What is branding?

Logos
. Taglines
. Images
 Yes!
Branding is the use of your business name, logo, tagline and images so that customers recognize and buy from good ol’ YOU!

Don’t get it confused though
Branding does way more than create recognition. It builds trust and loyalty within your market and also allows room for major growth within your business. Keep this in mind
Without a solid foundation, the house will crumble.

When you use an authentic Brand Image your campaigns are more successful, your market absolutely LOVES YOU, and you can expect to have a steady growth in sales year after year after year.

Some of the largest and most successful companies in the world have all used branding to build their marketing campaigns, which have also successfully grossed billions of dollars in company revenue.

Knowing who you are to your audience is what makes your Brand captivating. Celebrities like Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Martha Stewart have all been very successful in building their personal Brand.  It’s to the point that their consumers know them by heart, love EVERYTHING they do, and trust their products/services enough to purchase them with no questions asked.

When you’re building your Brand, think of it as a long term strategy and infuse it into every marketing channel you have from the very beginning. If you’re a brick and mortar business in a small town, you should still follow branding strategies just the same as if you were a national franchise or corporation. There is no excuse to not use a branding strategy for your business. Simply put, if you own a business, you need to brand it.

Lets begin with your Branding Strategy

Your branding strategy does not require a giant budget. You can start small in various different ways (especially if you’re low on funds).

Here are a few tips to help you along the way (some you may have already started using):

1.)Voice mail – Every business has a voice mail for when there is nobody there to answer. Make sure you use your company name in the voice mail twice. Once in the introduction and secondly in the end.

An example might be “Hello, you have reached “My Company”. We’re sorry but we are unable to answer your call at this time, please leave us your name and number and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for calling “My Company”. Have a great day.”

This reinforces your company name and helps customers to remember your name from all the other names out there. Remember, there are lots of other companies, but only one “YOU”.

2.)Mail and Email Communication – Use your company name and/or logo at the top of all letter heads including email. Reinforce your company name in the signature area after your messages as well. Example:

Sincerely,
“Your Name”

“My Company, Inc”
www.mycompany.com

3.)Advertising – In all of your advertising, make sure you focus on how to include your company name and logo. With audio advertisements use your name twice (just like the voice mail example above). Once in the beginning and once at the end. With Display and television ads always make sure your company name or logo is always present and visible. Display ads will include online banner advertising as well. With Contextual advertising you should almost always use your company home page in the visible URL section, that way it simplifies the viewing of your company name. Using the extension of the URL may distract the viewers eyes from the name of your website, causing them to get confused and not remember.

There are many other ways to add branding strategies into your marketing, so keep in mind that every mention of your company name is another way to reinforce who you are to your customers. Anything that involves your company should always be branded. Remember, a good branding strategy can carry your business a long way and strengthen your company for future growth.