Branding in thE Modern Age

In today’s world, branding has become more than just a company logo and a name. A strong brand is dynamic and requires a push along many platforms, such as billboards, social media and packaging. A brand is now the overall identity of a company and the perception of that company in the marketplace. Today branding is considered an art – the art of creating a company’s identity and reputation.   

Defining Your Brand

A marketer will get your brand defined by digging into many aspects of your company. They will need to find out what your mission is. They will list out the benefits of your products or services as well as the individual and desirable features. They will research and find out what your current customers already think about your company. They will compile a lot of data in order to help them work out how to build your brand effectively.

Building of Your Brand

Building a brand starts out by creating a symbol, name and design that will identify and differentiate your service or product from all the others out there. As the market gets more and more competitive, it is vital to have an effective brand strategy. The logo, words, the design of everything, the company vision and the people involved all have to export the same message. That takes a coordinated effort and in-depth planning to build the brand that has your customers or clients trusting the quality of what you offer.

Brand Marketing

Once you have everything lined up as far as your brand, it is time to market it. This means promoting your services or products in a way that showcases your brand. The whole plan is to take your values, personality and identity and communicate them to your audience. Your brand marketing needs both short-term and long-term goals which will impact your business. Brand marketing is all about communication in as many ways as possible with as many of your potential audiences as possible.

Communication is the Key

To market your brand, communication is the key. You are going to have to have your brand out there in every different form across different mediums. Marketing folks have studied these strategies for years, usually, and also have to stay up-to-date as technology is always rapidly changing. Marketers also have ways of getting feedback so they can do any changes to the plan in order to improve results. Communication is optimally two-way.

Advertising, distribution channels and anything visually or verbally relating to your company should all be part of your brand strategy. These are all different forms of communication. The same applies to how your phones are answered, your email signatures, and even what your salespeople wear when out on the job. Marketers won’t dictate that, but you will be able to figure it out once you have your brand established and the plan in operation.

Consistency

Consistency is an important part of building awareness and trust in your online identity. Online marketing helps create that aspect of trust from your audience by having a brand consistency. With a unified image that people see, you will be building credibility and authority. This includes all videos and photographs published that promote your brand.

Added Value from a Brand

Companies with powerful brand equity can charge more for their products or services. When you work with a consistent and strategic plan for branding, you will end up with a strong brand equity, meaning added value and the ability to charge more. An example is Coca-Cola. They can get a higher price for their drink than the generic brands which are prevalent, due to strong brand equity.

Tips a Professional Marketer Relies On

There are points a professional marketer relies on to get your branding done right. These are just random tips that can and should be used.

• Creating a voice (friendly, conversational, or formal?) for the company that reflects the brand
• Developing a tagline which captures the essence of the brand
• Designing marketing materials which are consistent throughout

Branding in this modern age has changed drastically from earlier days, with technology making more things possible on all fronts. Someone who knows the ins and outs of marketing can help a company build a brand and potentially become more popular than they ever imagined.