By improving brand identity, you create a consistent image of your brand, build trust with consumers, and stand out from the crowd. Yesterday, I posted about building a strong brand, which is an integral part of improving brand identity as identity is like a name that encapsulates much of what the brand stands for.
Businesses are always looking for ways to improve their business strategies, and digital marketing is a way to do that. Insider Intelligence reported that global digital ad spending was around $500 billion in 2021. Of course, the money goes to waste unless you can build an impactful strategy that helps convert consumers and encourage customers to come back. And, an important part of your marketing strategy is to build a strong brand then work toward improving brand identity by reaching your target market with brand messaging that sets you apart and resonates with your market.
By improving brand identity you build an engaging customer experience, resulting in better sales and relationships with your target market over time. To accomplish this goal, follow these tips.
Improving brand identity
Let’s start by defining brand identity.
According to Hubspot, brand identity is:
A brand identity is made up of what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with your company. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.
Some folks think brand identity is synonymous with visual aspects such as the brand logo and color scheme. But, that’s like saying that all there is to a person is the way they look, the clothes they wear, and other physical aspects. Instead, this of brand identity as who the brand is. Just like your name is simply an identifier and the way you look only tells part of the story of who you are, the brand identity is more than just a name and a logo.
Brand identity is more about brand personality, values, and distinction. Below, you can see some of the top brands divided into prototypical brand personalities, sometimes called brand archtypes.
So, how do you go about building a brand identity or improving brand identity for your firm? Read on.
#1 Create a consistent brand image
Your branding must be consistent regardless of where a consumer sees a brand. This includes everything from the color scheme, logo, and fonts to how you present your information, your messaging, and the kinds of content you create. Non-verbal communication is just as important as what you say, so everything from your uniforms (if any), your store (including your online store), and the actions of your company outside and inside. Consistency helps customers recognize your brand and therefore helps them trust you and remember you when they need what you’re selling.
A consistent brand image is also important because it helps build a reputation in the eyes of people who see your brand over time. If that reputation isn’t good or doesn’t fit the values and wants of your current target market, improving brand identity is your next important task. Increasingly, especially among younger consumers, value alignment is critical for your success, as you can see below. If your values don’t align with today’s consumers in terms of sustainability, fairness, quality, and other factors consumers expect from their brands, you need to show your values not just change your mission statement.
To ensure a consistent brand image that resonates with your target market, you should consider working with an agency that’s a HubSpot partner. A HubSpot solutions partner pays $400 a month for HubSpot’s support and resources that allow them to stay current with industry best practices and handle all your inbound marketing needs. Through such an agency, you can find quality leads, appeal to potential clients, and use their resources to improve your brand identity.
#2 Develop a clear brand message
Your brand identity is the set of values, beliefs, and personalities your business conveys to customers through all forms of messaging from advertising, to press releases, to social media, to the community you support. It’s a combination of the visual aspects of your business (logo, colors) and how you communicate with your customers.
Your brand identity is not just a logo or color scheme. It’s everything from how you conduct yourself online to what kind of content you share on social media channels. If you want to show your brand in a good light, consider the causes you support and whether you just give them money or do things to support your causes, such as manning the serving line at a soup kitchen.
When developing a clear brand message, the first thing to do is to figure out what type of products or services you sell. A luxury product like high-end beauty products won’t have the same look as an affordable subscription service for pet food.
Then, identify what makes these products unique and what makes them stand out against competitors. By understanding these two elements at the heart of your business model, it will be easier for marketers to develop different types of marketing campaigns that align with those unique qualities.
Next, translate these factors into a consistent brand message remembering that you can’t just spout the same message across all your communication channels. You must adjust your messaging to conform with the platform as well as change up your exact wording over time to avoid burnout. Over time, your target market finds your messaging overly repetitive and either tunes out your message or develops a poor attitude toward your brand because they’re frustrated by hearing the same message over and over again.
#3 Listen to customer feedback
One of the best ways for improving brand identity is by listening to your customers. Customers can tell you what they like about your product and service, and they can also tell you things that need improvement. By listening to these comments, you can identify areas for improvement and make changes to create a better experience for customers.
#4 Implement retargeting
Ad retargeting selectively shows ads on search and social platforms to those who already visited your website. These visitors already have some notion of your brand identity and showed some interest in your brand (otherwise why would they have visited your website). Thus, the conversion rate for these ads is much higher than other ways of targeting users for online advertising. In fact, retargeting ads deliver conversion rates of up to 10% as compared to conversion rates for first-time visitors of only 2%.
Facebook’s ad platform automatically detects if someone has visited your site before using a small snippet of code that’s invisible to visitors (called a Pixel) and serves up more relevant ads for them when they log in to the platform in the future. Google Ads uses the javascript that connects your website to Google Analytics to serve up relevant ads on search.
#5 Establish a strong social media presence
Social media is an essential component of any brand’s identity, and you can use this tactic to build relationships with customers and create content that sets you apart from the competition. There are a variety of ways to use social media for marketing, such as promoting your products or services in posts and creating live videos on platforms like Facebook Live or Instagram Stories. Additionally, social media isn’t just about building awareness about your business. It’s also a great way for companies to connect with their audiences.
Many brands developed loyal followings through social media channels by posting content that engages followers. It’s a more humane approach to acquiring leads and appealing to potential customers.
Conclusion
As with any business venture, brand identity is an ongoing process. The more you invest in your brand, the more valuable it will become. With these tips in mind, you’re on your way to creating a strong brand identity in the digital sphere that can help grow your business as well as expand its reach into new markets.
Need marketing help to support business growth?
We welcome the opportunity to show you how we can make your marketing SIZZLE with our data-driven, results-oriented marketing strategies. Sign up for our FREE newsletter, get our FREE guide to creating an awesome website, or contact us for more information on hiring us.
Hausman and Associates, the publisher of MKT Maven, is a full-service marketing agency operating at the intersection of marketing and digital media. Check out our full range of services.
