Brand is everything when you’re in business. Whether it’s big or small, brand communicates what you and your business are all about. Branding not only means that people recognise your business, but it also creates an image of what you do and what you stand for in the minds of your potential customers, creating trust, and generating sales.
Christmas is an ideal time to build or regenerate your brand. People are actively looking to buy and seeking out places to buy from. While Christmas is the key period for retail, businesses of all types can make the most of the festive season to build their brand. So make sure that you don’t miss out on this opportunity by following our five easy ways to build your brand, whatever business you’re in.
- Get social
Before you can build a successful brand, you need to find an audience. To find an audience, you need to know who your customers are, and where they can be found. While there’s a wide range of marketing platforms, social media is an efficient and cost-effective way of connecting with your audience. There are loads of social media platforms to choose, but the most popular are Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram. Get registered and get active on as many as possible.
- Get planning
Once you’re online, plan your campaign. If you want people to recognise your brand, you need to make sure that your message is consistent across all the marketing platforms you’re using. To put together an effective plan, you need to know who your audience is, what appeals to them, and what the aim of your campaign is. Are you looking for immediate sales, or to build ongoing interactions? If you can afford it, consider investing in working with a professional agency, for the best return on investment.
- Get visual
Pictures are great for grabbing people’s attention quickly. Research shows that our brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Ninety three percent of all human communication is visual. Whether it’s photos, memes, infographics, or videos, your audience are also more likely to remember your brand. Photos and graphics are perfect for all social media platforms.
Remember that your customers will judge what your business stands for based on the standard of your branding. You want it to shout quality and professionalism. Professional photos are an ideal way to make sure that your customers always get the right image of your brand.
- Get talking
People do business with people. They want to feel that they know your business personally, that you’re not just a faceless entity. Get ‘talking’ to your customers online. And don’t just preach at them – get them involved. Got a pet shop? Ask them to upload photos of their pets in their Christmas outfits. Tradesman? Get your customers sharing their Christmas disaster stories. Respond to their posts too: ‘How cute is your pup!’; ‘Uh oh, and just how angry was Dad?’.
- Get sharing
Get people sharing your content by running prize draws or offering discount codes. This is a great way to get other people to advertise for you for minimal cost. After all, who doesn’t love a bargain or a chance to win something? Don’t forget to showcase your products on your posts so that people see what they’re getting. Again, professional photos will make all the difference to how great your product appears, and the better it looks, the more responses you’ll get.
If you really want your brand to stand out from the crowd , great images are the ideal way to achieve it. Leah Desborough is an internationally experienced photographer, with an extensive background in creating effective commercial photos. Why not check out my commercial portfolio and get in touch?
