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Branding for businesses can be iconic and memorable for audiences. Branding can help audiences to emotionally connect with their business and grow their reputation. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Nike tend to be defined and well-known by the slogans they create and choice of colours.
These brands have grown their reputation over time and it’s required plenty of patience before they’ve become big business entities. The same requires for your small business as success won’t occur overnight. Due to their reputation and size, it’s likely that these businesses would have made large investments to produce these brand identities.
With
the correct plan and taking the right steps, there’s no reason why you can’t do
the same in the future. Just be sure that you don’t make these common branding
mistakes with your business.
Not understanding that branding is influential
Stronger branding can develop your connection with your customers. Online clothing retailer Zappos has been the subject for many case studies and discussions around their ethos. They have a strong emphasis on putting the customer first and improving their relationships as much as possible. They’re the exact framework that businesses should look up to when trying to approach customer relationships.
It’s
also worth noting how much your brand can influence your SEO strategy. Google
tends to prioritise well-known branded listings in their search results. If you
do focus on your branding, you may also expect to see more clicks being gained
to your website through your SEO strategy. This automatically increases your
brand awareness as more users notice your brand through SEO platforms.
Not showcasing clear brand guidelines
Branding is key to any business, but you may struggle about where to start with your branding. Where do you start when it comes to developing one? When publishing your brand guidelines, you need to make sure that you cover specific elements. These include the following:
Logo image - Your logo is the face of the business. Perfecting this is crucial, especially in the early stage of your business's inception. Think to the likes of Apple and Mcdonalds, their logo makes them instantly recognisable, and there is not another business that has replicated their logo and been as successful as them. Spend time perfecting your logo.
Colour scheme - In branding and marketing, the colours you use can also directly affect the way in which users engage with your website. Different colours inflict a different response and connotation to your audience. If you are a healthy business, colours such as green and blue should be considered. It pairs hand in hand with a psychological aspect of your choice of colour schemes.
Taglines - Taglines, commonly referred to as slogans, are another core element of your overall branding. They share the brand's message in a straight to the point, catchy way. Your slogan can change and develop overtime, but finding something short and catchy to begin with will be beneficial.
Font choice - Fonts sound simple enough, but they can determine the success of your website and brand ad performance. Using a font that is easy to read, and also attractive to the user eye is important for all brand awareness campaigns and website content.
Imagery use - The creatives, content on your website and brand campaigns should be on point and clear in communicating the brands guidelines.
These
may not be an exhaustive list, but it covers the main priorities that every
business should consider regardless of their industry or sector. What’s most
important of all is that these factors should not be ignored. In doing so, you
risk the chance that your business will lack consistency. Gain support from
your design agency in
Manchester to understand if there are any specific details that you
need to include in your brand guidelines.
Over-complicating your brand
Creating
a simple brand is extremely effective and trying to do less can actually do
more for your business. Coca-cola is a prime example of how this works
positively. Despite existing for over 120 years, their branding has been
relatively stagnant. This has enabled longevity for the brand which small
businesses should also take note of.
As your brand develops, making vast changes can sometimes hinder your progress.
Trying not to over complicate things and keep it simple. Some of the most
iconic brands are known for their simplicity and being consistent with their
branding to make audiences identify with them more easily.
Creating a vague brand
Whilst
it can be crucial to not over-complicate your brand, you also don’t want to run
the risk of making your brand too vague. You still want your brand to stand out
in a crowded market and show its value. Brainstorming as many ideas about your
branding should be based on how you want your audience to see you. Be sure that
your branding is clear and concise but also has an element of intrigue and
interest so it doesn’t fade into the background of the other brands you’re
competing with.
Steering away from your brand guidelines
Brand
guidelines are put in place to ensure you follow a certain structure and
consistency with your brand. This consistency channels right through your
business, including your social media, brand campaigns and marketing. However,
when you steer away from this your branding can become blurred for your
audience and dilute your existing authority in the sector.
There’s no harm in wanting to try a different approach with your branding. Just make sure you have a solid reason why you’re choosing to do this. Changing your colour and theme will distort the image that your audience loved. Branding is key to portraying your core values and ethos to your audience which helps them retain your brand in their minds. Trying to change too much will have them feeling distant from this.
Preventing branding mistakes with your brand
Considering the points that have been made regarding your branding, it can be understandable to think that it’s a rather overwhelming process. However, it doesn’t have to be with the right planning and structure.
We’ve highlighted elements of branding that would be considered silly if they were actioned. This is because they are. Ensure that you receive the right support from your branding agency Manchester and follow your own brand guidelines to prevent these common mistakes from happening. This will help in targeting your audiences correctly.