As a small-business owner, you should always be asking the question: How can I improve my branding? Good branding is the key to success in today’s fast-moving, highly digital world – and without it, you’re putting yourself at a major disadvantage.
It’s important to know that branding isn’t exclusive to big names like Amazon, Nike and Apple – it’s for small businesses, too. Whether you’re ready to tackle it yourself, or need to go now and find one of the best brand consulting firms to help you, it’s an invaluable method of making your business stand out against competitors.
Here are some pro branding tips that will help to develop and grow your business.
1. Brand your company vehicles
Firstly, if you have company vehicles – you need to brand them. This is a classic and proven way to publicly market your business. A vehicle with graphics is going to be noticed when out in public by both other vehicle drivers and people within sight – which is going to improve your brand recognition and increase your customer numbers.
These are some of the common features of vehicle branding:
- Logos
- Contact details (phone number, email, business premises)
- Slogans
- Short quotes from positive reviews (but never use fake reviews – like some businesses do!)
Basically, the branding design for your company vehicles is entirely down to your personal preference. It can be done minimally – such as just your logo (remember, company logos are a key tool for competing in the market); or, it can be done on a large scale – where nearly the entire vehicle is covered in branding. The best part about company vehicle branding these days is how affordable it is for small businesses who are on a budget – so there’s no need to worry about the costs.
2. Establish your brand’s personality, beliefs and aesthetic
Before branding your company vehicles and other assets, it’s vital to first establish your personality, beliefs, and aesthetic. If you’ve already done this – great. If you haven’t, it’s time to get started.
Your brand’s personality is your human side: Are you fun? Are you serious, “get the job done” professionals? Or are you humorous and engaging, always putting the customer first? You need to decide your personality and make it a fundamental part of your business – from top to bottom. This way, customers will be able to know who you areand establish a relationship with you based on your personality.
Brand beliefs are simple – it’s what you believe in and strive for. Every modern business has a key belief or set of beliefs. For example, a common business belief is “putting the customer experience first”. Beliefs help to guide and dictate your behaviour, so it’s important to establish them early in the branding process.
Your brand aesthetic is the visual appearance of your business – from your website to your product packaging. The best businesses have a clean, consistent aesthetic across all their platforms and assets – which enables them to build consistency and recognition in the market. Alone, or with the help of a branding agency like Post and Beam Creative, try and create an aesthetic that will appeal to your target audience and establish yourself from other competitors. Remember to not chop and change your aesthetic – this will be financially costly and will negatively impact the consistency of your branding.
3. Make a press and brand “kit”
A brand kit is a small portfolio (or guide) that can consist of your:
- Logos (in PNG form)
- Fonts
- Messages
- Guidelines
- Graphics
- A bio
- Contact information
- Product and service images
Your brand kit is meant for employees, business partners, shareholders and members of the media. It’s a highly effective way to visually communicate your identity – basically, think of it as a miniature introduction to your brand.
Brand kits are usually in the form of a printable version or a PDF. Also, they are normally available to the public, for example, through a business’s website. Alternatively, they are accessible via request. For example, some businesses state on their website a line as follows:
“For full access to our brand kit, contact us on this email address _______”
Making a concise brand kit isn’t time consuming and can be done relatively easily. You can hire a professional to do it for you – or use one of your IT employees (if you have one with the skills to do so).
4. Join LinkedIn
Every small business should use LinkedIn – it’s a highly effective platform from which to build your brand, grow your network, share content and communicate with your audience. Basically, it’s the Facebook of the business world.
Businesses of all sizes use LinkedIn – from stay-at-home mums to the biggest names, including Google and Uber – which shows how powerful the platform is.
5. Use social media as a branding tool
Social media rules the branding world. From Twitter to Instagram, social media platforms are an incredible outlet for posting content, providing customer support and communicating with your audience. Quite simply, social media is a must when it comes to modern-day branding.
