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Marketing. Sales. Promotions. Public Relations. Advertising. Branding. Aren’t they all one thing?
Not actually. Consider all of these a side of a hexahedron (a six-sided 3D shape; I looked it up!). They’re all related, but play together differently. Let’s cover branding today.
What Exactly is Branding?
While there are a ton of definitions out there for branding, my definition is that branding is the way consumers feel about your company. It’s what you do to arrive at that emotional connection.
Think about these brands and how you feel about them:
- Coca-Cola: Maybe you have a history of warm, fuzzy memories surrounding the brand.
- Starbucks: If you’re like me, the brand makes me feel indulgent and safe.
- Apple: I feel hip when I use Apple products.
As you see, each of these brands evokes some sort of feeling. That’s branding. These companies have worked hard to market their message so that you’ll feel that way. Apple doesn’t care about being warm and fuzzy, and Coca-Cola doesn’t care about being cutting edge. They want to connect with you through their products, and they want you to care about what they sell. Branding does this.
How They Brand
Branding happens many ways. Commercials, social media interactions, websites, copy, logos, packaging…they all serve to brand a company in a particular direction. Coca-Cola sponsors the World Cup so that fans will connect their happy experiences in watching the games with the brand.
The more places a company is found, the better the branding. That’s why you’ll see Apple products on hundreds of blogs and on television commercials. Starbucks products are now found in the grocery store. Coca-Cola? Well, it’s everywhere.
Branding for Small Businesses
It’s all well and good what Coca-Cola is doing to brand itself, but what about smaller companies with smaller budgets?
If promotions are a sprint, branding is the marathon. Nothing will happen overnight for your branding efforts, so it’s important to realize that. Here’s a list of things you should take care of before putting efforts in to branding. Companies who are looking to make instant sales shouldn’t focus on branding just yet.
But if you’re ready to establish yourself in your marketplace, you don’t need deep pockets to do so. Start with understanding how you want people to think of you. Do you want them to consider you a comforting and safe company? Cutting edge? A lifetime of memories? Rugged?
What images, colors and wording help depict that image?
Determine your brand’s story. What makes it unique from your competitors? Take a look at your logo, marketing material and website. Do they tell the story you want to tell, or are they going in a different direction? Everything from color choice to logo images can move people in the direction you want. If you’re an eco-friendly company, green is the natural choice to evoke environmental support from your clients, not black or red.
Where are you marketing? Are you in the right channels, targeting the right audience? For that matter, who is your audience? You’ve got to know who’s buying your products. You might be surprised if it’s not who you originally targeted, and if that’s the case, you may need to shift your branding plan slightly to accommodate.
Keep a consistent voice across all channels. Even if you have different team members updating social media, writing press releases and compiling web copy, the company voice should be consistent to your branding.
Branding is the overall perception of your brand, and is supported by efforts on the other sides of the hexahedron. Marketing, public relations, sales, promotions and advertising all help support your company’s brand. It’s important to include employees in each of these areas in discussions around branding so your efforts can be cohesive.
