Building Your Brand Online

 What is branding? And should your small business be doing it? The short answer: yes! In some ways, you probably already are branding. You may not even realize it.
 
Ultimately branding is something that triggers associations in our minds. It’s about creating an identity, an awareness of your organization. Branding builds trust and credibility. It’s what can set your company apart from a competitor. It tells us what to expect from that company. But when it really comes right down to it, branding is about the perception your consumers, your fans may have of your company. That perception may not be the same one you have. That’s why building a consistent brand is so important.  You want to create the same image you have of your company in your fans’ and consumers’ minds.
 
It sounds pretty easy? Right? With a brand strategy, you’ll be well on your way to building a consistent brand online. Here are a few elements that are important to every brand strategy.

• Define your target audience. Who do you serve offline? Who is connecting with you online (hint: check those analytics on Facebook, your website, etc.)? The content you create or curate should be content that resonates with those following you.
• Determine your brand’s promise. And deliver on it. Who are you? What do you promise to deliver?
• Create your brand’s personality. Are you funny? Serious? Educational? You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can come up with a personality that fits your organization and the message or product you deliver.
• Develop a visual style. Be consistent. Your visual identity is typically the first thing a customer will notice. As humans we are visual beings. When we are talking about your company’s visual style, think about your logo, the type of images you use to promote your business, your colors. It includes your cover photos, profile photos, videos, the way your ads look and the look and feel of your website. Are they consistent? Do they look like they belong to your brand? If someone were to glance at the image, would they be able to guess that it belonged to your organization? Sit down, think about these elements and develop a brand style.
• Develop your voice. Use it. Every time.  Your company’s voice should almost be like a person’s. It should sound like your company—not like several different companies. All of your content should reflect that voice—ads, brochures, your website, your tagline, your Facebook posts, video scripts, social hash tags, your blogs. Do you get the pictures?

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TIP: Often times it’s easiest to develop a voice as a small business when you have one person who developing that content or just a couple working together!

Above all when developing your brand, I can’t stress enough the importance of being consistent—from the look of your company to the way your company communicates!
 
Of course branding alone won’t get you results, but it is an important element of getting your company online.
 
If you’re interested in developing your company’s brand, see how Impressions by Chelsea Lund can help! ​​