Three Keys for Successful Branding: Design, People Strategy, and Personality
Small business owners are always looking for ways to grow their company and make it stand out in a sea of competitors. Branding is one way that companies can do this, but many times they focus on the design only, which isn't enough.
Branding takes so much more than just good design — it's also detail and personality. It's also what helps you stand out. The goal should be to find what makes your brand unique. What's the point of having beautiful brand guidelines and colors if you also don't leverage what makes you unique as a brand or individual.
This blog will go over three keys for successful branding: Design, Detail, and Personality!
Design
The importance of design in branding is that it's what helps establish a company as an individual. Branding isn't just about the visuals but also about consistency and personality.
So, in short, when it comes to the visual design elements, you'll want to come up with about three primary colors, and three secondary colors, same with your fonts. You can do more or less, every business I have worked with has been completely different, and some create an even bigger palette.
Design can create an experience for your customer, and this type of consistency is key to successful branding. Branding also involves detail such as how you interact with people online or with your website.
When I work on a branding strategy, I always like to ask the business the following questions:
What steps will I take to provide a positive experience for everyone within our community (both online and offline.)
What makes us different & unique from others in our industry?
What would my team say about their experience working here?
How do you want your audience to feel when they visit your page.
If you pay close attention, businesses who do really well on social media also stand out because of their company culture AND the community they foster online.
I recommend that you revisit these questions regularly and cross-check to make sure that it aligns with some of the content you are creating. A key takeaway point is to ensure that the tone of voice that you use aligns with your goals/purpose.
When you can answer these questions, you'll be able to apply this to your branding strategy & that's when you've gone from simple branding to creating your people strategy!
People Strategy
The importance of the customer experience is huge when it comes to branding. Branding is not just about the visuals but also about your people and personality.
The way your brand interacts with anyone online on ANY channels matters. One of the things that I've found myself doing when working on branding is creating social media guidelines for customer service teams on how to handle inquiries received on social media. You know the saying, "once online, always online?" It's true!
Many brands think that a negative review will make or break their business. What could actually tarnish your reputation online is HOW you respond to such reviews online.
Yes, there will always be unwarranted reviews because let's face it, the customer isn't always right, and the good news for you is that consumers often see both sides of the story.
At the end of the day, you'll want to spend a lot of time creating guidelines on how to handle your customer service inquiries online, in addition to the experience you want to provide to your audience.
Personality
Personality is the final key to successful branding. Branding isn't just about visuals but also your company culture and personality. Branding involves everything, including how you interact with people (online or in-person).
Branding should always be more than just aesthetics. People want brands that are consistent, but they also want to know the individual story of the brand. Branding can create an experience for your customers by using consistency across all channels.
You want to make sure that your brand is more than just a logo or a simple font. Branding should be more than what meets the eye, and it's important to have consistency across all channels, but you also need to have personality.
Branding can create an experience because of detail such as how you interact with people.