Branding your business

Brand recognition, or branding is an important part of running a successful business. If no one has ever heard of you, if they don't think of you when they have need of the service you provide, then how can you expect to ever improve and grow as a business? You can't. Here are some tips for branding your business:

1. Create a professional brand- The last thing you want is for your brand, or most recognizable aspect of your business to look unprofessional or childish. Make a real effort, and invest some resources into creating a brand that is both aesthetically pleasing, and appropriate for your target audience. This means pay a graphic designer, and spend some time conceptualizing it so that you get a well-thought-out, professional looking brand. This is the brand image part of it, or logo, but in addition to that, spend some time thinking of what you want people to associate with your brand. Do you want them to think low prices? Do you want them to think quality goods? Do you want them to think great customer service?
2. Use the brand in all aspects of your business- Once you have created a brand, it is time to put it to use so that it can start doing its job. The most effective way to get a brand off the ground is to simply use it, non-stop. This means get it on your business cards, your email footer, your letterhead, your website, your social media profiles and pages, etc. The more you use it and get it out there, the more familiar it is going to become. Social media is a particularly effective means for branding, and getting your brand image and ideas out to the masses. Take advantage of it, but do it in a subtle way, not forcing it down fans, followers, and friend's throats. Remember, part of your branding is going to be created by providing value to your consumers, and the best way to do this is to have positive interactions where you give them information and something they want. You have to do this at least 50 times for each time you self-promote.
3. Use social media for branding- We have already established that social media is a good tool for getting your brand image or logo out to the masses, but part of branding is creating an image of your company. If you want to be known as hip and cool, you can use social media to show you are on top of the relevant and recent trends. If you want your branding to show your customers come first, then use social media to get in touch with your consumers and start dialogues and engage them in conversations, where you ask questions and answer questions, and look for ways to better meet their needs. Basically, social media offers a lot of opportunities beyond showing off your brand image or logo, but creating customer report, which will also be a very important part of your branding.