4 Steps to Build Your Brand Through Marketing and Advertising

You may think that social media, content promotion and lifestyle influencers were making the fields of marketing and advertising obsolete. That idea could not be further from the truth. In fact, in today’s ultra-competitive climate, good marketing and advertising are more important than ever to build a strong brand and a successful company. There are four basic steps in building your brand.

Create

The first step naturally involves creating your brand. Make deliberate, thoughtful decisions regarding company purpose and values, then determine which consumers your target market will include. Choose visual elements that will communicate your identity to customers. Your brand will include the business name, logo, tagline or slogan, colors and type fonts. For best results, get a good Long Island Advertising Agency involved in this process. This first step is the foundation on which you will build your business so its importance cannot be overstated. Having professional advice from the start can help you develop a solid brand and strong public image.

Invest

Once you have developed a brand, you need strategies to let the world—or at least your potential customers—know about it. Find a reputable Long Island Marketing Company to assist you. There are several popular ways to calculate your marketing budget, from a simple percentage of total budget to a more complicated algorithm starting with projected gross annual sales. Your needs may vary based on industry. In any case, remember that marketing and advertising are different from other expenditures. They are not merely expenses to be paid but investments that should pay off. No matter how much or little you spend, insist that you receive a return on your investment.

Evaluate

How will you know if your marketing and advertising investments are paying off? For the most part, numbers will tell you. Determine what results you want to see, collect baseline figures for those areas, then monitor those numbers. For example, you may want more visitors to your website, greater participation in your online community, or increased sales for a particular product line. Monthly, seasonal or quarterly reports should indicate the efficacy of each strategy, but results are rarely immediate so give each campaign a reasonable timeline to deliver. To evaluate the bigger picture, scrutinize annual financial reports; the payoff may be visible on the bottom line of the income statement. However, keep in mind that enduring effects may be a bit more difficult to quantify. Some intangibles such as greater brand recognition or enhanced firm reputation may be hard to measure but will prove priceless in the long run.

Reinvest

When you have discovered which marketing and advertising efforts seem to be paying the greatest return, optimize your efforts accordingly. Spend more in areas where campaigns make the biggest impact and change your strategy where results are lackluster. As with any investment, you will want to diversify. The most effective approaches include a balance of traditional campaigns and trendier tactics—billboards and social media posts both have their place. Be sure to branch out into influencer marketing, email communication, and targeted content placement to reach the consumers who are likely to become your most profitable customers.