A brand identity is simply the overall look and feel of your brand in visual form. A brand identity is the application of your logo with complementary colors, fonts, imagery, and graphical elements. It is made up of what your brand says, how you interact with your product, your company values, and what you want people to feel when they communicate it.
What Is Brand Identity?
In short, a brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your valued customers. As a business owner, you need to know that brand identity is much more than a logo.
According to the richest man of the world, Jeff Bezos,
“Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
As a business owner, your product leaves an impression on your customers long after you have made the sale. Therefore, brand identity is simply the process of shaping that impression.
Companies with brand identity
As soon as you hear the name Coca-Cola, the first thing that comes to your mind is its well-known logo.
However, you also might remember the polar bear, the color red, its Share a Coke campaign, or simply put the classic ribbon-like imagery featured on its cans.
Below are those things that comprise Coca-Cola’s brand identity:
Coca Cola’s Red Logo
Coca-Cola’s brand identity starts with a red logo in script text. The red color elicits confidence in anyone who drinks a Coke, while the script typeface signifies enjoyment. This is the brand’s face.
Coca-Cola Iconic bottle shape
Coca-Cola pints its logo on a uniquely shaped bottle. The cocoa pod inspired the Coke bottle design. This has set this company apart from others. You can never see their competitors have bottles exactly like it. It tells customers they’re not getting an imitation- this is what every business needs to know. The brand develops credibility and trust this way.
How important is brand identity?
A brand “lives and evolves in the minds and hearts” of consumers……
As the embodiment of almost everything your business is and does. Its identity, therefore, is important to the business’s future.
Having said that, if your brand is more than just its logo, how can you replicate what other brands like Coca-Cola have done and tap these other elements of your business’s identity? In the next paragraph, I will list some components of a well-developed brand identity, and why you must develop them.
The Face Of Your Business
For some reason, your brand’s logo is the face of your business. however, that face should do more than just look cool or interesting. Its contribution to brand identity is associative too. It tells your customers that the image means the name of your organization.
Credibility And Trust
Having a well-developed brand doesn’t just make your product and service more memorable, but it makes it more authoritative in the marketplace.
Therefore, a brand that establishes a face, and keeps that face consistently over time, develops credibility among other companies and creates trust among its customers as well.
Advertising Impressions
Your brand identity is simply a template for everything you would add to an advertisement for your company…whether such an ad is online, print, or propels commercial on YouTube. From research, a brand with a face and industry credibility proved to promote itself and make impressions on potential buyers.
Your Company’s Mission
Do you know that when you create an identity for your brand, indirectly you’re giving it something to stand for? Yes, it’s! and that, in turn, gives your organization a purpose. Every company out there, whether big or startup, has a mission statement. As a business owner, you can’t have one without first giving your brand identity. This is why building a well-defined brand identity is so important.
How To Create A Brand Identity In 2020
Now you know the importance of brand identity, let’s see how you can create a brand identity.
Research Your Audience, Value Proposition, And Competition
Just like you did when starting your business, creating a brand identity involves, first of all, carrying out market research to discover what will work best for your business. There are things you need to clarify and understand when doing your research.
Your Audience: in the business world today, different people want different things. Therefore, researching what your audience wants from a business in your industry is important to creating brand clients will like.
Value Proposition And Competition: as a business owner, you need to think about what makes your business special in your industry. What can you offer people that your competitors can’t? Figuring the difference between you and others is imperative to developing a successful brand.
Mission: I believe you know what you offer your customers, but it’s advisable to have a clear and direct mission statement that shows your vision, goals, and objectives. What this means is to know your business’s purpose.
SWOT Analysis: Lastly, completing a SWOT Analysis can describe your brand in a better and more understandable manner. Considering the characteristics of the brand will help you find characteristics you would like to portray in the brand.
Design The Logo And A Template For It
The moment you know your business very well, it’s time to bring your brand to life. According to Paul Rand, “Design is the silent ambassador of your brand”
How do you do it? Here’s what you need to know:
Logo: As I said earlier, the logo is not the entirety of the brand identity, it’s just a vital element in the branding process. A logo is the most recognizable part of any brand. It’s on everything from your website to your business cards, your calendar, and your offline and online ads. With a well-designed logo on all of these elements, your branding would look unique and attractive.
Interesting Form: Just like imperative as your logo is to branding, it’s not the only element that makes a brand identity. There are other things such as your products, the packing, or how you present your services that will all need to play a part in your brand identity.
Other things include color and type, templates, consistency, flexibility,
and document. All of these make up a unique brand identity.
Integrate Language You Can Use To Connect, Advertise, And Embody On Social Media
Now that everything regarding your brand has been established within your company and has taken all the needful steps to develop it, you’re set to integrate your brand within your community. One of the proven ways to accomplish this is your brand creates high-quality content. Providing high-quality content will take your business to a high level within a short period.
Monitor Your Brand To Maintain Its Brand Identity
Like other aspects of your marketing, it’s hard to know what you’re doing at the moment and what you’re not–without tracking key performance metrics. You can use search engines like Google Analytics, comments, survey, social media discussions, and many more to monitor your brand and get a sense of how your customers and other people talk about and communicate with you.
It helps to implement changes to your brand if things are not going well. Creating a memorable brand demands consistent use of color, type, images, and language, but in turn, you will see that it’s worth it.
