11 Branding Tips for a Better Company Image
Every business owner wants a website and a company image that sticks in the buyer’s mind. Whether this comes in the form of logos, color schemes, or graphics, your brand should have a clear message that stays with the consumer. Luckily, you can apply a few branding tips and tricks to your website to draw customers in and keep them thinking about your brand even after they’ve left your site.
1. Keep It Simple
A cluttered website and hard to navigate won’t keep customers scrolling for long. Keep your information brief and straightforward. This way, the customer can easily find what they need to know and enjoy the process of using your site. This also applies to your logo and other graphics. A complicated picture will never stay long in the consumer’s mind, but a simple image (take the Apple logo) will define you as a brand.
2. Tell a story
No matter how big or small, every brand has a story about how they started the company, why it was necessary, and how it will impact the consumer. Tell that story through your company image. People will forget the details of your brand but remember a moving story. A story sticks with the reader. This concept is why you may not remember your grandma’s birthday right away but can easily recall that touching story she told you about her childhood.
3. Have a color Scheme
Using the same colors throughout various platforms and websites is a branding 101 tip. Having a few key colors representing your brand will keep your image in the buyer’s mind for longer. Look at McDonald’s. They are known for their yellow and red color scheme. If the yellow arcs suddenly changed to blue, plenty of cars would pass up the fast-food joint on their road trip.
4. BE creative
Be creative when naming your business and creating the overall design and messaging. No one will remember a generic name. This is often why content creators have usernames that aren’t just “John Doe.” Having a username like “Sunflower girl” will stick in the mind of viewers more than any generic name.
5. Easy to Spell
Choose a business and domain name that’s straightforward to spell. This is important when you tell people about your site through word of mouth or larger channels, like the radio. If your company’s name is too complex, it may get lost in the search engine. Keep your name creative but simple enough to be spelled correctly on the first try.
6. Avoid Trends
Unless you want your brand to die out in a few years, avoid trendy phrases for your name or niche references in your logo. That trending meme will die out in no time, so you don’t want your brand to die with it. Especially now, trend cycles are getting shorter and shorter. Make your brand’s image eternal.
7. Know Your audience
Get a feel for your customers’ age, economic status, gender, etc. All of these factors will heavily influence your branding. With branding, you have to appeal to a group. General imaging won’t motivate anyone to buy your product or service. Cartier’s customers are very different from the customers Walmart appeals to, but both are successful companies because they know who is buying their products regularly.
8. Have a Mission
Your mission statement should be an overall goal for your company. This statement encompasses your brand, why you make the products you do, and how they influence your customers’ lives. This is similar to a slogan but can be longer and less catchy but still meaningful.
9. Define Your Brand's Personality
Think of your brand as a being rather than a thing. Is your brand loud and determined or subdued and intellectual? Think of your brand as a person. This goes hand in hand with establishing your customer base and appealing to them. Your brand’s personality will often line up with the customers that buy your products and services.
10. Show the People behind the Brand
Adding a face to the company can help personalize your brand. Have an about me section for your top employees and show off the people that make your business what it is.
11. Create Content
Social media is vital for a brand’s success in today’s world. Create content that appeals to your audience. This will get your brand’s name out globally, reel new customers in, and keep old customers interested.
Be true to your brand
Branding is more than slogans and logos. It’s about finding the core “why” for your brand and delivering that purpose in a digestible manner. Your branding will flow out organically if you narrow down what your brand is truly about and why you run your business. Be true to your mission and values, and your company image will display your enthusiasm and dedication.
