Branding Guide
What is Branding?
Your brand marketing (or “branding”) defines who you are and what you do, while also setting you apart from your competition. It emphasizes the unique value that you offer your target customer. It’s the reason they buy from your company specifically. Your brand is communicated through everything your company does, from its color palette and logo to the products, services and promotions it offers.
A strong brand can build trust, credibility, and loyalty among your customers and target audience.
When done right, branding can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness, driving sales, and creating a strong connection with your customers. It can also help you establish your company as an authority in your industry and create a sense of community around your business.
So let’s answer the question of what is brand marketing and explore some brand resources, from reliable tools and branding tips for small businesses to online branding courses you can access right now!
The Keys to Successful Branding
The keys to marketing a brand are consistency and making an emotional connection. Your brand needs to be consistent so that it delivers the same message and customers feel you’re a company they can trust. The emotional connection includes the associations your brand makes in a customer’s mind.
All of this should be communicated through a clear (and consistent) branding guide. Think of this document, which is also known as a style guide, as a companion to your business plan. With your branding guide, anyone, from new hires to vendors you take on, should be able to clearly and quickly understand your company and its identity.
Why Should You Care about Content marketing?
So, is branding even relevant to your business as a marketing strategy? Yes! It isn’t just making things pretty; branding works.
Why Branding Works
Branding works so well because it creates a unique and recognizable identity for your business. Solid branding strategies can help customers identify with your company and create a sense of loyalty. A strong brand can also drive long-term growth for your business and create a sense of community around your company.
Branding is all in their mind
Always remember that brand is in your customers’ mind. It’s not necessarily something about your company, but what your market perceives it to be. Aim to make associations in people’s minds with your company.
This is why people pay money for a Swiss watch, even when their phone can tell the time. The brand in marketing communicates luxury, craftsmanship, and even the culture and history behind the Swiss watch.
Check out these amazing branding stats:
81% of consumers need to a trust a brand to consider buying
Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%
Consumers are 81% more likely to recall a brand’s color than its name
55% of brand first impressions are visual
Brand consistency can increase revenue by 33%. Branding Works!
The benefits of Branding
Your content informs, entertains, engages, helps, and/or answers the questions your customers have. All promotional or sales language is left out of it. The idea is that the customer will use and enjoy your content, which leads to building a relationship with them. Then, when they want what you have to offer, you’ll naturally be their first choice.
Here are the benefits of Content Marketing:
Increased awareness
Your branding efforts will make your business more visible to your target audience, leading to higher brand recognition and awareness.
Competitive Advantage
A unique and effective brand will set your business apart from your competitors and give you an edge in the marketplace.
Customer Loyalty
A strong brand will create an emotional connection with your customers, making them more likely to return to your business.
Emotional Connection
A strong brand in marketing will create an emotional connection with your customers, building trust and loyalty.
Build Authority
A well-crafted brand will position your company as a thought leader in your industry, building credibility and trust among your target audience.
Long-term Business Growth
A well-crafted brand will drive long-term growth for your business by creating a unique brand identity, building trust and credibility, and differentiating you from your competitors.
How does Branding fit into your SMART Marketing Strategy?
- Sales Process
- Message
- Authority
- Relationship Building
- Traffic
– and together, they create a scalable system to consistently grow your business and help you rise above your competition.
Branding is part of each part of your Smart Brand Marketing strategy. It attracts people to your sales process, delivers your message, builds authority, relationships, and trust, and differentiates YOU from your competition.
Is your Marketing SMART? Take the quiz and find out.
Branding Resources
You don’t have to be a designer or brand strategist to create a compelling visual identity with your branding. You also don’t have to be a marketing whiz to create consistent branding that attracts your ideal potential customers.
You can easily create effective branding that creates authority, awareness, loyalty, and sales.
Smart Branding Articles
Avoiding Common Personal Branding Pitfalls: A Guide for Coaches
Personal Branding for coaches is a great way to boost their authority and trust, but there are pitfalls that you must avoid. Learn more here.
How to Market Yourself as an Author: Develop Your Authentic Brand
Learn how to market yourself as an author and create an authentic brand. Get the best tips on writing, publishing, and promoting your work. Start now!
How Do You Brand a Small Business?
Discover how to brand your small business, whether you're established or just getting started with these small business branding tips.
Why is Branding Important for Small Business?
If you want to grow your business, it’s essential to invest in branding. Let's dive into the importance of branding for small businesses!
How to Increase Sales with Personal Branding
You're building a personal brand, whether you like it or not so let's harness that power. Here's how to increase sales with personal branding.
What is Branding Strategy?
You may think your branding is your logo and the colors you use, but it's so much more. Let's break down: exactly what is branding strategy?
Build A Personal Brand With A Blog
You're building a personal brand online whether you like it or not, so why not take control of your personal branding with your blog.
5 Personal Branding Mistakes to Avoid
Personal branding isn't just for influencers it’s a tool everyone can use to get ahead. Here are 5 personal branding mistakes to avoid.
How To Build Your Personal Brand
Are you wanting to connect with and grow your audience? Building your personal brand using the power of storytelling can 10x your efforts. Here are 4 Personal Branding tips to get you started.
Ep. 42 Barber Vs. Dale’s: Business Personality Dual
Business Personality - 2 famous motorcycle museums that are as different as could be & both pull off their individual branding perfectly.
Smart Branding Guides
The Personal Branding Blueprint
Take Control of Your Image Online
If you have any sort of online or public presence, it’s already setting these expectations and creating a reputation for you. As soon as you create a social media profile or publish a blog post, you’re already branding your business unconsciously.
So, why not get ahead of it, get organized, and take charge of what aspects of your personality you show the world with your visual identity? That’s what you’ll start doing as you work your way through this report, and it takes just a few simple steps.
Grab the branding guide and learn the 4 Steps to Your Personal Branding 🚀
The Expert Book Guide
Want to Grow Your Brand with an Expert book but Are not sure where to start?
Learn the simple process to write, edit and self-publish your expert book! It is much easier than it seems!
As a business owner, there’s no better way to elevate your status than to write a book.
With an expert book in hand you will attract your ideal clients (and more of them), charge higher rates, and land more opportunities like speaking, interviews, joint ventures, and much more.
Grab the guide and learn the easy way to write and publish your expert book 🚀
Branding For Small Businesses
These branding tools will help you stay on track (because we could all use a little help with that), and with automation, they will save you time, money, and perhaps a little sanity in the crazy entrepreneurial world.
If you’re ready to begin branding your business, you’re going to love these tools!
Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create original brand elements, including social media images, blog graphics, flyers and more.
Communicating your message consistently is key to your branding. Use Kartra to send emails, promote products, and automate your sales process.
Automate your social media and stay consistent with your brand message using Zoho’s suite of tools.
Sound like a pro in every piece of written content! Grammarly corrects your spelling, grammar, tone, and more to better align with your branding guide.
There is no one right tool for every business. Similarly, there is no one right way to approach branding for small businesses. Read more about our branding tips for small businesses.
Branding Videos
“If you’re ready to get serious about getting more people to your business, then you’re in the right place. I’ve helped thousands of business owners add content marketing to their Smart Marketing Strategy. I’m here to break down the steps and give you the tools you need to make it easy and effective. Let’s get smart! Let’s dive into Branding.”
Torie Mathis
Your Smart Marketing Coach
Online Branding Courses
Learn about the ins and outs of reliable marketing from an expert you trust. Explore our branding course catalog!
Want some Hands-On Help with Branding?
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