Every business needs to build their brand and it doesn’t happen overnight. However, there are several surefire ways to get your business’ branding going and in this article we will attempt to give you some ideas on how to get the ball rolling.
Be Awesome!
This should go without saying but it is so utterly important that we’re going to say it anyway! The best way to build your brand is to create products, services, and customer experiences that are outstanding. If the products, services, and customer experiences you produce are less than stellar your brand will suffer because of it. Always concentrate first and foremost on being absolutely outstanding in every aspect of your business. Your brand quite literally depends on it.
Referrals
Nothing can build your brand better and faster than having your happy, satisfied customers refer their friends, family, and co-workers to your business. Make it a habit to consistently ask your customers for referrals. A great way to do this is to have a monthly referral contest. With monthly referral contests every time someone refers another person to your business they get another entry ticket to the contest. The more people they refer, the better their chances of winning the prize. Then make sure you have a nice prize that everyone will want to win.
Referrals raise your brand’s awareness and spreads the word about your business’ products and services among those you might not have been able to reach on your own. The most trusted source for people looking for a new product or service are referrals from friends and family members so referrals are a great way to get new customers or clients.
Blog
Part of building your brand is positioning yourself and your business as experts in your field and one of the best ways to do that is by having a blog. Blogging regularly helps your brand reach qualified customers by providing high-quality, informative content that gives them the information they need and want. After referrals from friends and family members, blogs are the third most trusted source of information. That alone should tell you that neglecting to have a blog is a big mistake for any business wanting to build their brand.
In addition to providing the information that people are looking for and positioning yourself as an expert in your field, blogs also provide engaging, quality, shareable content for distribution on your business’ social media platforms. It is also important to note that the more consistently scheduled your content is, the better. People are creatures of habit and setting up a regular social media scheduling strategy is extremely important. There is one caveat though – don’t post sub-par content just to post something. Make sure you are always sharing quality content. You want people to come to your blog to get the information they need and want. The more you do that, the more they will come back, and the more they will tell their friends, family, and acquaintances about you and your business.
In addition to having a blog for your business, another great tactic to build your brand is to look around for other big names in your industry and ask if you can be a guest blogger on their blog and vice versa. The key is to make sure that your brands are compatible but not in direct competition with each other and to also make sure that you can give their followers content that is useful and engaging as well. This exchange of content exposes you and the brand you’re collaborating with to audiences that you wouldn’t normally have access to and ultimately it will create potential new customers as well.
Use Infographics
We’ve all seen these and couldn’t look away and that’s the reason you should use them too. Infographics are colorful ways to share information in a visual form. The are a great tool for building your brand because they are easy to read, interesting, and tend to be readily shared far and wide on social media.
Find ways to put information regarding your brand or related industry into an attractive infographic and promote it on your blog as well as on all your organization’s social media platforms. Encourage your followers to like, comment, and share the post to everyone they know. Doing this spreads your brand and introduces new people to your company’s products and services creating potential new customers.
Partnerships
This one is kind of along the same lines as they guest blogging one. Find other organizations, companies, and individuals who are in your brand’s same industry or a complimentary one that aren’t in direct competition with your business and partner up with them. This works extremely well on a local level, within your town or city, but the right partnerships can and do work near or far.
Partnering with other businesses by holding joint events and seminars is a great way to share the work of building your brand. You can also find ways of spreading your brand around by sponsoring local sports teams, donating to charity events, becoming a sponsor at an event or seminar, and more. Take advantage of any way your brand can be promoted by having its name and logo seen at festivals and events. The more people see your brand around the more it will stay top of mind and people will get the sense that you are a leader in your industry. This will cause them to seek your brand out when they are needing your products or services.
Freebies
It doesn’t cost much to have your brand’s logo and name plastered on pens, calendars, koozies, Frisbees, notepads, free downloads, and whatever else you can think of and spread them around to the general public. However, the return on investment on doing this can be great. It’s all a matter of public recognition. The more they see your brand, the more they trust it, and the more likely they are to contact you to solve their problems by using your products and services.
Be Social
Social media is one of the best things for spreading the word about your brand and the more engaging your content is the better. One big point to make here, however, is that you do not have to be on every single social media platform that is out there. It’s great that there are so many to choose from but not every business needs to utilize them all. Find out where your ideal clients are and then direct your social media efforts towards those platforms. Trying to pursue a social media presence on every platform will only drive you crazy and water down your marketing efforts. Find which ones work and concentrate your efforts on those.
Now once you know which social media platforms work the best for your brand, make sure the content you create is high quality and extremely engaging to your ideal clients. Contests are highly engaging and are a great way to collect leads for your business. In addition to those items, take advantage of paid social advertising and remarketing campaigns that allow you to direct your content at the people who are most likely to buy from you as well as those that have already shown some interest in your brand’s products or services already.
Podcast
Podcasts are another great way to get your brand out there and noticed. Creating podcasts with topics of interest to your key ideal clients is a great way to attract new customers and spread the word that your company has what they are looking for. It also shows that you’re an expert in your field. If you can attract people in the industry to interview or partner up with on your podcast that will also show that you are a brand to be reckoned with and help develop relationship with others in your field that you can build partnerships with in the future.
PPC Advertising
It’s no secret that ranking high in Google’s search engine is one of the best ways to get your brand seen and heard. PPC Advertising is a great way to make that happen. Using targeted keyword research helps your brand show up at the top of Google for relevant searches. Even if people don’t click on your PPC ad or business link, the fact that your business’ name shows up at the top of the search results will keep you top of mind when they are looking for the products and services that your company produces. They will also be more likely to remember your brand when others ask them for recommendations and referrals even if they’ve never actually interacted with your company. Your brand’s high ranking will automatically create a reference for everyone that sees it and will infer that your brand has the solutions they need when they need them.
So there you have it! 9 ways to build your brand! Start with one and continue to implement more as your marketing campaign develops. The last tip we have for you, a bonus if you will, is to ask for help. There is no shame in going to professionals for help when looking to develop your brand. As a matter of fact, it’s a very smart thing to do. You get paid to run your business and there are professionals who get paid to create and promote you and your brand. Don’t be afraid to use their services.
NetSource Technologies is an award-winning web design, hosting, e-commerce and consulting company that has been serving Ocala, FL and clients nationwide since 1995. Our design team specializes in creating custom websites for clients in every industry, from race cars, to RVs, to clothing stores. Other services include SEO optimization, content development, branding, and social media marketing. Visit www.netsourceinc.com for more information on our services. Does your business need help with its branding? Contact Us Here!