Want to stand out in a competitive market and attract your ideal customers? Then, you must get your branding right. It’s your stage, and you want people to get curious, take their seats and stay to learn more. So, what are the branding essentials that entice customers?

What’s the difference between branding and brand identity?

First things first: Your brand identity is the essence of who you are and how customers perceive you. Branding is the finely tuned, necessary, actionable steps that you take to build and shape that identity. 

Spending some time breaking down these steps and taking a considered approach to getting them ‘just right’ will make a world of difference. The result? A cohesive representation of your business in all its magnificent glory, ready to welcome eager customers with open arms. 

What branding essentials must you consider, and why are they crucial to your business?

How do you define your brand identity?

Let’s look at the basics you must decide on before you even get to the fun stuff of pretty colours and the mind-boggling rabbit hole of fonts!

• Who are you?

It’s an important question. Seriously, if you don’t know who you are and what your business is all about at its core, how will potential customers ever relate?

Is your vibe serious and informative, fun and creative, or maybe you’re an ambitious entrepreneur with a refined style that oozes confidence with a generous pinch of personality? (I see you!).

Once you’ve established this, you can get super clear on your offering and ideal customer persona. 

• What’s your story?

Putting together a compelling narrative of your ‘story’ and why you do what you do is imperative. You must create a genuine connection with your audience to build a strong brand identity. Telling your story and clarifying your ‘why’ creates a relatable element for you and your brand. 

Ask yourself, ‘What drives me to do what I do?’ ‘What or who has inspired me to get here?’

An About Page is ideal for this, even snippets on your social media. People love getting personal, so share what you’re comfortable with. Word to the wise: keep it professional on your social media; you are a reflection of your brand, so keep it appropriate.

• Who is your ideal customer?

Put together a clear customer persona – the ideal person most likely to buy what you sell.

The reality is your offering won’t be for everyone. And if you put your product/service out there without targeting any specific person, you’ll likely not attract anyone. 

Successful brands have a crystal clear idea of their perfect customer. What is their age, location, occupation, interests, etc.? These specific details will help shape effective branding to attract the ideal customer. 

Who do you see buying what you offer? 

With a clear foundation of your brand values and mission, what’s next in your successful branding strategy? 

How do you create a strong brand identity online?

It’s time to take your brand online and create an interactive digital presence.

It can be terrifying if you’re not technically inclined! But online is where it’s at for creating a solid brand identity and a superb platform to target those all-important paying customers. 

You’re about to put yourself out there for the world to see, so let’s get it right (and on brand)! 

The first step into your new digital adventure and cementing your carefully curated brand identity into magnificent pixelated form…the website.

Create a stunning website with your own unique branding.

• I want to give it a go myself (I salute you!)

If you have the skills (and confidence) to build your own website, there are several options depending on your business requirements.

Wix and Squarespace are great all-in-one options, making them ideal for beginners. Both come with options for customisable templates to adapt to your business branding.

WordPress is a blogger’s dream with an extensive range of plug-ins. Customisable templates allow you to personalise to your business branding.

For a site that offers an exceptional e-commerce experience, you can’t beat Shopify. 

Our particular favourite is Showit. No complex coding is needed here, allowing flexibility and design freedom to showcase your brand identity. 

One of the reasons we love it so much is the seamless integration with WordPress, for a double whammy of design capabilities and top-notch blogging features. 

 Check out the Studio Designs website template shop for our best-selling range of beautiful, customisable templates exclusive to Showit.

This is just a brief run-through, but read our blog post, Which Website Platform Should You Choose? and discover how each platform can support your successful branding strategy.

 If your head is spinning at the thought of such a monumental task, I got you. 

• I want to concentrate on what I do best, so I’ll hire a professional website designer.

Working with a professional website designer is an investment; there’s no escaping that. But it’s an investment in elevating your business, making your already busy life so much easier.

A web designer will skillfully bring your creative vision and brand identity to life. At the same time, you concentrate on your day-to-day entrepreneurial master plan.

At Studio Designs, our services cater for the small, ambitious business owner ready to embrace their digital presence to those looking for an all-encompassing next step in catapulting their brand identity into the digital sphere.

We can take care of everything, so you don’t have to.

The decision comes down to whether you have the time and confidence to put together all the digital branding elements that perfectly reflect a strong brand identity.

Or, would you be more confident trusting a professional web designer? Who can seamlessly bring together a cohesive website that’s perfectly aligned with your business and designed to encourage conversions?

Embrace social media for maximum brand identity exposure.

