The success of a business can be based on the uniqueness of their branding. The aim of a business is to make profits right? Well take that with the fact that people all over the world are loyal to a particular business or organization, BECAUSE of their branding. The business and brand are one entity. The two must be a blend of creativity and innovation. Now how do you use this branding to promote your business.
The Great Connection between Branding and Marketing Efforts
Have you ever noticed the connection between marketing and branding? Your marketing should be the means to promoting your brand in the hope of reaching an end goal. This end goal is usually to increase sales or grow your leads. Let’s go into the specifics of both branding and marketing.
What is Branding?
Branding is where a business or organization creates a visual representation of themselves, including logo design, brand colors, font, social media creatives, website development, business cards and more . This can be done to form a unique picture in the minds of the customers. Branding focuses on establishing a distinguished presence in the market to retain clients’ loyalty. There are some brands that are instantly recognizable, for example the golden arches of McDonalds or the apple of well, Apple.
A brand can be a mixture of images, names, icons, symbols, colors and fonts. The combination of these create an overall image that is used to represent the business or organization.
A brand can be a mixture of images, names, icons, symbols, colors and fonts. The combination of these create an overall image that is used to represent the business or organization.
What does Branding Entail?
● Brand Name: Fairly straight forward, this consists of a letter, word, or the combination of all these.
● Brand Mark: This appears in the form of shape, symbol, logo, design, or unique coloring which can be identified in a website, a page, or a blog.
● Brand Mark: This appears in the form of shape, symbol, logo, design, or unique coloring which can be identified in a website, a page, or a blog.
More about Marketing
You need to understand that branding and content complement each other in marketing. Marketing is all about building a process of creating relationships with and satisfying customers. With its focus on the customer, marketing is one of the most important components of all the business activities. It is the chance to show the world who you are as a business. Although your marketing activities may change, your brand shouldn’t change if you make it right!
Whether you’re focusing on digital or traditional marketing, your branding should always be the center of your marketing strategy. Whether that’s sticking to a particular font and writing style for your content or using a color scheme on your website!
With a successful combined brand and marketing effort you should be able to effectively communicate with your audience with quality and transparency. Marketing can target different people with your products and services. With potentially many groups, a strong brand will make you recognizable across different groups.
Your brand is also the best way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. None wants to be caught in a crowded marketing with nothing to make them stand out. So how do you start with creating a unique brand.
Whether you’re focusing on digital or traditional marketing, your branding should always be the center of your marketing strategy. Whether that’s sticking to a particular font and writing style for your content or using a color scheme on your website!
With a successful combined brand and marketing effort you should be able to effectively communicate with your audience with quality and transparency. Marketing can target different people with your products and services. With potentially many groups, a strong brand will make you recognizable across different groups.
Your brand is also the best way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. None wants to be caught in a crowded marketing with nothing to make them stand out. So how do you start with creating a unique brand.
Best Color Combinations that You Can Use for your Business
Coming up with the excellent color combinations will help you skyrocket your business. By knowing which colors work together and what they can mean, you can choose an aesthetically pleasing combination which reflects your business ideology. If you want to attract a lot of people to your business, color can be one way to catch their eye.
One color is not ideal for a brand you should always have one main color with one or two supporting colors. The best situation is knowing which 2 or 3 colors work together when combined. These colors are really important, as we become more visually inclined, they will be the main identifiers along with your logo.
Your marketing strategy as well as your brand identity include a number of different aspects: social media, website, emails, content and product. Each of these elements should include some part of the color combination you have chosen. It could be as simple as a border on a picture or your logo at the bottom of the email.
Websites are the home for your business and your brand. It should reflect your style both in layout and color. Using a block layout creates an easy to read website. It also allows for images and colors to be used. Keeping the CTA’s clear yet colorful and enticing is really important.
One color is not ideal for a brand you should always have one main color with one or two supporting colors. The best situation is knowing which 2 or 3 colors work together when combined. These colors are really important, as we become more visually inclined, they will be the main identifiers along with your logo.
Your marketing strategy as well as your brand identity include a number of different aspects: social media, website, emails, content and product. Each of these elements should include some part of the color combination you have chosen. It could be as simple as a border on a picture or your logo at the bottom of the email.
Websites are the home for your business and your brand. It should reflect your style both in layout and color. Using a block layout creates an easy to read website. It also allows for images and colors to be used. Keeping the CTA’s clear yet colorful and enticing is really important.
Let's talk about Logos
In the grand scheme of branding, logos are some of the most crucial elements. Too basic and it’ll fade into the crowded market, too fussy and people won’t want to look at it. It can be hard to pick a logo that reflects your brand without being a direct copy of something you sell. For example, Mercedes Benz have a silver wheel with three spokes for their logo, this makes sense because it looks like a wheel of a car, yet it is discreet enough that it doesn’t scream car company.
If you find the right balance your logo can be recognizable but also a promoter of your company. As was mentioned earlier, logos and branding should be used throughout your marketing efforts. If you make your Logo both distinct and popular you can get people to want to share it. That could be as simple as wearing a specific clothing brand with a strong logo or sharing a post on social media.
