The Dos and Don’ts of Branding
In today’s online environment, branding plays a monumental role in a business’ success. While, yes, a great business is more than its looks, we also live in a highly visual world. It’s imperative to use the right branding to reach and intrigue your target audience.
Just think about brands like Casper, Vacation, Athletic Greens, Olipop and Our Place (aka the best pots and pans on earth)! Beyond creating phenomenal products, they’ve also developed well-designed visual brands that customers connect with. That lasting brand presence has catapulted them to the top of their industries, and the top of their ideal audience’s mind.
…Now, we say all of that *fancy stuff* to officially explain why branding is important for your own ecommerce or creative business - but the truth is that you probably already knew that. So, where should you even start with branding your own business? What should you do, and what should you skip?
You can find all of the answers to our semi-dramatic questions below!
Follow these Dos and Don’ts When Branding your Business
DON'T: Copy your competitors.
DO: Study your industry for any common trends + intentionally break away from them.
The key in a crowded visual world? Being different.
In every industry, you’ll see common visual elements, color palettes and brand collateral. But if you’re in an industry like beauty, skincare or fashion, it can be especially difficult to make your brand stand out.
You might be tempted to join your competitors in jumping on trends, but trends come and go. While copying what a successful competitor is doing might give you a temporary boost, it won’t get you far, and it certainly won’t last long.
Not only will following branding trends feel like a constant game of catch up, but it’ll confuse your audience. Branding, when done right, helps your audience remember and recall your offer or product mentally - and that mental recall happens because of branding that stands out. If you follow the same trends as your competitors, your audience will easily confuse you as one of the others. Not the goal, right?
Of course, we never want to view competitors as a benchmark for what our brand needs to be. When it comes to branding your own business, try analyzing your competitors to observe common themes or trends before asking yourself:
Why would this be a trend in my industry?
What could the goal of adopting this trend be?
Who does this trend connect with, and what does it say about the brand?
Does this trend align with my own brand values/personality?
How could my brand break away from this trend?
DON'T: Try to speak to everyone.
DO: Narrow in on your target audience + build a brand that speaks to their unique desires and needs.
A brand that speaks to everyone speaks to no one.
If your brand voice, personality, aesthetics and messaging are too generic, it’ll be impossible to attract your right people. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, set aside some time to dive into the “who” behind your target audience. Once you’ve described your target audience to yourself, ask yourself:
How can I connect with them?
What do they care about?
What problem am I solving for them?
How does solving that problem impact their everyday life?
Audience clarity leads to targeted and seamless marketing. The deeper you dive into your audience’s characteristics, the easier it’ll be to know what key topics, pain points and visuals will resonate with them the most.
DON'T: Change your colors and fonts frequently.
DO: Establish a clear brand style guide with colors and fonts + use it consistently across platforms.
Choosing colors and fonts can be equally difficult and fun. Honestly, is it even possible to narrow things down when you have endless choices?!
(It is, we promise.)
Hear us out - when your font and color choices are inconsistent across emails, blogs and social posts, you create a confusing and disconnected brand experience for your customers and clients. And we’re willing to bet that’s pretty much the thing that no business owner ever wants to do.
So, establish a clear brand identity for your business that you can stick to. When you work with a design agency like us at Wayfarer, a brand style guide with custom colors and fonts is just part of what you’ll receive at the end of your project! We love putting together detailed brand guidelines intended to help you and your team have well-defined instructions on how and where to utilize all of the elements of your branding consistently.
DON'T: Get caught up in your personal preferences.
DO: Make design decisions based on your brand goals, values and audience preferences.
As a founder, you have an intensely personal connection to your own business! It’s normal for you to consider what you like or don’t like when developing your business’ brand identity. That said, it’s important to remember that your audience’s preferences aren’t going to look exactly like your own.
Let’s say that you dislike the color blue. And let’s say that blue is a perfectly effective color to convey what your business does, while connecting with your target customer. Do you choose based on your personal preferences, or do you make the decision based on what’ll work best for your brand?
(And the award for the easiest question in a faux quiz ever goes to: us 🏆)
Listen, we never want you to dislike your branding - we just want you to remember to be mindful of your personal preferences! When you review logos or color palettes, ask yourself:
How do I personally feel about this design concept?
Would my target customer be drawn to this concept?
By always considering your audience's perspective, you'll be able to make more strategic decisions, while also striking a happy medium between your own aesthetic preferences, and those of your customers.
Building a memorable and impactful brand isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile.
There’s so much to consider when starting your branding journey as a business owner. If you feel lost and in need of an expert to guide you through each step and decision, check out our branding and design services!
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