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7 Tips for Branding Your Small Business
Branding your small business requires a blend of building a strong narrative around your company with effective marketing. Your brand starts with determining your voice and identity. From there, you can start to use those foundational parts of your brand to gain visibility in your target markets. But don’t let the intimidation of a big marketing initiative hold you back. The right marketing financing program and small business loan can help you overcome any roadblocks between you and branding success.
There’s a lot to consider when engaging in a branding initiative. Here are seven vital tips to help you find your success.
1. Establish a Voice for Your Company
Deciding on a voice for your company is a vital first step in branding your small business. Your voice will create a tone for your brand, informing public perception of your company. Do you want people to see your company as young and energetic? Are you aiming to present your company and team as experienced and experts in their field? Consider a few key elements of your brand that you want to have stand out in any message and form a voice that reflects those values.
2. Create a Logo and Tagline
The voice you choose for branding your small business should guide the creation of your logo and tagline. They will often be potential customers’ first impression of your small business. When it comes to designing a logo, it’s vital to consider:
• Where will the logo be used?
• How will the typical viewer see it?
• What color palette do you want to set for your brand?
These questions can help you perfect the kind of imagery and text that works best to represent your small business brand. You should consider similar questions for the tagline. If your business name and logo don’t immediately tell the story of your small business brand, a tagline can connect the dots. Think about the way people encounter your business and let that guide your choices for branding your small business.
3. Solidify Your Brand Messaging
Now that you have a starting point for branding your small business, you’ll need to strengthen your messaging to create a clear narrative for your company. You need messaging to be consistent, with marketers and other staff using similar language and communicating the same value propositions across channels. Inconsistency can lead to customer confusion. Creatively reinforcing a few strong messages can strengthen your brand identity across your customer base.
4. Engage on Social Media
Social media is an ideal hub for establishing brand visibility. This is particularly true for branding your small business and trying to get noticed in a local market. Social media marketing is cost effective and lets you get your message across to customers through a variety of channels. Be sure to consider where your customers connect as you use social media. If you attract consumers, focus on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re a B2B company, you may be better off using LinkedIn posts to spread brand awareness. If you serve a niche industry, consider getting involved in forums and message boards hosted by publications that serve your sector.
5. Leverage Your Blog
Engaging customers online is invaluable. Branding your small business is easier when you use your blog to establish your voice and thought leadership. What’s more, your blog can generate traffic to your site, serving as a passive way to attract people to your brand without you having to go to them. Be sure that content is valuable for the readers and not all about you though, as you want readers to come to trust you and engage with your brand over time.
6. Prioritize Customer Service
Word of mouth advertising is still strong. Providing excellent customer experiences can prove a boost in branding your small business as great customer service can lead satisfied users to turn into advocates for your brand. A customer that tells friends or family about a great experience with you can be your strongest marketing ally. It’s also worth taking time to engage with customer reviews to resolve any negative experiences before they get out of hand.
7. Emphasize Innovation
The rise of the tech industry has led to a cultural appreciation of organizations that innovate. Whether you’re being more sustainable than your competition, have found a way to lower prices, or can operate your business with user-friendly tech, innovation can help you stand out amid your competitors and gain consumer attention.
Launch Into Branding Your Small Business with Financing
Devoting resources into branding can be expensive, especially as the results are often gained gradually over time. Small business loans that give you the freedom to focus on marketing can help you hone in on your branding. Whether you want to hire a specialist to launch your branding initiative or cover the costs of new digital marketing programs, alternative lenders like QuickBridge can help you get the right loans for your needs while minimizing your financial risk.
