What is a Brand Identity?

The number of businesses competing for your audience’s attention continues to grow. According to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, the U.S. was home to more than 30 million small businesses in 2019. While it’s safe to assume some of those businesses were forced to close due to the pandemic, it’s just as safe to assume that there are multiple companies trying to earn your prospects’ trust. In order to grow, your company has to be notable and worthy of trust. 

Building an intentional, positive brand identity gives you a better chance to stand out from the crowd and help potential customers find your company online and in person. 

The Culmination of All Your Work

This is the exact reason we have hit business branding so hard the past few months. Without a goals-oriented, careful brand identity strategy, your business won’t be able to stand out from the competition. Up to this point, we have covered the following:

• The Differences Between Branding and Marketing
• Using Your Website for Your Visual Branding
• How to Create a Strong Brand Positioning in Your Market
• Reality vs. Perception of Digital Branding

Your brand identity is the culmination of all these things you do to create and portray your business to customers and prospects. It’s visual components like your logo, your website, and your physical branding. And it’s intangible things like how you treat your team, your levels of customer service, and how you communicate about your work. These things marry together to create your brand identity, or the perception people have about your company. 

How to Have a Successful Brand Identity

Now that we’ve clearly identified brand identity, let’s define what you need to do in order to build the identity you want your brand to have. 

Create

When you build your brand identity, you’re building something that is a combination of visual components and intangibles like your communication and service.  Before anything else, nail down exactly who you are, what you do, and what you want to be known for. What will set you apart from the other competitors in your industry? 

Then, create the visual aspects of your brand, such as your logo and website, and use them consistently. It is confusing and inconsistent to have one logo online, and then a completely different logo on your company vehicles. 

Communicate

Once you’ve created the foundation for your brand and your branding, it’s time to communicate it to your team and your audience. Every business knows the importance of building out a strong content marketing strategy to help your audience see how your business is able to solve their problems, answer their questions, and help them troubleshoot any issues they might have.

This communication, however, doesn’t just end with your audience. It’s also something that should be communicated on a regular basis with your team. It’s part of building a strong culture: define and discuss who you are, what you do, and how you will do it to serve your clients well and continue to grow your business. 

Portray

After communicating your brand identity to your team and your audience, it’s time to build out brand authenticity. To quote the old phrase, this is “putting your money where your mouth is.” It’s not enough to communicate your brand’s identity, you have to show it. Every single interaction a prospect or a customer has with your business, from your sales process to your service to your support, should be excellent and positive. Be clear and prompt in your communication, show up when you say you will, and be quick to admit your mistakes and solve problems that come up. Doing these things helps your business stand out from others in your industry. 

Monitor

Once you’ve put together a brand identity plan and strategy, you need to monitor your performance. Identify which aspects of your plan are working, where you have holes, and where you need to improve. Paying close attention to your monthly data and performance helps you to best meet your customers’ needs, serve them well, and maintain a positive brand identity and reputation. 

How Do You Want to Be Known?

More than anything, your brand identity is what your customers and prospects think about you. It’s how you're known, trusted, and respected. The best way to ensure that identity is positive is to cultivate it with a brand identity strategy that combines visual components with intentional content and a successful plan for serving customers well. 

That sounds simple enough, but the execution is complex. That’s where having a partner can help you reach your goals. When you work with a digital agency, you have help and support to create a plan and achieve success. If you’re interested in learning more about what it would look like to partner with our team, we would love to set up a consultation with you and learn more about your business and your needs. If you want to learn more about building a positive brand identity, check out our free ebook, Telling Your Brand’s Story Through Digital Marketing.