What is branding?
Branding is all of your organization logos, colors, fonts, and any other marks used to depict the organization. It is your mission, vision, and your values. It is your staff, marketing material, customer service, and online persona. It’s how your organization handles itself. Everyone who represents you has an impact on others’ opinions of the organization and even THAT is your brand.
To recap, your brand is visual, audio, written, perception, and implied assumptions. It is first impressions, customer interactions, and professional presentations.
Below is an example of my own branding | logo, brand colors, headshots
Why does branding matter?
Branding is crucial for several reasons, especially in today’s competitive marketplace. Consistent branding provides: identity and recognition; trust and credibility; emotional connection; customer loyalty and retention; differentiation in the market; increased business value; consistency and focus; and attracts talent and partnerships. Basically, branding is a long-term investment that influences customer perception, drives engagement, and fosters growth.
Let’s dive a little deeper…
- Ownership: Consistency of use ensures ownership of the logo, colors, and any other mark. If you misuse your logo or branded colors, another person or organization can build a case that you don’t own the brand image. For instance, if your organization has two primary colors but begins using a wide array of colors for apparel, on your website, or marketing materials, then you are no longer using your brand consistently. All of a sudden someone else can start using your brand colors and you can’t prove that you’re still using it because you have been inconsistent in the use. The same concept applies to your logo — if it was created a certain way and you start adding elements to it (words or designs) and someone starts using your original, then you may not have a case for that original mark. All of that to say, be consistent with your brand! Don’t be afraid to update it or revise, but be consistent with how you use it to represent you. Guidelines are the best way to ensure consistent use if more than a couple people will be using your logo and colors.
- Storytelling: Consistent use of your brand logos, colors, and fonts will build a story that is recognizable. These are the building blocks that point back to you. The more visible and seen your marketing materials, social channels, newsletters, or events are, the more people will connect your organization to the logo/font/colors. We connect things visually and when adding a story to the visual element, you become memorable. All of a sudden, your branding has the ability to sell your story without you interacting with each customer.
- Pride: When you build a brand that is recognizable, you are unknowingly creating pride around your brand. When put together correctly and consistently, it is YOU and exudes your mission, vision, values, and how you treat others. Pride comes to your employees, contractors, vendors, and users.
Basically, branding is a long-term investment that influences customer perception, drives engagement, and fosters growth. It happens in the day-to-day and we have the chance to influence it with little effort when we consistently tell our message, use our colors, and have a logo.