Most of us have a social media presence where we post our enviable holiday snaps and Instagram-worthy brunch plates. 

But for a business, a considered social media presence as part of your branding strategy is a smart move. If you don’t have one, you’re missing out on a huge free marketing tool. Free marketing! Why wouldn’t you…

Choose a platform most suited to your business type and where your ideal customer will likely hang out: 

• LinkedIn: A professional platform, B2B companies this is for you.
• Facebook: Generally used by an older demographic, it’s a visual platform great for connecting with potential customers.
• Instagram: Another visual platform, perfect for creative brands wanting to connect with a younger, broader customer base.
• Twitter: A broad demographic and a worldwide reach, popular with the tech crowd and service-based businesses.
• TikTok: For the young ones, so if they fit your ideal customer profile, get some on-brand short-form content on TikTok.
• Snapchat: Used mainly by teens – although also used by parents as their only means of communicating with their teens!

Connecting and building customer loyalty on social media is a surefire way to increase website traffic and, ultimately, conversions. Definitely one to include in a successful branding strategy.

What details must you consider to maximise your brand identity using digital platforms?

So we’ve established that to support an effective branding strategy, you will a) need a stunning new website as your new digital mothership and b) embrace social media, choosing a platform to showcase your brand identity. 

What are the main elements of using these digital platforms that will enhance the user experience and result in conversions?

Impeccable design, colour and imagery are branding essentials.

I asked the question earlier: who even are you? 

Your digital platforms’ design and styling must reflect this and the image you want for your brand. 

First impressions count. They say it takes 7 seconds to form a first impression after meeting someone; according to a Forbes website statics report, a website only has 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion! 

All the proof you need to define and refine your unique brand identity online.

• Choose a style that will stand the test of time.

It’s important to recognise current trends but always appreciate the appeal of timeless style. 

As Coco Chanel eloquently said, ‘Fashion changes, but style endures’. Pick a style that gives the true essence of your brand identity and won’t date quickly. 

Website templates are worth considering for ready-made strategic design.

• Consider colours that compliment your brand identity.

Colours can evoke different emotions in people, so consider how you want users to feel when they visit your site.

Muted neutrals and timeless black work well for a calm and sophisticated feel. Or is your brand image more fun and quirky? Then, go for ‘happy’  colours like yellow and orange to convey that vibrancy.

Keep the number of colours you choose to a minimum so the pages are easy on the eye.  And consider the colour of your text, making sure it’s easy to read – white text on a pastel background can be hard to read.

• A picture speaks a thousand words…

Select good-quality images  –  blurry images will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. 

Use them to break up text on your website (improves readability) and to showcase:

• You – a face can help customers form a connection and trust in your brand. 
• Your product or service – gives visual appeal and entices potential customers.
• Stats – valuable information boosts authority and can lead to conversions.  

As well as building a visual of your brand identity, considered imagery will help boost your website SEO, increasing your online presence. Job done!

Use the right words to communicate your brand and set the tone.

Ask any copywriter, and they’ll tell you that what you say and how you say it are crucial in an effective branding strategy.

What you say – the words you use to describe and talk about your brand – will be used to form an opinion on your product or services. Ensure the wording on your web pages and social media reflects the brand identity you want to portray.

How you say it – the Tone of Voice – is equally important in defining your brand image. 

Is your brand suited to a friendly, informal tone?? Then, talk as though you’re chatting to a friend, keeping it relatable and natural.

Or do you want a formal, informative style? Keep things professional and your language less chatty.

Which style is most suited to your ideal brand identity?

Consistency is vital across your digital landscape

Once you’ve decided on the key elements of your brand identity, it’s essential to keep it consistent. Let’s not confuse people here!

For a cohesive user experience, keep all imagery, branding colours, overall tone, etc., the same across all digital platforms. It’ll help make your brand instantly recognisable as uniquely you.

An efficient branding strategy = the perfect, captivating brand identity.

Don’t be daunted by all the steps for a successful branding strategy. Creating your vision to share with the world should be an energising and rewarding experience. You’re magnificent, and the world deserves to know!

My advice is to be confident in your offering and work to your strengths. 

Only you know your vision, and once you have that set in concrete, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help building the perfect brand identity for you.

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we are all guilty of wearing too many hats. It can be liberating to share the burden – leaving you free to knuckle down where you can add the most value.

Book a 1:1 Strategy Call with Studio Designs, and we can help you decide how to build an effective branding strategy that will result in the most efficient brand identity design for you.