What is branding?

Branding goes beyond a simple logo or design elements.

Branding is the entire experience. It is how your customer feels when they enter your brand’s space. It is the perception that you help create for them.

Why is it important?

Perception is a very powerful tool. As Gustave Flaubert once wrote, “There is no truth. There is only perception.”

This is important because no matter the size of your business, if you can hack the ability to create a good perception of your brand for your customers, then you are off to the races!

So, how does one successfully create a business that is perceived well by their customers?

1. First, research what your target audience wants.

To start, you must know who your target audience is. Is it the wellness community? The yoga lovers? The fitness bros? Or is it perhaps the stereotypical Gen Z club? Teens that hop on new trends and enjoy memes? It is important to determine this because a mom who goes to yoga twice a week and enjoys a healthy latte in the mornings will probably want very different things than a first year university student whose main exercise for the week is walking to the bus with a vape in hand.

Let’s say that for example, your target audience is the yoga-loving mom. What would she want? Most likely a brand that represents healthy choices, that is clean, simple, and as refreshing as a healthy morning latte right? So let’s give her that.

You could be a simple e-commerce store selling t-shirts. Now, your website, your font, your social media pages, they should all be emanating that fresh, simple, clean branding. No bright neon colours or bold fonts. You need to be consistent. You need to think of what your target audience wants.

Note that also over time, consistency will equal recognition and people tend to do business with companies that they are familiar with.

2. Keep it simple

Think about the most recognizable brands out there. Some examples are Nike, Pepsi, and Lululemon. What do they have in common? They have very simple branding. Their logos are simplistic. They don’t have any crazy colour palettes with more than a few colours. They kept things simple for a reason. Simplicity makes it easier to understand the brand and customers want to understand the brand.

So, keep it simple. This step should be an easy one.

3. Respond to consumer feedback

Remember how in step 1 we mentioned that the target audience is key? Well this is why listening to their feedback is so important. You want to make sure that you got it right when creating a brand that provides what they want. How do you know if you got it right? You listen to your customers.

Social Media is a wonderful tool for listening to your customers. Read the comments, the reviews, and the feedback. What is your customer base saying? They are the most important people to listen to when creating your brand. So listen to them and adjust your brand accordingly.

4. Do competitive research

Check out your competitors! Who are you competing with in your space? What are they doing well? What are they doing poorly? Are there any gaps that you can fill in the areas they are doing a poor job in? Pay attention and stay up to date.

No matter how well your brand is doing. Don’t get comfortable. Always watch your competitors because you can also spot the areas that you could improve.

Compare their branding strategies to yours. What kind of social media outreach are they performing well in? What platforms are they using to promote their brand? This question leads into the next step as well.

5. Pick the right channels to promote your brand

When building a brand, how you market your brand is a key component that determines your brands success. Again, remember how in step 1 we talked about how you must know who your target audience is? This impacts the channels you choose to promote your brand as well. If we say our target audience is the yoga-loving mom, do you think TikTok or Facebook is the place to promote your brand? Facebook right? If you are not sure about this, then check the stats!

Check out these stats comparing the TikTok and Facebook demographics for 2022:

Facebook demographics and usage

• Number of monthly active users: 2.91 billion
• Largest age group: 25-34 (31.5%)
• Gender: 43% female, 57% male (no data on other genders)
• Time spent per day: 33 minutes

source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/#tiktok-demographics

TikTok demographic data and usage

• Number of monthly active users: 1 billion
• Largest age group: 10-19 (25%)
• Gender: 61% female, 39% male (no data on other genders)
• Time spent per day: 89 minutes per day

source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/#tiktok-demographics

Now, there may be a higher percentage of females on TikTok but look at the age range. Facebook would be my choice for this target audience due to that age difference alone.

There are so many social media platforms these days and you may hear from a lot of sources that you should be posting consistently on all of them but if you are a small business then you may not have the resources to be posting on all of them daily. That is why picking specific channels to promote your brand is important. When starting your business choose a select few channels to start on and go from there.

Final thoughts

When your brand keeps things simple, consistent, and easy to understand for your target audience base, you will inherently build trust with your customers. Always think of your target audience base and what they want. When you deliver what they want, your brand will flourish.

If you need assistance with your brand, from creating your visual identity to building your credibility contact us for a free consultation. We’d love to help elevate the way you run your business through engaging brand identities and innovative digital experiences!

Written by Alice Bowyer | June 18th, 2022