With the ever present influence of the Internet and the increasing popularity of social media, we’re all bombarded with images, advertising and a myriad of other information on a daily basis.

If you’re in the early days of your business, or you’re thinking of starting one, you’ll understand the importance of being noticed and standing out from the crowd to get your message across. Brand Strategist at Indoka Creative, Cindy Maléombho – Codo, shares her top branding tips on what to consider when you are developing your brand.

Many people often think of branding as being simply the logo, the beautiful website and maybe fancy business cards. As a consequence, they miss the opportunity to fully develop and define their brand properly. Here are 10 branding tips that you should think about and adopt to help you connect better with your customers and ultimately make more sales.

 

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1. Know your why

Every business has a story; it is a matter of finding and articulating what yours is. Go back to the ‘why’ of your business. What is its purpose? Why are you so passionate about it? What milestones have you accomplished so far? Take some time to reflect on this; it’s the pillar of everything. Knowing your ‘why’ will give you, your employees, and your customers a better understanding of your story and a way to rally behind your cause.

 

2. Define your values

Businesses tend to set their values in a business context and forget that people buy people, not things. Try bringing out the human element of your brand. What do you believe in? What differences are you making in this world?

 

3. Determine your ideal customer

When you understand your ‘why’ and have determined your values, it is time to identify your ideal client. To brand effectively, you must know your customer, who you are selling to. Knowing your customer is extremely important for your business as that will influence how you strategically market yourself, and connect on a more intimate level, with your client.

 

4. Find your special sauce

They say there is nothing new under the sun. Ideas are two a penny! We can have similar ideas and even the same idea, but it’s the way these ideas are executed and delivered that matters. You’re the only one who can execute and deliver your idea the way you can; no one else but you can do it your way. Find a way to articulate how you do this.

 

5. Uncover your personality

Now that you know who your ideal customer is, you need to create or uncover a personality that they will respond to. Uncovering your brand personality will enable you to connect and converse with your prospective client in a familiar and trusted way. According to Gustav Jung, there are twelve different archetypes: the hero, the orphan, the innocent, the caregiver, the explorer, the rebel, the lover, the creator, the jester, the sage, the magician, and the ruler. Which archetype best describes your brand?

 

6. Determine your voice

After uncovering your personality, you need to find your voice. The way you talk to your customers must be tied to your story. With experience, we noticed that there are three types of voices. Proper: formal and informative; Casual: down to earth and friendly and Authoritative: Distinct and disruptive. Which voice best aligns with your brand?

 

7. Be yourself

The truer to yourself that you are, the more you’ll notice that you’ll repel some people and that’s completely normal. Not everybody will be attracted to you and your brand. What you want is to attract the right people. These ideal clients are the ones who will be rooting for you and ultimately buy from you.

 

8. Package yourself

Once you’ve gone through all the main elements of a stronger brand building you can start thinking about your visuals. How do you want to be seen (e.g. your logo, business cards, etc.) Do you want to be playful and bold with lots of vibrant colours or do you prefer to be minimalist? When choosing your visual elements, take into account all of the previous points. It’s important that you remain consistent with your brand story.

 

9. Provide value

Many brands make the mistake of only promoting their products or services and tend to forget that people crave connection. You shouldn’t expect a sale if you have not provided any additional value to your customers. So what extra value do you provide your clients and how do you convey and share that with them on a consistent basis?

 

10. Be and stay consistent

People crave consistency. You need to make it a goal to stay consistent. Are all your social media profile images the same? Is your online voice consistent in all your social media channels as well as your marketing collaterals? Are you posting your information consistently throughout the week? People like consistency so give it to them on a silver platter.

 branding tipsBranding can be intimidating at first, but it does not have to be. To help you get started on your brand clarity process, you can follow the link for a free checklist for you to use as a blueprint.


This article was written by Cindy Maléombho – Codo Brand Strategist at Indoka Creative. She helps African and Multicultural Creative Entrepreneurs and Brands, market, style, and brand their businesses online.

Contact Cindy via her Plantain & Champagne blog.

Stock image credits: www.123rf.com

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