Do you aspire for your brand to be like KFC, Adidas, Louis Vuitton or Gucci? Do you long for worldwide recognition and success? Want your product or service to be top of mind? Well here are 5 tips for you to create a strong brand and fortify your business in the minds of the public.
“Your brand is how people perceive you wherever they interact with your business – both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t.”
1. Research your niche
In order to have domination in your chosen niche, you will need to research. Doing research forms the basis of your business and actually gives you the know-how you will need to be successful.
Ask yourself or your team the following questions:
What will be your chosen product or service?
Is it a niche that is viable or do you need to create your own?
Is there a need for what you are offering?
Who are my top 3 competitors?
You need to properly understand the market before moving forward. The answers to the above questions will inform what your brand should focus on and how it can position itself apart from competitors.
There are many useful blogs that can provide tremendous help in this regard. Some blogs we highly recommend are Smart Passive Income, Gary Vaynerchuck, Four Hour Work Week, Under 30 CEO and OnStartups.com
2. Create your identity
Creating your own personal brand is often one of the most enjoyable but vitally important parts of being an Entrepeneur. You get to create a whole new persona for your business. Your business name can be as fun or as serious as you wish.
However, when creating a brand think of the image you would like to be implanted in the minds of your customers. Your logo, tagline and imagery used by your business should embody what your company represents.
For example if you are a fitness brand and trying to convert the general public to exercise and eat healthy, you cannot have a logo with big pieces of fried chicken! That is misleading and a huge misrepresentation of the image you are trying to portray to your potential customers.
So take time to check out other brands and do some research (yes back to step 1) to find out the exact concept you wish to present of your business to the world.
3. Find Your Target Audience
Finding a target audience (who you want to buy from you) is a very crucial step as an Entrepreneur. Who is willing to spend money on your products or service? It comes back to Step 1 (More research. Yes, we know!). Well I am here to shed some light on this matter. Social media has become a bevy of customers waiting to shop, all at the tap of a button.
Platforms like Amazon, Shopify and even Instagram have mastered the art of e-commerce and turned shopping into a billion dollar industry for Entrepreneurs.
Pop Quiz
Did you know that a $5 Facebook Ad can generate thousands of sales for you if done right?
Answer: Yes it can.
Ask experts for help when it comes to digital marketing and you will be able to target the right audience and grow your brand?
So let’s say you are selling dog tags for Boston Terrier dogs. A social media ad targeted at people who loved Boston Terrier dogs will generate sales because you are offering what they love. Those dog lovers WILL buy from you, and wham! you have a customer base of enthusiastic dog lovers.
Targeting a specific audience brings customers to your door but this cannot only be done through ads. You may use influencer marketing (of course, you need to ensure that the influencer aligns with your brand). You can also use general social media posts and the tone of your captions to lure in your target audience.
Please ensure you are aware of your targeted demographic.
4. Market your content
Marketing is fundamental to the growth of your business and your brand as a whole. Due to social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, PInterest and others, digital marketing has never had a farther reach than it has in today’s society. One tweet can make or break a company. Influencer marketing has also allowed businesses to receive massive exposure by using others to spread the word on behalf of their brands.
To thrive on social media, you will need content, more specifically good content. On social media, customers can easily become brand advocates through user-generated content (UGC). This is a great way to promote your brand which in turn pushes brands into the spotlight.
Traditional marketing such as print, television and radio ads are also great ways to market your brand. Giveaways and promotions also create an engaged user base that will become familiar with your brand.
5. Rinse and Repeat
Now for success, rinse and repeat the steps from 1-4 and your brand should be on the lips of every one you come in contact with. Branding is an integral part of any business, as your brand speaks for you before the customer even gets a chance to use your services.
Remember the golden rule of branding K.I.S.S. – Keep. It. Simple. Stupid.
You do not need an elaborate logo, tagline or imagery to stand out. As you may have noticed with large companies, they have stuck to the KISS rule and kept it simple. An example of a simple and effective tagline is NIKE’s 'Just Do It'. Things cannot get simpler than that. We highly recommend using a professional to create the logo and tagline for you, in order to save time, money and the hassle of doing it yourself.
Here’s to building your brand like a BOSS! Cheers!
Ready to level up your brand? Contact EFFIT today! Learn more about how we can help you with social media marketing, influencer marketing and other services we offer at EFFIT!