In today’s crowded marketplace, particularly online, there’s a need to stand out in a way that not only grabs attention but also builds trust, communicates value, and is aesthetically pleasing. This all comes down to one word… branding!
Now, this term is often overused to the point it has become somewhat of a buzzword – yet that doesn’t make its application any less relevant to your business. Indeed, branding couldn’t be more crucial for any type of business, whether it’s an online blog, a more traditional senior care business, or even a personal brand in which you are promoting yourself as a solo practitioner.
Here are five fundamentals of branding your business:
1. LOGO
One of the most prominent aspects of your brand will be your logo, so you’ll want to make sure you spend some time considering what message you are trying to communicate with your logo. Once you know what message you want to convey, you can design one in 5 minutes using DesignEvo.
If you’re new to design or visual thinking, then you might be questioning how a logo can possibly communicate such intricate details of your business – yet, when you look into color psychology, for instance, you’ll find that some color combinations are associated with calming and soothing such as green and blue which would be good for a therapist.
2. WEBSITE
Your website is essentially your shop window, in fact, today with the amount of high street store closures people are relying more and more on their websites to act as a shop window; even if you’re not selling products, perhaps at this stage, you might just have a blog, you want your website to communicate values such as authority, reliability and trust.
3. PACKAGING
If you are selling a physical product, then the way it is packaged can often be just as important as the product itself in terms of conveying the message behind your company – indeed, some people consider opening an Apple item to be part of the experience due to the way its packaging feels so effortlessly refined and engineered to perfection; which is representative of their overall brand.
4. PERSONAL BRAND
Today, we hear a lot of talk about personal brands, but what exactly is a personal brand? A personal brand is associated with the way in which you position and package who you are, in terms of the value you provide, within a commercial context.
This has become more important given the ‘gig economy’ in which we live and is a somewhat enhanced holistic version of a CV.
5. SOCIAL MEDIA
Your social media presence has the potential to hurt your brand just as much as it does to help it grow. Be careful with how you present yourself on social media, as all it takes is a few unwise comments to cripple your brand credibility.
That said, social media can be a great way to connect with a wider audience base and there are lots of opportunities today to get in front of people you otherwise wouldn’t have come in contact with – at zero to very little cost; it’s just important your social media channel is used to enhance your brand proposition rather than hurt it.
