Branding is a vital part of any marketing strategy because it gives people something to get to know and connect with.

It is the creation of a clear and unique image of your company or product that your audience can recognize. Whether they are seeing an ad from your company, a social media post, a newsletter, or products on your website, your branding should all be uniform.

Branding can be hard. When you start thinking about your branding strategy, you should think about what your mission is, your values, your preferred audience, and what style best fits your brand.

Here are some tips to help improve your branding from one of the premier marketing firms in Seattle.

The Importance of Branding

Your branding strategy can make optimizing your website easier, increasing the chances that your audience will learn about your brand. Even if you are not in the top search results, your brand name can help invite your audience to click on your link in the search results. Your brand is significantly easier to get rankings for in searches than some keywords can be.

Branding can make people connect your company or product to positive feelings. There are even some brands that will only promote the feelings they want to be associated with their brand, because we know what the product is. Take Coca-Cola for example, it is a common household name and we already know what it is, so their ads focus on what they want us to feel when drinking their soda. Their “Choose Happiness” campaign in 2015 is a good example of this. This is the highest level of brand recognition, and if your brand can reach this, you have hit the jackpot.

Consistency

When it comes to branding, one of the most important things to do is remain consistent. Once you design a logo, develop a style, and determine your mission and values, you need to stick with it. If you are consistent across all platforms, eventually people will begin to recognize your brand.

If you do not maintain consistency between your website, Facebook, and Twitter — for example — people will have trouble connecting your company to all three platforms. Inconsistency can also lower your brand’s credibility, harming your company in the long run.

Rebranding

Sometimes, a company has to rebrand itself to keep up with the times. While it can be complicated and risky, it can be necessary. If you do want to rebrand your company, make sure it is for the right reasons, and not because business has been slow; when business is slow, instead try a new marketing strategy before you decide to rearrange your entire brand.

Some of the reasons a company may rebrand include new locations, reconnecting with clients, changes in the mission or vision of the company, and mergers or acquisitions. Reasons not to rebrand include boredom, covering up a crisis, impact, ego, and seeking attention.

If you want to rebrand, write down your reasons why you think it is a good idea first, to make sure you want to do it for the right reasons. If you are unsure if you want to do it for the right reasons, you can consult Seattle’s premier marketing firm to help you determine if you should rebrand or change your marketing strategy.

Using Images

Images are an important part of branding, especially on social media. According to HubSpot, photos and images are the most-used content to help increase engagement. Images tend to grab more attention than text alone, which is why it is so popular.

Take time to determine what images best fit your brand and try to avoid things that are not connected to it in some way. If you are using your own photos for your brand, try to develop a style for them and stick with it.

Create a Logo

While your logo is an important part of branding, branding is more than designing a cool logo. Your logo needs to stand out, but it does not need to be overly elaborate. Make sure it is something that your audience can recognize on its own, without any context surrounding it. For example, the Nike swoosh, the Apple with a bite taken out of it, and the golden M from McDonald’s are all logos that you can instantly recognize on their own without the brand name anywhere near them.

When your logo is ready, put it everywhere. You spent time, energy, and money into designing it so do not be afraid to show it off! Get it on your social media and website right away, and make sure to include it in anything you may email out to your audience or hand out in your physical location.

The color of your logo is just as important as the logo design itself. The colors used in your logo need to be the color scheme you use for your content everywhere else. Include them in your website, your images, and other content. The more people see it connected to you, the easier it will be for them to make the connection on their own.

Create a Tagline

Put the most important message about your brand into a single sentence and make sure it stands out on your website. Try to make your tagline clear and something that your target audience will find appealing. You can potentially use this as an opportunity to show some of your brand’s personality, by using a pun or play on words if it is appropriate to your target audience. Keep in mind that even if you find your pun amusing, your target audience might not.

Use Your Brand Name

You want your audience to know who you are, so make sure you use your brand name. Include it in your social media posts and newsletter, and you can also include it in your product names. Make sure your audience is hearing your name often, so they can remember it.

Conclusion

Branding is not one thing all on its own, it is the entire package: the name, logo, images, advertising, and more. All of these factors work in conjunction with each other to create a branding strategy that can help increase exposure for your business. You can strive to reach the ultimate level of branding that Coca-Cola is at, but remember that its success did not happen overnight, and it will take time for you to reach this level of brand recognition.

Seattle Public Relations is a PR and Marketing Firm that can help you sharpen up your branding strategy and help you get started getting your brand out there.  Contact us today to get started!