As advertising and communication platforms have evolved, so has the definition of branding. While two decades ago, it was simply the name, logo, and copy of a particular company or product, right now, the definition is a lot more versatile. Branding evolves along with customer behavior. The entire mental picture a potential customer paints after hearing the name of a product or a company. Branding creates a certain perception, sentiment, and feeling around a company’s product or service that customers will remember through the ages.
“Do it” – this always paints a picture of youngsters engaging in physical activities. This phrase has become a part of our daily lives from the Nike posters and ads. It conveys an urgency to do something new and daring. It is a straightforward yet powerful line that gives a strong and decisive image of the sports brand. From a bar, it grew to become one of the largest ad campaigns in the world, and right now, this line reminds anyone and every one of the leading global sports brands.
What is branding in 2018?
Branding campaigns should carry the company’s name and personality forward by transcending cultural and political boundaries. Regarding branding campaigns, Coca-Cola or Coke has been the most successful. Ever since their foundation in the 1800s, they have evolved to serve exactly what the people wanted. After expanding across national boundaries, they considered the local palate and adjusted their recipes. That is one of the biggest secrets of a successful brand; they know how to adapt their persona to suit their target users’ needs.
Therefore, if you believe that branding is all about finding the right colors, the right symbols, hiring the best celebrities for endorsements, and the best advertising channels, you can be more than wrong. Developing a true brand takes time. Growing brands like Levi’s, Mercedes, Forbes, Gucci, and Xerox took more than a few years of toiling and hard labor for their branding companies. Today, we see skyscrapers that the founders, CEOs, and managers have built from the ground up over the last few decades (and sometimes centuries!). A brand should have the commanding power to lead nations. A good brand is such that it can start a revolution with a few smartly minted words.
How can you improve your branding efforts this year?
Here are the eight tips that will always help you craft a niche for your brand and establish its identity that your target audience will notice –
1. What is your company’s voice?
Each company has a native personality or a true voice. This usually depends on the collective genius behind the name and the products. Allow the people involved in the development of the business to speak. This will create the opportunity for the brand to bring forth a diverse genius. This is one of the most brilliant ways to find a voice for your company/brand.
2. What is your brand’s USP?
It would help if you gave people a reason to follow you on social media and recognize your brand. While a health brand might offer subscription offers to a year’s salad and protein diets, you might be here to provide something else. Keep your brand’s unique selling point (USP) clear while reaching out to your audience.
3. What kind of experience will you be offering?
Experience matters a lot to shoppers. Whether eating out at a fancy wine and dine or taking out Friday night dinner from McDonald’s, they need to enjoy their experience to recommend a brand and its products to their friends.
4. Have you given video marketing a thought?
Marketing has come in several forms over the last few years. Video marketing is one of the most powerful tools to reach an audience. So, no matter your online marketing plans, do not forget to offer your target user base a “behind the scenes” brand video.
5. Have you unleashed the power of blogging yet?
Research shows that blogging is the best revenue generation tool for B2B and B2C companies in 2018. People love to read other customers’ personal experiences, brand evolution stories, product design stories, and relatable accounts of the authors while developing a relationship with the brand.
6. Are you standing up for a cause?
Whether you support vegan lifestyles or believe in quinoa farmers’ rights in rural South America, you must say it aloud. When you dig deep to look for the brand’s true voice, you will find the just cause your brand stands for. Social presence helps brands carve their personalities. However, always be true to your brand image.
7. What is your brand’s message?
You must create and share a strong message to establish a rewarding customer relationship. This message should be consistent across several platforms. This automatically means that your branding efforts across all channels must be uniform. There should be consistency in the brand message to convey a sense of familiarity to your audience.
8. Are you allowing your customers to reach out to you?
The secret to a good brand is keeping the interactions human. Most brands are opening and leveraging their employee’s and brand managers’ social media accounts to become human. Operating a brand or a business profile on social media differs from running a personal statement that works as a go-between. Research shows that people respond more positively to brands on social media that do not use corporate accounts. Clients need to connect to the human faces behind a brand.
These 8 points are about the new age of online marketing and branding. While they would be quite meaningless in the days of fashion magazines and newspapers, they are your best chances to find recognition for your new brands.
