The word ‘brand’ is thrown around a lot in the business world. We hear about a business being “on brand” or “off brand”. We also hear about how branding can be difficult to achieve and that once you have created a brand, you have to keep it consistent. But how do you do this exactly? Well, firstly you need to know who you are branding for and how you can encompass images, language and colors into your brand strategy so that you reach your target audience. This can be tricky business, but luckily, there are many professionals, guides and tools to help you create an unforgettable and exclusive brand.
Looking to start, update or adapt your business’s brand? Here’s how you can create an effective brand that will appeal to your target audience.
Create a Buyer Persona
What is a buyer persona? A buyer persona is a fictional character created by a marketing team to help explain, highlight, and determine who the business should be appealing to and how best to reach out to them. A well thought out buyer persona can be an effective business tool as it provides a map for employees to use when creating content or reaching out to prospective customers and/or clients.
A good buyer persona will include:
- The fictional customer’s name, age, and location
- Their education
- The social media platforms they are most active on
- Their current place of work
- Their hobbies
- Their ambitions, goals and needs
By understanding what your buyer does, and what they need from life, you have a better chance of appealing to and building a business relationship with them. An in-depth buyer persona is gold dust for sales and marketing teams who are more likely to speak to and build a repertoire with their target audience.
Create a Business Identity and Voice
Once you know who you are appealing to, you can start to figure out the best way to communicate with them. Creating a brand identity and a brand tone of voice is what will help your brand resonate with your target audience and hopefully boost conversion rates.
You can create a consistent brand identity and voice by compiling a cheat sheet that explains the language that should be used as well as the logo and colors, too. Think about other brands and how they remain consistent if you are ever unsure on how you can do this. Glossier, for example, is a beauty brand that is known for its pink color scheme and fun logo and language. They are minimalistic and encompass a brand that appeals to their target audience: millennials and younger generations.
Enlist the Help of PR Professionals
Navigating the world of PR and marketing is difficult, and sadly, not all businesses are lucky enough to have a dedicated in-house marketing team to keep their brand consistent and on track. There are, however, many PR agencies that can help businesses of all sizes find their target audience and create a brand that speaks to them. For example, you can head to merrittgrp.com, a PR agency that can help with PR services, content marketing, performance and much more.
Building a brand can be difficult, and once you have decided on how best to reach your target audience, you need to remain consistent and on-point with your branding. Inconsistent branding can harm your business’s image and cause confusion, making it more difficult to land higher conversion rates.
