6 seconds: That’s it. That’s all the time you have to communicate a message to your audience that will get their attention. With the new opportunities available to you in the coming year, now is the perfect time to establish, or even reinvent, your brand identity. However, this is about more than just a shiny new logo. Your brand identity is the combination of your company’s products, services, values, and messaging, punctuated by how that message is delivered and received. If you aren’t clear on the message you’re sending, it’s time to establish a brand identity that will resonate with your target audience.
Who Are You?
Visual identifiers – the colors on your website, the font on your blog, and your logo – help define your brand identity. But your brand is so much more than that. Who you are and what you stand for as a company must be evident. This means transparency on social issues and whether your products and labor practices are ethically sourced. This also means clarity in what you hope to deliver as a business, including but not limited to the products or services that you offer. Decide the experience you would like to provide your target audience, and how you uniquely address their problems, make them happy, and meet their needs.
Make sure that your brand identity is evident, regardless of the marketing platform. Every style of marketing communicates volumes of information to your target audience, so be mindful of how your audience perceives you when planning marketing strategies. If your social media platform boasts an interest in tree conservation, yet there are flyers all over town with your logo, you are sending a mixed, detrimental, message.
Who is Your Target Audience?
Once you know what your intent is as a company, you can gauge whether you’re abilities are relevant to current demands. This can help guide your brand identity in the direction that will reap the most returns. It is especially important that you are marketing specifically to your target audience, otherwise your branding efforts will fall flat.
Tell Your Story
Every well-written story has a story arc and perhaps some plot-twists, and your brand identity reflects these story elements as part of your company’s growth. A brand identity isn’t established overnight. Instead, it’s a flexible concept that is refined over time.
It may be intimidating to realize that your brand identity is not as clear as you’d like it to be. Branding, re-branding, or reinventing your current image can be scary, but if the end result is a clearer picture of who you are and where you want your company to go, then it’s worth it.
Now is the time to make changes to establish a strong brand identity that delivers your unique message to your target audience, even in a matter of seconds. If you’re not sure where to begin, contact DaSh factor to learn more about what we can do to help you.