Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, IKEA, and Nike all have strong branding. No matter where you are in the world, you can recognize these brands from afar. You know what to expect when you come across these brands, whether it’s a physical destination, social platform, or online advertising. Of course, these brands didn’t come out of the gate with strong branding. They developed it over time while responding to consumer feedback and adapting to the modern world.
Strong branding helps you stand out in a crowd. This is particularly important today as new players are entering the market every day, looking to capture the attention of your audience. But branding is more than just creating a spiffy logo; it’s about forming a relationship with your customers, and establishing expertise and trust. But how do you go about building a strong brand within your field? Keep reading to find out.
1. Improve Your SEO
Consumers won’t know about your brand if they can’t find it. To be successful online today, you need to be ranking on the first page of a search engine result page, and ideally, your site should be positioned near the top. This requires having a strong search engine optimization strategy in place. Improving your current SEO tactics may mean updating older content, ensuring it’s relevant and newsworthy to readers today. It may also require you to add or edit current titles, metadata, descriptions, and keywords.
Depending on your industry, you may want to recruit the help of a marketing firm specializing in your field to assist with these SEO-driven updates. For example, digital marketing for law firms is very different from marketing for a food and beverage company. Hiring experts within your specific industry means you’re taking advantage of industry expertise, tapping into their extensive knowledge base. An agency can provide guidance on which keywords to rank on, which helps boost your brand’s online presence.
2. Build an Intriguing Brand Story
People remember stories more than facts and stats because they convey brand messages more directly than a listicle of information. Stories also help form an emotional tie or connection between the brand and the intended consumers. It’s a way to humanize your brand, build trust, and differentiate your brand from others in the market.
Your brand story should be unique to your business, and it should highlight pertinent facts as well as your overall mission statement. If your CEO or founder has an intriguing story relating to your brand, this is the place to share it. It should also weave in some of your brand’s personality, whether that’s energetic and fun or canny and insightful. Work with your marketing team to refine and edit your brand story. Again, you want it to be memorable, so avoid throwing in too many unnecessary details and stick to the main points.
3. Craft a Positive Brand Image
How you’re perceived matters. Your brand image is more than just the striking colors you use on your website. It’s the various associations that consumers feel when they come across their brand. Every interaction consumers have should be consistent with your values and your overall ethos. They should know what to expect from you when they open your e-newsletter or when they come across one of your Instagram posts.
A positive brand image can generate instant recognition. You can almost immediately tell the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. But it’s more than just how the brand looks; it’s also about the emotional reactions consumers begin to form with your brand. Coca-Cola is known for being classic, refreshing, and nostalgic because that’s the brand image they’ve intentionally presented over the years. People who buy Coca-Cola products want to be tied to these emotional feelings, which is why the beverage company has remained a leader in the field.
4. Be Authentic
Being authentic is of the utmost importance to brands looking to dominate a specific industry. Research shows that 86% of consumers say authenticity is a key deciding factor when it comes to deciding which business to shop with. Saying you’re authentic without backing it up can be problematic. You need to align your intent with your actions, following through on your promises and showing customers you care about their concerns. Doing so will give consumers a sense of confidence in your brand.
Authenticity starts with being transparent. Don’t oversell your offerings just to secure a sale, but rather highlight what the product or service can do for the intended purchaser. Keep your messaging consistent across all of your channels and align it with your mission and vision.
Also, be attuned to your customer’s needs by reading their reviews and responding to their social media comments. Offer to fix any issues and explain what caused them, if you can. Owning up to mistakes can help set you apart and make your brand more human. Keep in mind, authenticity is a long-term strategy that can lead to an increase in a brand’s overall equity and reliability.
Conclusion
Having a strong brand is important for establishing a solid reputation. It’s a way to build trust with consumers, further solidifying the relationship between brand and consumer. And the more positive relationships you have with consumers, the better long-term retention you’ll have. No matter the size of your company or how long you’ve been in business, working on your branding can have a significant impact on your success.