Re-evaluate how you use the term “brand” and how to make it effective.
Guest Post: Meredith Gaston of ConfidentBrands.co
What is Branding?
You may have noticed that the term “brand” or “branding” has been thrown around to mean so many different things. It could mean a trademark, a logo, a product, or a service – it could even mean my left shoe.
Since “brand” is a flexible term to describe so many tangible and intangible things, let me walk you through some of the most important tangible terms used for “brand” or “branding.”
Understanding each term will help you position your organization in a more effective way.
Brand (as an Organization)
Everything your organization offers and the way in which you do it.
Whatever your organization does represents the entirety of your brand. Whether it is great customer service, doing things fast, the way you market yourself, or who you hire, you are setting a standard and expectation of how your brand interacts with others.
For example, a few years ago the ceo of Netflix realized how vital a defined company culture was to his rapidly growing organization and he needed to structure it. They were (dare I say) the first company to implement some common things we are familiar with now in start ups. Things like unlimited time off, encourages you to be a better version of yourself, and challenges each individual to retrain or upskill their work. Their culture slide deck went viral because it was so different from other organizations. Ultimately their culture grew brand awareness.
To give a more indepth understanding, here is a brief snippet of how Process.St covered the topic:
“Netflix doesn’t do bonuses. They don’t do formal reviews and they don’t do staff training.
Instead, their HR practices involve heavily scrutinizing employees’ skills and capabilities, and ruthlessly firing them for being good, not great.
But, despite these seemingly harsh HR practices, 71% of Netflix employees would encourage their friends to become co-workers. They’re officially the best place in the world to work (even beating the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple). Their employee turnover is only 11% a year, which is below the 13% annual average for tech companies. They’ve maintained a voluntary attrition rate of 3-4% over the last two years, and they make around $2 million per employee.
“Netflix has not only captivated the attention of its customers around the world, but also continues to grow its reputation…” – Forbes”
Process.St
Their organization, as a brand, is deeply rooted in who the company is and is thus a huge part of their brand and reputation.
Branding (as visual identity)
Anything that visually represents your organization.
This could be your logo, style guide, website, social media or branding photos. Anything that will catch the eye of your target audience. Having the right visuals in place will make your brand stand out to your target audience.
- Pro Tip: Let’s clarify this a little further. A visual identity is more than just a logo. It is your unique style that wraps your audience up in a feeling that represents your brand. This is probably one of the most important elements of your brand because visuals are how most people experience your brand. Visuals say a lot about a person or brand, and like it or not, people will judge if your product or service is right for them based on the first impression and continuous engagement they feel through visuals.
This could be a logo, style guide (fonts, colors, style, display), images, photography, how you display an image.
Branding (content, tone, and voice)
You may have heard the phrase, “content is king,” because it really is.
Visuals are how you may attract and continuously engage someone with your organization or instantly feel connected to your brand, but content is what grounds your audience with true understanding. Content solidifies trust and build upon your brand authority. The words you choose will tell someone if you are casual or formal, bold or soft, analytical or silly. It verbally connects you to your audience and serves as a guide on how they interact with you.
Wendy’s is a great example of this. Their social media (especially on Twitter) proved to show tons of personality in their tweets and branded their organization as the first lady of roasts, sassy remaks, and comment comebacks. Their tone and voice was casual, snarky, and entertaining.
Let’s wrap this up.
These are only a few branding terms that your audience can tangibly interact with. But maybe you’re asking what is branding – really?
Let me break it down.
“Brand is anyone or anything that represents your organization’s reputation. It is how you come across your audience. It is how they experience what you offer.” – Meredith Gaston
Now that we’ve defined some of the most important tangible terms used for branding, let’s talk about what actually makes your brand stand out – the intangible value placed on your brand.
How to make your brand stand out:
Mindset
The mindset you have on your brand is what is either setting you apart or holding you back. If you think that your brand is not good enough, then you’re right. You will never achieve the level brand recognition you really want. Build your confidence and level up your mindset. It will make all the difference in your approach to your work and who you support.
Shaping your mindset to reflect the brand you want to be won’t only improve you, but your offerings, services, care, and clients will see the difference as well. Your mindset alone can set you apart from everyone else. It is the true magic of your brand.
Here are some ways you can shape a strong mindset around your brand right now:
- Invest in yourself and your organization. Set a clear expectation of what you want your brand to be, how you want it to make people feel, the experience you want to take people through.
- Set realistic goals with the services and products you want to offer. Ask current and previous clients what could be improved with their experience.
- Find podcasts, books, and social media accounts of organizations you want to be like to expand the way you are thinking.
Your mindset will make all the difference in your brand.
Consistency
Keep your brand consistent on all media types will really make your stand out as an expert in your field and truly help you show that you have a clear and relatable brand.
Here are two areas of brand consistency that you can master right now:
- Consistent Branding – make sure your logo and overall style looks similar on all digital platforms and print pieces. If things begin to feel tired, go ahead and update them!
- Consistent Elevator Pitch – when you talk about your organization or your position, is it always different? Take some time to craft a well thought out elevator pitch that clearly shows that main problem you solve for your audience. It should be said in just a brief sentence or two. As a working mom, I like to say keep it short enough before a toddler could interrupts you ;).
Pro Tip: Too many people get caught up in having a perfect brand that it stops them from moving forward and their business, product, or service never gets launched. Our approach is to launch now and refine as you go. Your organization will continue to adapt and grow over time and so will your brand. Start now, even if it feels messy, and you’ll start making sense of what feels right for your brand.
Here are some great ways to get started with your visual identity if you’re just starting out or need to refresh your visual brand:
- Logo and visual identity – try ConfidentBrands.co
- Brand photography – try Jo+Co
- Website updates
- Tshirts, business cards, and merchandise
Customer Journey
Make your brand stand out with an easy interaction with your customer journey. The best brand experiences reaches the right audience and guides them to solve their problem.
You need to be clear about the problem you solve and how to access your offer as soon as someone interacts with your brand (via social media, website, in-person, etc.).
Here are some steps you can clarify to align your customer journey and brand experience:
- Know who your audience is.
- What is their problem and how can they solve
- Create an offer that pinpoints their problem.
- Did your offer actually solve the problem?
- How was their customer experience? – Ask yourself what does a 3-star experience look like for your brand? What does a 5-star or even a 6-star experience look like?
- What are you doing to serve your customers before, during, and after their experience?
- Is this clear on your website, and marketing materials? Do you consistently offer this in the same way?
- Is your main call to action hard to complete?
- How does your solution make them feel?
- Is your customer journey trackable?
Developing these answers will allow you to stand out and serve your audience even better.
Positioning
This really takes the cake when it comes to making your brand stand out. Positioning your brand can be used in so many different ways. It all comes down to reaching your target audience in the right way through marketing, and that goes into every little thing you do. Positioning could be how you talk about your organization to the press, the way you feature your offer and the way you don’t. It is the brand style you have and how you use it throughout your organization. You may need to exercise how you position yourself and explore some different ways of doing this, but do it with the intention to reach the right audience, rather than the areas of marketing you enjoy.
Conclusion
Branding makes your organization impactful and builds a connection between you and your audience in tangible and intangible ways. Pay attention to the ways you are coming across to your audience and find ways to connect with them even better – you got this!
Be a Confident Brand
Every day someone is experiencing you for the first time – make the most of it.
Whether you are looking to update your visual identity (logo and style) or want some marketing help, I would love to serve you. Learn more by emailing me at hello@confidentbrands.co
Be a Confident Brand with ConfidentBrands.co
Meredith Gaston
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