Your brand is your identity and your first impression with your prospective consumers. Learn how to build a business brand even on a tight budget in this blog.
“Branding” is truly the buzzword of marketing. This high-encompassing effort establishes credibility and builds loyalty among customers.
While branding is an important step in getting your business off the ground, it can be a costly one. Many companies, especially start-ups, don’t have funds for company swag like custom pens and fancy banners.
Luckily, the digital sphere helps make our branding efforts much more affordable. We can strike a favorable first impression with prospective consumers without unnecessary gear. (And, let’s be honest- your customer probably wants to reach you online, anyway.)
Don’t let a tight budget hold you back. Here’s how to build a business brand in a few steps.
Develop Buyer Personas
Understanding your target audience is the first step to any branding endeavor, digital or not. If you don’t have an idea of who your prospective consumer is, how do you intend to market to this person?
That’s why successful marketers establish buyer personas. These characters serve as a guiding point for determining customer preferences, buying behavior, demographics, etc.
You should ask yourself a variety of questions when building these profiles. Ask questions about their personal background, such as education and career path. Be as specific with these questions as possible.
You’ll also want to gather more information on their roles within their companies. What’s their title? Who do they report to and who reports to them? What’s a typical day for them like? What skills and tools are crucial to their performance?
Find Your Identity
No, this doesn’t mean go abroad for a semester and come back and annoy your “less worldly” friends.
Finding your company’s identity is the backbone to creating a solid brand. If you haven’t already established who you are, there are some pretty easy ways to figure it out.
Take the questions we listed above and flip them. What are your values? What kind of role do you serve? What goals do you have? What’s a typical day like for you?
You need to take a fair introspective look into your company, free from any biases. It’s important to be honest with yourself about who you are and what you’re looking to achieve.
If you’re struggling, you can always seek the opinion of others. Ask other business partners or even loved ones to give you an honest assessment of the company.
Blog It Up
If you’re unaware of the importance of blogging, it’s time to get familiar. Maintaining a steady blog presence (with compelling and engaging content) is crucial to driving new website visitors.
If your brand is a person, your blog is the voice. Use this voice to establish yourself in whatever respect your company fits. Make sure your tone is uniform across all posts, to establish further conciseness.
We know blogging isn’t the most glamorous task. It can feel tedious. It can be time-consuming. You may even find yourself asking, “Who the heck is even reading this?”.
But, trust us, a good blog can go a long way. Once you find who your target audience is, you can tailor your blog content to meet their interests. Try to write about topics that are relevant and informative.
Get Active on Social Media
Today we’re seeing brands build themselves solely on their social presence. Sure, it’s impossible to grow a following overnight (except for following bots- steer clear of those). But, if you’re willing to put in some effort, you’ll see just how high of an ROI social media is.
As with blogging, you need to base your postings around the likes of your target audience. How you reach millennial women online is much different than targeting middle-aged dads.
There are countless platforms for you to use. Dedicate the bulk of your resources to platforms your audience utilizes the most. But, keep in mind, it’s still good to have an active profile on the other more popular pages.
Boost Branding with Branded MerchandiseÂ
Branded merchandise speaks for your business in so many ways you can imagine. Some examples of brand merchandise items include customized mugs, lanyards, caps, and shirts. Even with the digital age, traditional and offline marketing strategies, like giving away branded merchandise is still very effective.Â
You can even combine branded merchandise with your online marketing strategies to boost your campaign without spending that much. For instance, you can use low-cost branded merchandise items as freebies for a certain price amount of order, such as a free keychain or wrist band for a minimum of USD$75 purchase.
Entice prospective customers to choose your products and services by offering branded merchandise items, which are tangible and useful items they can use. Of course, if your customers wear and flaunt your branded merchandise in social media, it’s a great way to promote your brand to their family and friends.
But you don’t have to spend a hefty amount of money in branded merchandise, such as customized shirts, because there are super affordable and simple branded merchandise items you can use to remind people of your brand. For instance, custom bracelets from Reminderband allow you to imprint customized messages and your brand logo to keep people aware of your brand and other important messages associated with your brand.
Create a Memorable Logo
A logo may seem so small, so insignificant to a business brand. But, if we’re following the brand/human analogy, your logo is the eyes into your company.
Consumers remember the logos of all the best brands. Think Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas. Their symbols are all embedded in our memories.
Many make the mistake of going to a high-end developer to create a logo. You really don’t have to spend money on a designer at all. You can easily make a logo online, (for free on some sites!).
You’ll want to make sure your logo has a timeless, “neat” look. Finding the appropriate hues and typography is equally as important.
Your logo needs to complement the overall vision of your company. Make sure everything about your logo ties back to the brand you’re trying to portray. Use colors, fonts, and symbols that drive brand recognition.
Host Events
The last strategy we’ll leave you with may seem expensive, but hear us out. You can throw a meaningful event without breaking the bank by partnering with other businesses.
Let’s say you’re a women’s clothing retailer. You could partner with your city’s local animal shelter to create an adoption event. Ask your customers to come out for a drink and a night of furry friends!
Partnering with other business leaders grants you double the exposure. Your customers are going to see your advertisements, as will their’s. Who knows? Maybe this collaboration could lead to local coverage, too.
How to Build a Business Brand
Branding on a budget takes time, but it saves you an infinite amount of resources. Once you have a bigger budget, then you can invest on company swag which you can do with USimprints. If you’ve wondered how to build a business brand, you’ve come to the right place.
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