Branding is often an arbitrary term that non-marketers believe is just your logo and colours.
Yes, branding does encompass your logo and colours, but it is so much more than that.
Branding is who you are.
Let’s say someone said to you “Tell me about your best friend”.
You might say “Well, she’s awesome. She is one of my favourite people in the whole world. She is warm, caring, and funny. She has a way of making everyone feel at ease. She is a yoga teacher and a and an incredible mum. She is tall, with an amazing smile and blonde hair. She is always there for me. I love her because she is true to herself. She wants to live her best life. She is an inspiration.”
Now imagine your business is your best friend. How would you describe it to someone?
You might describe what it looks like. You might describe what it does. You might describe how it makes people feel. You might describe how it benefits people. You might describe what makes it different.
It’s more than what your business looks like. It paints a picture of who you are. It’s the impression that you leave on your target market.
Now THAT is your brand.
The key to a successful brand is knowing who you are and doing it consistently.
How to define your brand:
What do you look like? | Logo, colours, fonts. Once this is decided, use this consistently across every piece of communication you put out into the market. |
How do you sound? | The tone of voice you use in your communication. Is it professional, corporate, friendly, casual, conversational, formal? |
What do you do? | Describe your product and services. Features of your products and services. |
What benefits do you provide? | Describe how your products or services benefit your target market. How will your target market’s life be better after they consume your products or services? |
What makes you different? | Your unique service proposition. What makes you different from your competitors. |
Why does it matter?
The risk you run when you have a brand that is inconsistent is that it makes it difficult to build trust.
Your customers get confused. When they see your brand on Google and it is orange with a conversational tone, but your website is green with more formal language, it creates doubt. Doubt = mistrust, and mistrust leads to buying from your competitor! Oh, and it looks unprofessional.
If you’d like to discuss how to make your brand consistent across all your communication, get in touch here.