Branding definition: The business practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.
Branding is one of those terms that gets thrown around as if everyone knows what it’s all about. But people talk about branding in many different ways. Here are 5 ideas that will
help you guide your efforts in branding.
A brand is a promise to your audience, consumer, or customer. So keep it simple and authentic!
A brand is the start of a narrative. Stories engage us all. We are storytelling animals. So rise above the functional benefits of your service or product. Get to the big idea. Speak to their higher needs like Wholeness, Perfection, Justice, Richness, Simplicity, Beauty, Truth, Uniqueness, Playfulness.
A brand should be based on creating an emotional connection with your audience. Brand value comes from a desire in your customer to identify with the brand – and that identification creates strong audience relationships and loyalty.
A strong brand is meaningfully different from the competition. This is true not only on a functional level. But you have to authentically stand out in the crowd and speak to the right segment of your audience.
It should be authentic to the company and to the audience. Anyone can smell a fake from around the block. Be true to who you are and find those that identify with the same values.
Branding doesn’t have to be a mysterious term thrown around at meetings. Hopefully these tips have helped to better define the practice and given you tips to better define your company, product or service - or yourself.
Edited from a post originally published on the Seedhouse Blog. Photo by Kelli Stirrett on Unsplash