A strong brand identity resonates with your customers and evokes an emotion that aligns with the value your product or service delivers. Think about brands like Apple, Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson — people identify so strongly with those brands they tattoo the logos on their bodies!
But why? People believe in these brands, they trust them and can relate to them. They feel like they are part of a larger family when they identify with these brands. Kind of like brand superfans.
What is a "brand identity?"
Your brand identity is much more than your name or your logo, though they are part of it. Your brand identity includes all the components that make up your brand's look and feel, including your tone of voice, the typefaces or fonts you use, the colors, shapes, and yes, your name and logo.
Do your customers want to get a tattoo of your brand? (Figuratively speaking)
Ask yourself: Does my brand identity resonate with what I do? If the answer is No, it could be because you are offering more now than when you started. Do you do something completely different now? I talked a little about that here (link to last blog post). Keeping your brand identity relevant to your business helps new and current clients quickly understand who you are and what value you bring to their lives.
Jeff Bezos has a famous quote about branding. "Your brand is what people say about you when you leave the room." You need to know what customers say about you and your business. How do you learn that? Go ahead and ask them! Send a client survey after you finish a job for them, ask for reviews on Google or Facebook, post a story poll or question box on Instagram. Whatever the method is, it’s great to know what people are really thinking about you.
You can use this information to help grow your brand and if it is heading in the right direction. If it is, high five! Now you have great content for testimonials and posts on your social channels.
Colors can make or break your brand!
When trying to establish your brand identity, remember that colors are a big part of it. Do your chosen colors make sense for your brand? There is a whole lot more than picking your favorite color when it comes to branding. (We'll get into color choice and color theory in a future blog.) For now, just know that colors bring on emotions and feelings as well as portray certain kinds of information. This allows your customers to form an initial impression about you without even knowing what your brand is about or what you are trying to offer them. People all know that Coca-Cola is red (here is an interesting article on why they picked red). We know that McDonald’s has its golden arches and Harley-Davidson is orange.
Now, close your eyes and try to imagine if there iconic logos were a different color. Coca-Cola changed their logo to be Lime Green, McDonald's Changed their arches to blue and Harley-Davidson change their colors to purple. That would be very hard to do. There is a reason why these major brands picked these colors. If you want to know if your colors really speak to your brand you can download my free color guide here.
Keep your brand identity fresh
Finally, whether you are a new brand or a brand that has been around for years, you want to make sure that your brand identity stays relevant to you and your clients, while remaining timeless. Everything you do with your brand it needs to be “on brand” with your original vision for your company. Your visual identity, brand voice, brand personality and brand values all need to work together to create a cohesive experience your clients can connect with.
Struggling with your own brand identity? Let's set up time to chat and work through it together. I would love to be a part of your journey! You can get in touch with me here.