Changing logos to show support for a charity or political movement has been used by some of the biggest companies. Take Lacoste, who have added endangered animals and used them for special edition logos to raise awareness for the environment. Or Apple who took their apple and made is a rainbow during Pride celebrations. This type of marketing is great for showing that your business cares about society.
If you find the right balance your logo can be recognizable but also a promoter of your company. As was mentioned earlier, logos and branding should be used throughout your marketing efforts. If you make your Logo both distinct and popular you can get people to want to share it. That could be as simple as wearing a specific clothing brand with a strong logo or sharing a post on social media.
Changing logos to show support for a charity or political movement has been used by some of the biggest companies. Take Lacoste, who have added endangered animals and used them for special edition logos to raise awareness for the environment. Or Apple who took their apple and made is a rainbow during Pride celebrations. This type of marketing is great for showing that your business cares about society.
Fonts and Name go hand in hand
Long gone are the days of size 12, times new roman text. Today businesses use their own font both in their name and their marketing effort. These fonts need to reflect the nature of the business and be clear enough to read. Nothing is worse than barely being able to read what is written. So, make sure when you’re picking a font that you can read it both on desktop and mobile, most content is consumed on a phone now so be aware of marketing trends!
To pick a font for your brand name and logo you need to consider what type of company you are. If you’re a luxury, high quality, premium business you want a font to match that. It should be elegant and probably a bit on the smaller side. Or if you want to market to kids it should be big bubble writing. You know your business best so making the right decision should be easy.
Content Marketing is a must for business. Blogs, videos and images are great for communicating to your audience. Blogs should be written with your chosen text, as should any in video text you use. Images should come with a caption that also reflects the style of your business. Essentially though every piece of content, people should be able to recognize that it is a match.
Wouldn’t it be strange is a luxury brand made a video about how cheap you can buy their products second hand? Keep your brand at the forefront of your mind when undertaking content and you won’t go wrong!
To pick a font for your brand name and logo you need to consider what type of company you are. If you’re a luxury, high quality, premium business you want a font to match that. It should be elegant and probably a bit on the smaller side. Or if you want to market to kids it should be big bubble writing. You know your business best so making the right decision should be easy.
Content Marketing is a must for business. Blogs, videos and images are great for communicating to your audience. Blogs should be written with your chosen text, as should any in video text you use. Images should come with a caption that also reflects the style of your business. Essentially though every piece of content, people should be able to recognize that it is a match.
Wouldn’t it be strange is a luxury brand made a video about how cheap you can buy their products second hand? Keep your brand at the forefront of your mind when undertaking content and you won’t go wrong!
Some branding examples for you
Now that we have established that marketing is who you are and that marketing is how you convey that, let’s take a look at some of the best examples of how brands and marketing go together;
This brand has always been conscientious for human rights. Featuring many campaigns promoting the LGBT+ community. This brand has perfectly executed global domination and are a great example of using their power for the greater good.
The Kardashians
Love them of hate them, the Kardashian Family have built an empire around their brand. What brand you might ask, they are all about their bodies, their strong family values and love of things. They use their social media to target their market and sell them their latest products. They have multiple websites and apps. They keep up with marketing trends because they also help to set them.Coca Cola
Everyone knows this brand. Hailing from humble beginnings to know being a powerhouse of the beverage world. Their logo has been used in the world of fashion, sport and surprisingly politics.This brand has always been conscientious for human rights. Featuring many campaigns promoting the LGBT+ community. This brand has perfectly executed global domination and are a great example of using their power for the greater good.
Nike
Nike is one of the brands who have mastered the art of storytelling. In recent times Nike have focused their efforts on inspiring audiences through their advertisements. Using iconic sports stars such as Serena Williams and Colin Kaepernick. They know they don’t have to sell their products, so they decided to sell a dream. Their infamous Nike tick is world renowned; they are innovative and a great brand.Final Thoughts About Branding Principles and Benefits.
A quick little recap, branding is fundamental to the success of a company or organization. You shouldn't choose between branding and growth marketing, you want to find the right balance between both. A logo, name and font can make your business instantly recognizable when properly integrated into your marketing campaign. This doesn’t have to be forceful, by being consistent with your messaging the two can work together in perfect harmony!Growth Hackers is a reputable branding agency helping businesses build their brand identity, design their logos, find the right brand voice and address the right message to their audience. In fact, Growth Hackers has been selected as one of the best brand strategy companies. We don't stop to just branding. Once the brand is built, we will start working on your overall growth strategy. We will study your market, your products, your competitors and your buyer personas to come up with a foolproof marketing strategy. Not only we'll create a strategy and a plan of actions for you, we will also execute the plan for you whether it's social media, content marketing, advertising, copywriting, lead generation or else. We have a team of experts in their fields to make your brand a success. Send Growth Hackers a message if business growth and success is what you're looking for.
Claire Newton
I am currently working as a Marketing Executive at Design Wizard. I am passionate about creating amazing content and bringing people together. My job is to create leads and convert them to customers, through targeted personalized content. Having recently graduated with my master’s degree in marketing, I am keen to impact the digital world. Outside of work you can catch me taking photos of her rescue dog Storm and checking out social media.
1 Comment
Love what you said about “Understanding Branding – How to Coordinate your Brand with your Marketing Efforts”
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keep sharing.
cheers.