Branding 101: What Does Branding Mean?

This is a topic I’ve covered before, but it is one worth repeating. If you take away two things from this blog, know that (1) branding is not your logo and (2) branding is not your marketing.

Let’s dive into these a little.

Branding is defining who you are as an organization and creating a lasting connection with customers and potential customers. Branding is the story you are and how you make customers feel. It is how you are communicating this story with tone/voice, fonts, colors, graphic, and more. How you present your brand through your website, print materials, and social media should be uniform and reflect the values of your business. This will help people understand who you are, what you do, and why they should do business with you.

Why do you need a brand?

Branding is essential for all organizations, big and small, because it give the organization value and sets you apart from competitors. Branding will provide a cohesive look, while establishing creditability with customers.  If you are running a business, from an Etsy shop to a Fortune 500 company, you need branding.

How do you create the perfect brand?

Branding takes time and it more than liking certain colors. You really need to know who you are and what you want to say to current and potential customers. To figure out your branding, you need to answer a few questions such as:

• Who are you?
• What do you stand for?
• What do you do?
• What makes your different from your competitors?

These answers will be a part of your story and with your story, you will be able to develop your branding. You will need a logo, alternative logos, a color palette, and more. I’ll get more into that in a later blog, but remember, branding is more than a logo. It is also more than just a logo and pretty colors.

Consider your tagline. What about coordinating materials to help support your story, such as patterns and icons? Have it all in place. Have it somewhere you can reference it often – a Branding Style Guide, a collateral Trello board. Make sure everyone in your organization knows how to use the branding properly.

Once you have your branding in place, you will use it everywhere. You worked hard to perfect the branding that reflects your organization, so make sure you are putting it to use on all your materials.

Start with your website. If you have an established website, make sure you update it to reflect your brand and story. Put it on your print materials – business cards, flyers, stationary. Also think about where people see you: emails, social media, and digital advertisements. Make sure it all reflects your brand correctly. Build that creditability with your customers everywhere they see you.

Marketing + Branding

Wait, branding is not my marketing? Nope.

• Marketing gets attention, while branding makes a connection.
• Marketing is necessary to grow profits and sales. Branding helps build a loyal customer base and following.
• You need a clear, defined brand to do smart marketing, otherwise you may be missing the mark on your messaging and building a relationship with customers.
• Marketing will change quicker with technology and different strategies. Branding is consistent and will slowly evolve with your organization.