Building a brand identity doesn’t look all that different from building your personal identity. You probably have a certain style you wear, choosing a more conservative or daring approach to your clothing and hairstyle. Maybe you even have some signature phrases you say. You might tend to be sarcastic, contemplative or soft-spoken.
Your brand identity is a lot like a personal identity. Think of your brand identity as what your brand would be like if it were a person. Would they wear muted, conservative clothes, or would they announce their presence in neon colors and flashing lights? Maybe they would talk in a joking tone all of the time or ask a lot of engaging questions.
What would your brand be like as a person? Building a brand identity is an ongoing process, but to get yourself started, here are a few considerations:
Consistency is Key
Let’s go back to thinking about your personal brand. If you always wore cardigans and loafers to work, day after day, and then one day you turned up in overalls and Converse, you’d probably turn some heads. People would probably want to know if you were taking a personal casual day or if you planned to do some physical labor after office hours.
It’s the same with your brand. No matter what color scheme, font style, voice and tone you choose, it’s important to commit to it. It requires buy-in from your entire organization.
It Takes Some Time
You didn’t decide you were a cardigan-wearing, loafer kind of person overnight. In order to establish an authentic brand identity, you need to dig deep to determine who you are as a brand.
That means understanding your company values, what differentiates you from competitors and what unique value you offer to customers. Your identity will begin to emerge.
It’s Much More than a Logo
Your brand identity may immediately bring to mind your logo, and it’s true that your logo is an important element of your identity. But it’s also the voice you use when you write a blog, the look of the images and video on your website and the consistent color scheme you use across everything you do.
Your brand identity is what causes your customers to instantly recognize a social post or a landing page that was created by your company. That won’t happen overnight, but it may come over time.
Have a Rollout Plan
If you’re working on big branding changes, such as updating your logo or choosing a new color scheme, you need a strategy for the switch. Help your employees and your customers connect with the new look and feel by including them in the process. This can look a lot of different ways, from simply communicating the reasons for your change in a customer letter or holding a kick-off event with promotions and giveaways at an open house.
Good luck establishing your brand identity, and be sure to follow us on all our socials, and the daily podcast for more useful tips like this one to help you grow your business.
