5 Ways to Elevate Your Branding
Hi there, fellow business owner! There are a million things to juggle when you own a business. I know you know your products and services like the back of your hand, which is an awesome start. But how does your business present itself? Have you given thought to how you are being perceived by potential customers? This is a list of the things I find myself most frequently recommending to people who are asking for my help with branding.
1. Start with a great logo
Your logo is often the first impression made to your customers, so it’s pretty important. There are a ton of places online you can purchase an inexpensive logo design. If you’re just getting started and you need something to be a placeholder, while you generate some income, I get that. If you want to come out of the gate like a rock star, hire a graphic designer. Get something created just for you, that’s custom and that no one else is going to have. Professional custom design will elevate the way your prospective clients view your business, which makes it easier to trust you. Would you buy a nice watch from a salesperson in tattered jeans and a hoodie, or would you rather buy from the salesperson in a well made suit? I’m not saying anything about them as people… I am most often found in tattered jeans and a hoodie in all honesty, but my business? My business is in a three piece pinstripe suit, crisp white button down.
Your first job as a business owner is to be an expert in your goods and/or services. Unless you’re also a designer or an artist, creating your own logo and branding is probably out of your scope of experience. When you’re working with a designer keep in mind you will want to be able to use your logo on both large and small scales. Your design might need to be on a billboard, and also on your Instagram profile. That being said, super detailed graphics may be better kept for marketing materials than your logo. Bring your ideas to the table, but be flexible. Your designer will most likely have a different perspective than you, and sometimes you need a fresh set of eyes.
2. Consistent Fonts
Whatever font you decide to use in your logo, you should use on your other marketing materials. A good rule of thumb is to choose two to three fonts you’re going to use with your brand and stick to it. There may be times seasonally or for special events you change it up, but overall stick to your few. If you use Google Docs or Canva to create materials it is a good idea to see if what you like is available there, so you’re not stuck finding something “close enough” down the road.
A great way to pick three that are very versatile is to choose one serif font, one sans serif font, and one handwritten/script font. Here’s an example of each of the three types. A serif font has a small line or stroke at the ends of the letters. Sans-serif fonts do not have these lines. Handwritten or script fonts might not have a place for all types of businesses, but it’s nice to have the option for marketing materials. Whatever you choose, be consistent.
3. Consistent Colors
When you’re having your logo created, your designer should work with you to create a color palette for your business. Your logo may only be one or two colors, but you will likely want more than that for the full scope of marketing your business. Your color scheme can be a simple as black and white, or you might have five or six hues you regularly use. Whatever your style decide what you want to do, and stick with it.
As you may have seen in other blog posts, I love creating color palettes! Coordinating colors is one of my favorite things to design. Feel free to browse the blog to get inspired!
4. Branded Social Media Content
Good branding makes you feel a certain way. As you build your look, you should think about how you want to be perceived on social media, and create your content around that. If you go look at the Instagram feeds of successful companies you will see what I mean. There’s an overall mood or vibe they tend to consistently create. You want people to see a post on social media and know it’s yours.
You can successfully brand your social media content a few different ways. First, is to be able to take great photos. Most smart phones these days can do everything you need to market your business, but you have to know how to use it. Hop on YouTube and take a look around for tutorials for your model of phone. I will tell you that a big key to photography is finding the light. Once you know how to find good light and use your camera, think about what is in each photo. Are you doing styled flat lay shots regularly? Have a few elements (think greenery, surface you shoot on, colors you include) that you repeatedly incorporate. You can also use the same filter on your photos regularly to build a feel. Are you shooting videos regularly? You might want to invest in a good ring light, so even on a cloudy day your video feels the same. You can also watermark images with your logo to mark them clearly as yours if you feel so inclined. I don’t think this is necessary for every post, but another thing to consider.
You can use free programs like Canva to create content. Canva has a ton of templates you can customize for your needs and you can save details, like colors and fonts, so they will be easy to replicate next time. Please make sure if you’re using stock photos in your social media that they are free for use! PSA: You can not just grab any photo you want off of Google for your posts. Canva has a ton of great free for use photos available through the app. Pixabay is also a great resource for free stock photos. You can also pay for stock images from a multitude of websites. Better yet, hire a local photographer to come take photos for you. If you’re in the Mid-Michigan area, I have recommendations! Any time you can use an original photo over a stock photo, do it.
One last note on social media posts. PLEASE do not screenshot someone else’s post and share it as your own without crediting and tagging the original artist or company. Better yet, share the link from their account if you want to share. Someone took time out of their day to create that cool phrase that applies to your business. Be thoughtful and give credit where credit is due! If you don’t know who created it originally, don’t share it. If you like the phrase, make your own branded graphic with something similar!
5. Create a branding plan
Do yourself a favor and get a branding plan together now! I don’t care if you’ve been in business for a week, a year, or a decade. If you don’t have a branding plan, make one. What is a branding plan you might be saying? It’s a cheat sheet for all the things we talked about above. You want to have your logo available in all it’s forms. You want to have all your colors easily accessible, and note the color codes, so you don’t have to search for them later. You want to have your fonts written out for the same reason.
Brand with a plan. Keep it simple. You can always make adjustments as needed, but if you have that plan set up already it makes creating consistent content so much easier. This will also make it easier if you ask an employee to create content. You won’t end up with off-brand colors and fonts. Here are a few samples of branding guides I provide to all my logo design clients.
All of the above are absolutely suggestions and not rules. Use what suits you as a guideline, and leave the rest. If you’re interested in a branding session with me, please reach out here. I would be happy to discuss your design needs one on one.
In an effort to foster a creatives community I’ve started a Facebook group called Art is a Record, the same name as this blog. I would love for you to join in the fun as we discuss creative living, projects, art, and life.
