In this highly digital world that we live in, you have to create a brand that’s authentic and resonates with your target audience. In this article we share 12 Actionable Tips to Build a New Brand from Scratch.
That’s because brand awareness is one of the most important aspects of growing your online business. You have to make people aware of your brand and products. That way, you’re more likely to generate profit.
Growing your brand can easily set up your business for success. Still, you might not know where to start. That’s where this handy guide comes in:
Table of Contents
What is a Brand?
A brand is more than just a brand logo design or a recognizable name that makes you stand out from the rest of the pack.
People have personal brands as well. Each one of us is unique in our own way. We have a name, face, and style of communication. With these traits, we can create different impressions on people.
In the same way, businesses also have colors, fonts, logos, voices, as well reputations to uphold to. All of these things also affect how they are perceived.
What Makes a Strong Brand Identity?
How do you know that you have a strong brand identity? Here are some of the crucial attributes you can consider when it comes to building a brand:
- You’re authentic to who you are. You’re true to yourself and your values. You’re also proud of yourself for what makes you unique. What makes you stand out.
- It’s easy for people to know your product and know your personality.
- That same voice appears everywhere, whether they’re visual or verbal.
- In the same way, you should also have something of value that you can offer to a particular audience.
Now that we’ve walked you with the basics, here are nine actionable tips that will help you create a new brand from scratch:
1. Research Your Potential Customers and Current Competitors
Before making any decisions on how you create your business or brand, you need to know your current industry. For instance, you need to know your potential customers and existing customers.
Here are some tips on how you can do this:
- Google your product or service category. Then, analyze what your direct and indirect competitors come up with.
- Look for subreddits that relate to your customers. You can also eavesdrop on their conversations and other product recommendations.
2. Define Your Company’s Purpose and Values
What’s the purpose of your company? If that’s to sell products or offer a service, it should be based on something that will motivate you and your team to do better.
In the same way, you should also consider the kind of impression you want to leave your customers or community with. Make sure that these values are the front and center of your brand.
3. Establish Your Brand Voice
You should also establish a distinct yet authentic brand voice. Do you need to write a more formal or casual tone? What tone do you use when speaking to your customers in pitches and support calls?
Make sure you choose your words and phrases with a distinct tone that matches your brand.
4. Design a Visual Identity
By designing a visual identity, I mean the look and feel of your branding. This obviously plays a massive role in making that distinction.
Here are some elements that you might want to include:
- Logo: Logos represent your brand. It’s also likely to show up everywhere where you have a presence.
- Color: A color conveys certain emotions or feelings. Ideally, the colors you choose should match the overall emotion you want to express your brand.
- Typography: Using consistent folds to build trust and credibility in your brand.
- Imagery: Consider whether you’ll be using animation, illustration, photography, or a mix of these three.
5. Think About Brand Personality
Your brand personality is like a set of human-like characteristics that your target audience can relate to. Make sure you use personality traits that allow your brand to be seen as powerful.
Usually, top brands in the market like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Nike all have strong brand personalities that make them stand out from the rest of the pack.
Similarly, your brand personality brings your audience and your company closer together. By humanizing your brand, you can get more benefits like customer recognition. This will differentiate your brand from your competitors. ‘
Moreover, if your goal is to get more loyal customers, having a well-defined brand personality can help you achieve that.
6. Choose Your Name
Selecting the name for your new business can sometimes be tricky. Since you most probably need to have a website, choose an available domain name. That way, you can trademark it. Feeling right is essential in determining your business’s brand name.
When picking a name for your brand, you also need to involve other people. Tell the people in your circle your value words, and then ask them to add them to your list. Encourage them and be open to possibilities.
Assess your list next to your brief and your brand words. Then, ask yourself if it resonates with your target audience. If not, then you shouldn’t let your preferences get in your decision-making process.
7. Tell the Story of Your Brand
Your customers will believe what they see or hear. Not to fulfill these purposes, one of the most important things that you need to focus on is building your business brand.
For instance, look at how other established brands shared their struggles and how they can make it to where they are now.
Think about how to leverage your brand through powerful storytelling.
8. Choose a Unique Brand Tagline
Are you thinking about how you can effectively create a brand that covers all the critical components? Yes, it’s essential.
But it’s not just your brand name either. It would be best if you also came up with the right taglines for your brand that will define your brand identity and image.
As much as possible, try to develop a list of the best possible taglines for your brand. After doing so, the next thing is to sort it out by knowing your brand. Finally, finalize the fitting tagline which you think goes well with your brand voice.
9. Invest in Good Photography
The thing is, building a brand isn’t always as easy as it sounds. You need to invest in a lot of things. That way, you’ll be able to reap the benefits much later on.
Think of it the way a customer will enter your physical store. Chances are, they’ll be noticing a lot of things. If the store’s overall look fascinates them, it will undoubtedly leave a mark.
The same thing goes when it comes to your online store and website. The visual representation of your brand plays a crucial role in attracting more customers in the long run.
That’s why you must hire a good photographer for your brands. That way, it’s easier for your brand to stand out from the rest of your competitors.
10. Build a Solid Digital Presence
With so much happening online and in the ecommerce world today, it’s vital to build a solid social media presence. Doing so ensures that your brand voice, visuals, and overall messaging are consistent throughout social media channels and other digital media platforms.
With these platforms, you can engage with your customers with ease. You can also respond to or answer their queries. It’s easier for you to reply to comments, whether they’re positive or negative.
11. Become an Advocate for Your Brand
No one can do the marketing that you could for your brand. That’s why you must become a bran advocate. Make sure you take your time informing and educating people about what they could miss out on.
Look for attention-grabbing tactics that work when it comes to promoting and converting your audience into loyal and regular buyers.
A great example is broadcast messaging. The concept isn’t entirely new or hard to understand. It’s just that desire to get your message out to a large audience in the shortest possible time. Here is how a whatsapp broadcast can help you do that.
You should also build your brand by sorting out what your priorities are. Then, implement the different strategies that allow you to get the desired results.
12. Be Open to Suggestions
Feedback, no matter positive or negative, is essential. By taking suggestions from other people and accepting criticism, you’ll be able to understand the parts where you need to improve.
You won’t know what your brand lacks by not asking for feedback. Over time, this will stunt your potential.
Over to You
So, there you have it. Developing a brand that resonates with your target customers is more important than ever. So, make sure that you follow these tips and strategies that we’ve discussed in this post.
Doing so allows you to quickly identify your target audience, develop your brand, and build authenticity. These things will enable you to stand out from the rest of your competitors and create a brand that makes an impact. Good luck!
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