Developing a brand can be a long and challenging process. A lot of business owners make the mistake of believing that just a logo will be more than enough to call their company a brand. That's also the main reason so many companies fail at branding.
A brand is much more than the design itself. It encompasses everything your company is, does and is about to do. In the center of it all is brand identity. So what exactly is a brand identity? A brand identity is how you present your brand to your audience, to put it simply.
It's, in fact, a series of activities and actions you do so that your audience will perceive your brand the way you want them to. Therefore, creating a powerful brand identity is a challenge on its own, because if you don't do it right, the outcome may not be what you've expected. With that in mind, here are a few ways how you can create your own powerful brand identity.
Conduct some extensive research
Just like with any other business decision, deciding to create a strong brand identity requires extensive market research. The main reason is that there's no room for mistakes, which is why you must acquire all the necessary information before you begin.
That's why you must research your target audience, the overall state of the market and, of course, your competition with the use of research tools like this medical device conjoint. Knowing all there is to know about your audience is essential but what's more important is a competitive analysis.
Understanding what your competitors do and how they do it is crucial so that you don't make the mistake of copying them. If you think that just a bit of resemblance between the brands will go unnoticed, you're in for an unpleasant surprise.
What's more, by analyzing your competitors, you can find various ways to gain a competitive advantage and outrun them in the long run. However, the main purpose of the analysis is to determine what kind of brand identity your competitors have so that you get the idea of what works and what doesn't.
Create a personality for your brand identity
If you want to portray your brand to your audience in the best light possible, you'll have to determine how to communicate with them. That's what creating a brand persona is all about. Giving personality to your brand makes it more human-like and it helps consumers relate to it on a more personal level.
Therefore, incorporate your core values, brand promise and your mission into your messaging. After that is done, decide on a unique tone of voice you'll use in your messaging. Based on your previous research on your audience, you should have a clear picture of what your tone of voice should sound like.
If you don't get it right on the first try, you can always make adjustments based on consumer feedback. Finally, once everything is up and running, make sure you remain consistent with your messaging and communication. Otherwise, your audience won't be too happy about it.
Use amazing visuals for your identity
Visuals are a vital component of your brand identity. Every time you communicate with your audience it's not just about what they hear from you but also about what they see. Whether the consumers interact with your brand on your website, blog, social media pages or any other channel, visuals will have an important role to play in how they experience your brand.
That being said, if your brand persona is the personality of your brand identity, then the visual design is the face of your brand. And yes, a brand logo is vital in the visual design hierarchy. However, aside from the logo, every other visual aspect must be well-made.
That includes your website's layout, the colors you chose, icons, illustrations, fonts and even the content you produce. If you have trouble designing such visuals on your own there are always reliable companies such as Infostarters that can provide you with proper assistance. The entire purpose of visuals is to make your brand more memorable and recognizable in the market, as well as to help your audience relate to it more easily.
Monitor your efforts
Even with all the research and hard work, you can never be 100% certain that your brand identity will do what it's supposed to do. After all, consumers form their own version of brand image based on their experience.
As you may already know, a brand image is the opposite of brand identity and it represents how your audience perceives your brand. That's why it's very important to monitor your efforts and focus on what the brand image is.
You can achieve this by tracking various metrics, KPIs and brand mentions. The most reliable channel for this tracking is social media, i.e. social listening, because people love to talk and discuss brands on social media platforms. If anything seems out of place, you can always rethink your strategy and make modifications to your brand identity.
And, as mentioned before, don't hesitate to ask your audience for feedback. Consumers prefer to be involved, especially when a new brand is showing promise. This will make them more engaged and even loyal while you'll be able to make the necessary improvements without too much guessing or pondering about what might work.
Creating a powerful brand identity that will endure in the market and help you achieve success is not easy. However, if you take the time to plan everything out and back your decisions with research, your brand identity will be everything you need it to be.
