Jody Raines Thoughts on Branding and Establishing a Brand Identity
Why? Because they say they are!
I've noticed an increase in "Social Media Marketing Experts" and new Inbound Marketing Agencies that is alarming. Hubspot, for example, now has reached a milestone of 15,000 customers! (All are new gurus based upon their certification program.) What makes this trend alarming is that the self-professed expert really doesn't know a whole lot about marketing. What they do know is how to tweet or set up an account and let's face it... to earn your business, he (or she) just needs to know more than you do!
Let's take branding as an example. I've seen some awful examples of logos and taglines that make me cringe. Just this morning, I was looking at a site that enables you to research available trade marks, and they have a rotating banner of logos that scream amateur... and it's not because the graphics are unprofessional, quite the contrary - the graphics are lovely... The reason is because the designer is not designing the brand based upon the product offer and the prospect base, but upon what looks pretty to the designer.
What do I mean by designing based upon your prospects and potential customers?
Let's take a look at fonts as a case in point. Fonts are expressive in and of themselves. A font can be complex or simple, it can be serif or non-serif, it can be bold or italic or all-caps... each font has a certain character that makes it appeal to certain audiences.
Fonts that look like handwriting are more casual. Fonts that lean forward suggest movement. Fonts with heavy, bold straight lines are more masculine. Fonts with curves and lighter strokes are more feminine.
Choosing a font is an important decision and you want to be sure the font appeals to your customer profile.
What's in a name?
Naming a company should be easy. It's not. One of the worst things I see is when a company is named with a phonetic abbreviation for a word... One such company that comes to mind uses numbers and letters to spell out a name. Now, I ask you, how is a customer supposed to find you online if they cannot remember the cutsie spelling of your company name?
Color Choices?
Remember back to grade school when you had a big box of crayola crayons? The names of the colors were so creative... yet they somehow seemed to fit the mood of the color. Generally, blues are cool, reds are hot, and there are a ton of variations in between. Even if you just look at blue, there are tints and shades and variations. Large companies typically pick a specific color - they may do focus groups to help determine perceptions - and then they assure that this color is dutifully represented and not interpreted by publishing a branding manual. The manual details the pantone or PMS color for the logo, acceptable positioning of the logo, and exactly how the logo is allowed to be used on different items.
Consistent Use of the Logo!
Most small companies don't create a brand standard manual, and to be honest, if there is only one person who does all the advertising, they may not need something that formal. But there is a price because the logo is used in multiple positions, in different shades of color, and sometimes with totally different fonts.
If you have a ton of money to spend on advertising - go for all that change, but keep in mind that consistency of use begans to build recognizability. The more your logo is used consistently the more your customer comes to understand your colors and style.
Buy your URL(s)
So, you've selected the name, you have a logo, and now you want to build a website. It's not as simple as "if you build it, they will come". You should spend some time thinking about what a good URL would be or website address for your website. Of course, if someone has your business card they can type the domain into the address bar, however, if you hope that a prospect will find you, it's a good idea to have a URL that is easy to spell and recognizable. In addition, you should consider "boxing" it, or buying the sister domains to block others from buying your domain, then directing it to their website. Yes, that's sneaky, but it's done. Recently there was an article about Hilary Clinton not owning one of the variations of her name for her campaign bid, and in fact, the domain was purchased and now redirects to one of her competitors. Don't be caught like Hilary. Figure out your domain, the possible shortenings, and buy the .com, .net, .org, .info for that domain. Especially important is the .com. I've advised people to change the name of the company if the .com they want is not available. Be realistic, however. If it's not available you can use a domain buying service, but be prepared to spend way more. Also, be aware that not all domain searches are created equally. If some registrars get an idea that a domain may be "hot" then they will buy up that doman and offer it at a premium cost. Use domain searches sparingly until you decide you are ready to buy.
Test the Concept
Corporate America uses focus groups but you can use your friends. Run the logo by them and ask for their honest opinion. Ask people who are similar to your target audience. Be open minded and be flexible. Just because you love a logo may not make it the best choice, especially if you are not your target audience!
Jody Raines, WebMarCom is an Internet Marketer and Traditional Marketer versed in both old school, traditional marketing methods and new media. WebMarCom is an Internet Marketing agency that creates measurable online marketing campaigns and trains companies on effective use of social media.
Jody also trains her Belgian Malinois and rides a Harley.
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