You spend so much time curating and developing your content don’t forget to brand it for maximum profit and growth for your company!

My Aunt used to say “there are teachers and there are teachers” – meaning that there are people who are educated and qualified to teach but there are others who are not only qualified but their whole life purpose is to impart learning and development onto their pupils.

This same principle applies to brands. “There are brands and then, there are brands”

When people think of a brand traditionally, they think of:

• Company Name
• Logo
• Colour schemes
• Slogans
• Fonts

Some people see branding as a list of items to check off a list to make it so. On the other hand, there are brands that are so intentional and so well thought out,  you can’t help but give them your attention. 

Attention is a newly minted currency.

How you build your branding will determine the monetary value you are giving it. Now, before we start to talk about the tools needed to build an impactful brand, we need to talk about the strategy, at least briefly. Tools without a plan will lead to an ineffective brand like an unevenly built table.

There are many other things to consider about creating a brand but the following two things are a great starting point. So let’s jump right in!

1. The number one thing to keep in mind is that we are all in the service industry and you need to consider or reconsider your customers.

• Who are they?
• What do they like?
• What do they dislike?
• Why should I matter to them?
• Why do they matter to me?

There is no plugin that is going to do this for you.

This research is crucial to the development of your brand. A brand is so much more than just one idea, it is a compilation of ideas and research. The further you dig down deep and find what makes the gears turn in your audience, the more you begin to understand how you fit into their lives and what you need to execute to matter to them.

Don’t forget – your audience is the star of the equation. There is no business without an audience, no brand without awareness. Finding that connection to bridge that gap is the difference between a brand with a strategy and one without. Strategy is not just a method of operations, strategy implies calculation, and perspective.

2. The next point to keep in mind is to establish your goals from the beginning

Your goals are found at the intersection of customer research, your product or service offering. Where do these pieces fit well? Where is the natural progression? This will help shape the language and tone of your branding. Having your goals set early on will help align your efforts across platforms later on.

Entrepreneurs often don’t develop goals because everything sounds good and they would like all those KPIs, but finding the primary metric or goals greatly helps weed out distraction and wasted energy.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve consulted with a brand only to tell them the age-old adage “do less and do it better.” 

Are you looking to PRIMARILY:

• Increase return sales?
• Acquire new customers?
• Gain referrals clients?
• Be able to charge more premium because of your brand?
• Have a high conversion rate?

Your goals are evergreen goals that don’t change. Build your brand strategy around them.

95% of businesses say they have a branding strategy. But research shows that only about 25% are consistently executing their brand strategy. Only 60% of the content produced by these businesses even attempt to conform to any kind of branding standard. Nearly half of their marketing efforts are completely “free-style”. Let’s try this. Oh, that looks like a good idea. You know the drill.

The easy part is knowing what you offer. You’ve spent time thinking about your service or product and it is easy to get caught up in the trends, but without research and goals, you won’t be able to stake out a chunk of market share or claim ownership of any space. That what separates brands from brands.

3 Practical Steps to Brand Your Content For Maximum Profits

Visual Identity

While building up your brand, it’s good to plan all visuals carefully. After all, it’s the thing that many companies start branding with. Although visual identification is not the most crucial part of your brand, it should be done well.

Visual identification contains:

• a logo, in a few variants
• professional typography
• a colour palette created according to colour psychology
• the look of products, labels, and packaging
• marketing material (gadgets, posters, social media posts) design
• email marketing / newsletter design template
• office interior design
• employee uniforms (in some cases)

All the elements listed above should be put into a brand book. It’s a useful tool for every graphic designer and marketer in your company, as it contains a set of rules to follow in brand communication.

Consistent Identification

I find the nuances of marketing fascinating. When I watch TV ads I’m always considering why the ad agency chose to use that specific model, that colour t-shirt, that tag line. The list goes on and on. Recently I was watching TV when an ad came on and I sat there thinking and then saying out loud “Why do I know this is a Target commercial?” Without them showing their logo, even subtly, without a voiceover informing me it was Target, I instinctively knew I was watching a Target ad.

This is how you can become more profitable than your competitor, how you brand your content for maximum profits: when you can hone in your identity in visual form to such a degree that you can replicate its essence.

Brand consistency takes you to the next level in marketing.

You’re no longer convincing consumers to stop into your store or buy your product. Your brand is so consistent, so synonymous with your product experience that when a consumer sees your signature brand logo they are already thinking about making their next purchase from you without you even having to ask. Doritos actually coined this concept: The Anti-Ad. Click here to check it out.

Consistency Makes Your Brand Feel More Dependable and Consumers Trust Brands They Recognize

Brand recognition is not just about getting your name out there. It’s about helping consumers get to know your brand on a personal level.

Awareness

There are many ways to influence the recognition of your product or service. The most popular are:

Social Media Activity – there aren’t many brands without any social media profile especially with Facebook and Instagram being popular ones. Create and share inspiring content to extend your reach. Sometimes you may want to power up your marketing with ads – it’s a great idea, but only if you use the best channels. It’s very easy to spend a lot of money without getting any results.

Promotions – discounts for a few first clients, price drop bundles or freebies/landing pages will get your brand some new clients as well as a base for future marketing campaigns.

So there you have it! Brand your content for maximum profits doesn’t just come from knowing which tools to use but rather where it all fits in your larger strategy.

I this have been helpful to you and your business, and if you use what we learned today, I’m sure your branding will see great results quicker.