In this digital era, building your brand could be very tedious. The Internet has proven to offer very many branding tips for small businesses and start-ups. Most blogs are always about how one can make their brand identity better or how one can maintain their small business brand name once they get it. However, they fail to consider the starters in these businesses that have little knowledge about the operation.
For a starter, they should have it in mind that there are no set rules on how fast or slow one can succeed in their branding strategy. It all comes down to an individual. The critical question is; are you decided? If yes, there is nothing that can stop anyone from achieving what they’ve set their minds to do. However, one should know that social media is the breakthrough for creating a strong brand identity. Your social presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media determines how far your brand strategy can grow through digital marketing. The following are some of the basics that any starter ought to familiarize themselves with.
Choose your target audience
Why write historical novels if you expect children to buy them? Instead, why don’t you write something that children can identify with, such as fairy tales? Again, why write books about almost everything trying to target everyone? This is what we call casting a big net with the expectation of having a big catch. However, the fisherman may end up catching little or no fish. What a disappointment!
This is the same case in small business branding; have a specific target customer in mind. This is because trying to target all kinds of people may be a futile idea. For a starter, choose on one demographic at a time. Once the brand awareness starts picking up, incorporating other targets can happen at this stage. Always try to remain relevant to your audience and brand value.
Know your competitors
It’s always said that one can learn things from other people’s experiences. You don’t have to go through something first hand for you to learn. For a starter, have some interest in your predecessors’ brands. What motivated them to get to their current logos? How do they handle their customers? What’s the unique feature of each brands personality? Getting answers to the questions can be a stepping stone to branding your own name.
However, never make the mistake of being a copycat. The essential thing to do is taking the good qualities from other brands and finding ways of making your brand personality more appealing.
Develop quality and unique content and share to Facebook. That way, you will gain a competitive edge over your rivals.
Identify your unique differentiator
Always ensure that your brand voice stands out from the rest. The way to handle this is by finding the unique feature that identifies with you. An example is if one decides to offer lower prices than his/her competitors. This could be termed as unique, hence the more reason to let your customers know.
In this generation, people expect brands that are more cut edging; something that they can identify with. In case your competitors’ brands are somehow traditional, or pretentious in a way, this gives the more reason to be real and give a genuine brand story.
Seek help from professionals
In case you are a know-it-all person, this could be the start of your downfall in some way. You may have it all figured out from the very beginning, but seeking professional help is very important. However, if one has done graphic designing, then they can handle branding on their own. There are many ways of getting in touch with professionals including outsourcing the work to a branding agency. Despite this help, always remember that this is your brand, hence the more reason to keep in touch throughout the whole process.
Let the audience know about your behind-the-scenes stories
Being real is one of the best ways to connect with people. Don’t struggle to appear successful by showing people only the end product. Let them walk with you step by step. When you are constructing a restaurant, post the photos of the empty place, show them the bare walls. When the project is complete, let people know by showing pictures of buddies tasting the first dishes from your restaurant. Don’t be the kind that randomly posts photos for the first time of a well-built restaurant. The point is, let people know your struggles and be a part of your brand story. Building a brand should happen right from its foundation.
Remain consistent
When you put your mind on giving a particular quality of products or services, don’t delve away from this brand consistency. Along the way, someone may be tempted to change their mode of delivery, choose a cheaper way due to greed or lack of satisfaction. However, remaining consistent in your original brand value and brand guidelines keeps your customers. If for example, your restaurant gives quality but rather expensive foods compared to other restaurants, keep doing your thing. Your customers will always come for more, provided the quality is consistent. That uniqueness makes the difference between your brand and others, hence the more reason to provide brand consistency.
Conclusion
There are many ways of making your brand, as demonstrated above. For any business to succeed, one must put in some extra effort. However, it may not always work out as planned. It is a rough journey with falls and rises. The only way up is to keep on moving despite the numerous setbacks.
