Let’s Talk About Branding!

Let's talk about branding! It's an important part of any business. We know the importance of lead generation, but let's take a look at a neglected side of building your business. If you can establish an identity for your company, it will help you set your business apart from the competition and spark a connection with your audience. Branding is important because not only is it what makes a memorable impression on your audience, but it allows your customers and clients to know what to expect from your company. It is a way of distinguishing yourself from the competitors and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you the better option. Your brand is built to be a true representation of who you are as a business, and how you wish to be perceived!

According to Entrepreneur magazine…

"Your brand is the sum total of your customers' perceptions, notions, and experience. It is the face, personality, and the values espoused by your business - and everything in between."

In the age of social media, perception is reality. What your audience sees, is what they assume they will get. You want to put your best foot forward in terms of branding. Presenting your business in an organized and consistent manner promotes recognition and incites trust amongst potential customers!

Branding Demonstrates Your Intent

Branding reflects the statement that your business makes. It tells your audience that you have invested in your business. Everything that your business exemplifies should be easily recognizable throughout the brand. This shows your clients what values you have as a business, and the standard you hold your business to. A business that you are poorly branding and doesn't demonstrate any sort of values or mission, is one that clients are not likely to trust. By demonstrating your intent through your branding, you can show potential clients what you stand for, the services you provide, and the values you implement within your business.

Branding Supports Advertising

Advertising is another component of branding, and advertising strategies will directly reflect the brand and its desired portrayal. Advertising techniques such as the use of promotional products, social media Ads, and social media content are deeply rooted in branding. It becomes easy to create a cohesive and appealing advertising strategy that plays well into your branding goals once you understand what you want your brand to accomplish.

What Should Your Brand Accomplish?

When you look at your business, what do you see? The people, the mission, the values, the services, etc. It's complex and multi-faceted, so how do you determine what your brand will accomplish?

Here are a few objectives to consider! Effective branding:

• Deliver a message clearly and cohesively
• Reaffirm your credibility
• Build an emotional connection with your audience
• Generate loyalty
• Motivate your potential audience to take the next step

Branding adds value - both to the business & its employees.

Branding adds immense value to your business, but it also adds value to your customers, employees, and investors. Businesses with clear and cohesive stories are valued higher by customers and investors. Businesses with clear stories also have employees who understand what they do and why they do it. People desire to work for a business that does great things, and with branding, those great things are only great if they're understood clearly and simply. A strong brand engages and aligns employees because employees are no different than customers. They want to know what their business stands for and what they represent. And, most importantly, they want to feel good about the company they give so much of their time to! You have an opportunity to help them tell that story through clear and cohesive branding. It's the story they tell their spouses, their children and parents, and neighbors. Make sure they are all telling the same version of that story and that they're excited about it. When you are building that story through branding, you are able to move people's emotions, which is key to moving sales.

Branding Shows the 'You' in Your Business

As much as your audience wants to know about the services that you provide, they also want to know about the people behind the business. It makes it personal - think about it this way, you want to grab a coffee before work. You have two options; the first is running into a gas station and grabbing yourself a quick cup of coffee. The second is stopping by the mom-and-pop shop to have a sweet lady who knows you by name make you a nice cup of coffee. The coffee tastes the same, they both take the same amount of time. and cost the same amount of money, so which do you choose? It's always going to be the mom-and-pop shop. It adds just a little bit of a genuine and personal touch to your day. Your brand can do the same thing by making it people-centric.

What Does Branding Consist Of?

Now that we understand the WHY of branding, it's time to dive into what exactly branding consists of. For starters, branding is way more than just a logo. It includes everything you do as a business - even if your organization is only about you! Here are a few things you can do to build and promote your brand…

Aesthetically, branding consists of photography, logo, fonts, colors, among other things. We've talked before about the importance of quality photography to branding, and that remains true. If your business has professional headshots and high-quality photos of your office - you are presenting the best version of your brand. Next up is an easy-to-navigate and user-friendly website! Clients want the ease of access when it comes to learning more about you, contacting you, and understanding what you do. This can all be accomplished through an appropriately branded website. That website should include everything from a staff page (this is where those professional headshots come into play) to a contact page. This is where you can truly demonstrate the intent you've set for your brand identity. By showing the people behind the scenes, celebrating successes, sharing testimonials - there are a million ways to show what makes your business unique.

Social Media Content

The next aspect of branding is social media content. In order to stay in front of your audience, you need to be putting out both custom and curated content on your social media platforms. Posting custom images and graphics will be an extension of the aesthetic branding that you've put into place. Implementing company hashtags is one addition to social posts that will help make your content recognizable, as well as locatable by your audience. Social media is a great way to share information about your company, shine a light on your employees, and share industry-relevant information! Posting on a consistent basis will keep your business in the mind of potential clients!

Another aspect of branding that will help you stay in front of your audience is a newsletter. If you feature opt-in forms on your website, people who are interested in your business can subscribe to a newsletter. This will include social media posts, company updates, timely information, and much more.

Now we've talked about the importance of branding and what it consists of, now here are some questions to ask yourself…

What is our business's vision?

What are our goals for the future?

Where are we going in the next 5, 10, 30 years?

What do we want our clients to know about us?

What do we stand for?

Why do we do what we do?

What are our values?

What sets us apart?

At the end of the day, as important as lead generation is to building business, branding is just as important! You want to present your business to your audience in the very best light. In order to do that, you want to come across in the most professional and cohesive way possible. This is where investing in branding comes into play.

If you know that you want to build and maintain a better brand for your business, then head over to tryhyperchat.com to schedule a consultation so that we can help you Turn Social Into Sales!