If you want to invest in digital marketing, you need to create your company’s brand first. But what is branding?
On this page, we’ll cover information you want to know like:
- What is branding in marketing?
- Why does branding matter?
- How to brand your business online
What is branding?
So, how do you define branding? Branding is the process of creating an identifiable and distinct image of your business. With branding, you help people distinguish your company from the competition and develop emotional connections to your company.
Why does branding matter?
Now that we answered, “what is branding in marketing,” you probably wonder why it matters if you brand your business.
Here are four reasons why you need to brand your business:
1. Branding helps you create familiarity with your audience
So, what is branding? It’s your key to helping your audience get familiar with your business.
To take people from prospect to customer, you need to help them get to know your business and what you offer. A vital component of that is your brand. Many people initially get to know companies based on how they present their brands.
When you implement branding in marketing your business, you help people get to know who you are and what you offer. It’s the first step in moving prospects towards converting.
2. Branding helps you stand out from your competition
One of the most important reasons to invest in branding is that it enables you to stand out from your competition. When you try to promote your products or services online, you compete with dozens of other businesses.
If your business looks like everyone else’s, you won’t impact your audience.
With branding, you help make your company distinct from your competition. You create a unique look and experience for your audience so that they can identify your business outside of your competition.
Take Partake and Enjoy Life as examples. Both companies offer allergen-free baking products, like cookies and brownie mixes. You have distinct, branded experiences when you visit their websites.
When you compare these two sites, you can see how the brands differ, despite offering similar products. This distinction helps each brand stand out to create a memorable experience for visitors.
3. Branding helps create a consistent experience for your audience
When you define branding, part of the definition focuses on creating an identifiable image for your audience. Creating your distinct image helps you create a consistent experience.
Your website and marketing will appear disorganized if you don’t set branding guidelines. It makes it hard for people to get a sense of your brand if half of the pages on your website are entirely different from one another.
Think of it like this: Imagine you visited a website and the homepage was blue with all cursive writing, and when you visited another page, it was red with big bolded writing. Would you feel like you were on the same website?
Chances are, it would feel like two different experiences.
That’s why branding is critical for helping you create consistent experiences. It lets people know and feel like they’re interacting with the same brand and getting to know that brand.
4. Branding helps you create connections with your audience
What is branding? It’s a fundamental piece to helping you build connections with your audience.
Many people are drawn to brands initially because of their branding. Whether they use a fun color scheme, have a powerful brand message, or something similar, branding plays a crucial role in helping people connect with what those companies offer.
Branding in marketing helps you evoke emotions and deeper connections to your brand. It’s critical for helping you build interest in what you offer.
How to brand your business online: 3 quick tips
Once you define branding and know why it matters, you want to see how you can start branding your business online. Here are three tips to help you brand your business online:
1. Create a brand style guide
If you want to know how to brand your business online, start by creating a style guide for your business. A style guide helps you create a consistent look for your branding across the web, from your social media campaigns to your emails to your website.
With your brand style guide, you can establish elements like your:
- Website color palette
- Website element colors (call to action (CTA) buttons, forms, etc.)
- Font style and size
- Writing style
- Image style
- And more!
Your brand style guide will help ensure that you deliver a consistent brand image across all channels so that you can help your audience build familiarity with your business.
2. Create your logo
If you don’t already have a logo for your business, you’ll want to take time to create one. Your logo is a crucial element you’ll use when you market your business.
Many people recognize businesses based on their logos. McDonald’s iconic yellow arches are a vital component of their identity that many people recognize without seeing the name.
You’ll want to create a logo that fits your brand and helps define you from your competition. Focus on integrating your brand’s colors into the logo to make it distinct and fit your business’s branding.
You can then use your logo on all marketing materials, like your website, social media profile picture, etc.
3. Establish your brand’s story
If you want to know how to brand your business online, you need to establish your brand’s story. People love to know your company’s backstory and what inspired you to start your company. It helps create a humanistic connection with your brand.
You can share your brand’s story in an “About Us” section of your website to give the entire backstory. You can also integrate critical elements of your brand’s story throughout your website and marketing to continually create a connection with your audience.
For example, if you created an allergen-free food line business because your son had food allergies, you may try to sprinkle elements of that sentiment into parts of your marketing. You may highlight how kids will love your products or how your products are designed with family in mind.
Having a story behind your brand will help you create marketing messages that resonate with your audience and make them feel connected to your brand.