sure that everything related to your business keywords in the same way. It’s incredible what an impact this can have on the way clients and customers relate to your business. Not only that but it’s not even that difficult to do. There are plenty of services that offer document management to help you stick to the correct branding no matter what.
- Clean up your social media
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It’s fantastic that businesses are learning that social media is an invaluable marketing tool. What’s less fantastic is the fact that so many businesses are still being incredibly sloppy with how they implement it. When it comes to social media, “focus” is the most important thing. Don’t just throw out advertising and keywords on every platform available. Think about which social media platforms are best for your business. Then make sure that your content is high quality, well optimized and consistent across the board. If you haven’t set up an employee as a dedicated social media manager, then consider doing do. That way you’re not going to find yourself with a bunch of totally different brand identities spread out across the internet.
- Don’t skimp on visual devices
Human beings are a visual species. We respond to visual stimulus better than just about any other kind. This means that for a business to create a strong brand identity, it cannot afford to not have a distinct visual element. This goes for everything about the business. Think about the most successful companies in the world. They all have a distinct style and color scheme that you can find on everything to do with them. Coca-Cola is the best example of this. How many companies have such a strong brand identity that they changed the color scheme of a holiday mascot? Ensure that the visual side of your business’s branding is as strong and distinctive as possible. That way you’re giving it a much better chance to worm its way into your customer’s brain.
- Lean on what makes your business unique
With the sheer volume of stuff being thrown in a customer’s face every day, it’s hard for them to tell a lot of it apart. That’s why you need to make sure that whatever your business has that sets it apart from the crowd; that’s the first thing the customer sees. You could have the most innovative and useful product in the world, but if your company looks dull and generic, then it won’t matter one bit. Pinpoint exactly what it is that your business does better than anyone else and make that a central element of your branding. If there is a market for what your business does then customers will be able to stop it a mile away. That way you’re able to focus the customer’s attention on your business perfectly. Trimming away everything that doesn’t matter and matching them up with a product that they really need.
The market may be more crowded than ever. But in reality, the techniques that your business needs to use to create a strong brand identity are as old as business itself. For all the changes there have been, people have remained pretty consistent. Find ways to draw them in and make them care about your business, and you’re onto a winner.
