One of the biggest challenges you will face as a fledgling business is the issues of building a brand and making sure that people all over the world recognise you and what you do. Marketing and branding is such an integral part of a business and this is why we immediately recognise that big ‘M’ or and Apple with a bite taken out of it. The way we present ourselves and share ourselves with the world is what will determine the level of success we can see later on in life, and when it comes to a small business finding its feet, this is more important than ever.
Today we are going to take a look at some of the ways that you can start off 2019 right with w great brad and a recognisable voice.
1. Build a first impression
The thing to remember about your brand is that everyone will have a different view of what you are and what you represent. It’s like 3 people looking over at a view of the landscape: 1 might notice the buildings,1 might notice the flowers and 1 might notice the animals. Everyone has a different viewpoint and perspective of what you are. This is something that is important to note because if you are able to build your brand successfully you can guide the view people have of you. A first impression could be your packaging, it could be a tweet or perhaps a recommendation from a friend. If you are able to ensure that your business is giving off the right vibes you should be able to create a positive impression from anyone who sees you. It can even be handy to google yourself and see what kind of reviews you are getting so that you know where you need to improve.
2. Build your online platform
As a business in the 21st century there is no room for radio silence anymore. It isn’t just enough to launch a business and not spread the word because everyone spends their time online. The best way to make sure you reach the right people and stay in the minds of people throughout the years is to have an active social presence. This can be achieved by having a company website, blog, social media and other accounts. Make sure that when you build your website you hire the best SEO companies to optimise your content to maximise reach.
3. Integrate your brand into everything
The main thing which sets people like Mcdonalds apart from the rest is the fact that everyone knows the brand as soon as they see the logo. You want to build a business where this is how people see you too. In order to make sure people recognise your logo you will need to think about integrating your logo and brand colour scheme into everything you do. This includes promotional material, emails, letters, social media… and it will get people to start remembering who you are simply by seeing those colours or that logo. This is the best way to really get into people’s heads.
4. Be consistent
The key thing to remember whether you are running a blog, social media accounts or you are simply delivering a service to your customers is that you have to be consistent. People want to follow and engage with a brand that they can trust and one which is reliable. If you always show that you are willing to go the extra mile with delivery or your services, people will always come back to you. And if you can post on social media every few days as well as blogging every week or so, you will start to build up a consistent audience who will support you and follow you.
5. You can’t please everyone
As a business we often have this bad habit of doubting ourselves and being scared to do exactly what we want to do invade someone doesn’t like it. This is something you need to push from your mind if you want to find success because as a business you should be confident enough in your abilities to not worry about what people think. This goes for choosing colours for products, for setting a tone of voice on social media and anything else. Just be yourself and market the way you want to market, the right people will soon follow behind.
6. Produce value
Quality over quantity is the key to a great marketing plan. If you want to make sure that you are delivering the best possibly content to your customers you need to take your time with it and make sure that you are 100% happy with every piece before it goes out to the public. Don’t write half-arsed blog posts simply because you feel you need to, make sure that you only write content and create social content which matters and which you think will be worth it for your audience.
7. Connect to other brands
If you truly want to make a name for yourself in your chosen field of work you will want to ensure that people see you in the same caliber as stronger brands in the industry. Associating yourself with other brands can be as simple as tagging them in social media posts or linking to their content in your blog. You can even contact them and ask if they wouldn’t mind mentioning you in their blog or social posts too. Being associated with bigger brands will increase trust from your audience and this can be a big thing for you.
8. Giveaways
If there is any easy way drum up a lot of interest in a brand within a short space of time, a giveaway is the ideal example. When you offer free services or free products people will always be interested and this can be a huge boost for your business. Think about creating a giveaway on social media where to enter, people have to like your page and share the post with their friends. This will drum up interest and gain you a lot of new followers!
