What is branding?
Branding is a subject that has been the focus of little and big companies and startups for many years, and of all of them, only a few have paid attention to it and enforced it legally.
Many business owners still think that branding means just choosing an appealing name along with creating a special logo! These things are indeed part of the branding method, but we can say with certainty that the whole branding is something far beyond these measures!
What is branding?
The set of activities that create an image and a thought in the customer’s mind about you is called branding. Some of these activities are actions such as brand naming, logo design, packaging, advertising slogans, and even the color of your brand, each of which somehow creates an image of you in the mind of the customer.
To better understand the subject, suppose an indulgence restaurant, in the words of stylish people, has named its brand after a name like “Eat Eat”! Hearing this name creates the image of normal and cheap fast food in mind. Therefore, by choosing such a name, such a restaurant has taken its first wrong step in the direction of branding!
As another definition, branding is a set of activities of your business that creates a clear reason to choose your brand over the brand of competitors in the minds of consumers.
So by enforcing the branding method, not only can you create the image you want in the minds of customers, but you can also take special actions to create an image of a premium brand over your rivals in the market in their minds, and thus size Increase your market more and more.
Introducing branding tools
1- Naming
2- Video content
3- Visual effects (such as logo design, posters, etc.)
4- Content marketing
5- Creative activities
6- Event
7- Verbal or word of mouth advertisements
1- Branding through naming
As we mentioned at the start of the article, a brand name can instantly impact the image of a brand in the mind of the customer. This result is so great that a person can guess what experience that brand can be for him just by hearing the name of a brand and even without seeing a picture of the products or the site of that business!
Let’s go back to our example. What image does hearing the brand name “Eat” create in your mind? Did you need to think to get a theoretical image? Not! So if a fast food with low and medium prices wants to choose a name for itself, it can take its first branding step with the help of this strong name D:
How to choose the right name for your brand?
The name you choose for your brand should be based on the following factors:
1- Type of brand: cheap, common or costly, and unique?
2- Industry and market in which you operate: such as food, clothing, car, and market
3- The tone of the name: that is, how is the name you have chosen pronounced and how is it heard and what does it sound like?
4- Written appearance: How does your brand name look when it is written? Is it similar to another word?
5- Target audience: Who are your customers? public? The poor or the wealthy?
6- Copyright issues: Although this issue is not regarded in some countries, be sure not to use another brand name!
Be sure to follow the above in naming your brand. Your brand name and the sound it hears can directly create an image in people’s minds that is either in line with the reality of your brand or contrary to what you are!
2- Branding with the help of video and video content
With the help of video and short videos, you can easily introduce your brand in full point, because in a video, in addition to using images, the essential and good reasons can be given to the audience with the help of audio. Today, motion graphics advertising has found many fans and many brands use it to introduce their creations and services.
3- Branding through visual effects
The logo, poster design, banner, packaging shape, and involuntary members, and visual effects of your brand can remain forever in the minds of your audience.
Logos and visual designs are usually the first things a consumer sees when they first meet a brand, and since the first encounter is the most practical method, the basic design of these designs can be very effective.
The importance of these designs and their effect on the mind is such that when we see an image or design identical to the logo of big companies such as Samsung, these brands come to mind and vice versa when we hear the name of these brands logo. They fast appear in the mind with!
Therefore, you should pay special attention to your brand logo as well as the slogan you use under it, and do not forget that the first meeting is the most effective.
4- Branding with the help of content marketing
Content marketing is the most modern and one of the most effective marketing methods to which small and large companies save a large part of their funding. Video production, podcast production, text content production are all sub-components of content marketing and can play a huge role in connecting you and your customers.
For example, if you are a slimming medicine manufacturer, you can create a good and effective relationship with your customers by producing content and articles about diets or a variety of activities appropriate for slimming in the blog section and thereby fix them. Make sure you care about their health!
5- Branding with the help of creative activities
Some brands try to place their brand in the public mind by establishing movements or offering gifts. For example, suppose a large seminar held in a hot and messy hall hosts a special brand of very cool mineral water for free, or on Nature Day a brand that delivers biodegradable garbage bags with the help of staff and employees. They collect garbage themselves!
Doing such actions by these brands can have a positive, lasting, and very deep impact on the minds of the audience. This result is so great that if the people present at that seminar or the people supervising the garbage collection campaign. If they see their brand name in a store along with other brands, they will buy these brands!
6- Branding with the help of holding an event
Another thing that can be very effective in your branding is holding events, conferences, and seminars related to the industry in which you operate. For example, suppose a brand of SEO and digital marketing assistance holds a free event about SEO and its impact on the Internet business. This company can not only have a positive effect on the minds of the audience. It also can introduce its products and services in this event and show its difference with the competitors to the audience!
7- Branding with the help of verbal advertising
It is safe to say that a brand becomes famous and popular among people when it is positively spread among them. Verbal advertising is far more effective than any other type of advertising. It comes from the mouths of people who are close to us and we trust them a lot!
In addition to being effective, word of mouth is very viral and can quickly spread a brand name among the general public. Here are some important tips that can help people get your brand viral and viral:
1- Be interesting
To be advertised by people, you need to be interesting. People are not attracted to dull brands at all! So be creative first and try to do interesting and fun things!
2. Have a brand story
A brand story is one of the most important factors in word-of-mouth marketing and most of the big brands that everyone knows today have real and sometimes imaginary stories! So try to tell the audience an interesting story about the emergence and formation of your brand.
3- Focus on current customers
The customers you have been able to attract so far can be the best marketers for your business. If your focus is on solving the problem of current customers and creating a sense of complete satisfaction. be sure to each of them will soon advise you to several people around you, and that means success!
4- Know the influential people or influencers of your industry well
In every field and industry, there are people or people whose opinion is very important to the people. Try to communicate with these people first so that they are aware of your existence and then make sure. They monitor your activities and work. In this way, you maximize your chances of being introduced by these people!
5- Have a colorful presence in social networks
In the first place, you should identify the social networks that have the most number of your target audience. For example, if you are active in specialized training, Twitter and LinkedIn networks will be more important than Instagram. Once you have selected the right social networks, start honestly working on them and try to show a very close and sincere relationship with your audience.
6- Always be honest and truthful
Honesty and truthfulness is the most important factor to motivate word-of-mouth marketing. People will not introduce your brand to their friends and loved ones until they are sure of the quality of your product and services as well as the truth of your words and slogans! So try to be honest with your customers in all areas. Even if this honesty causes the quality of some of your products or services to be asked!
Why is branding so important ?!
With the development of different industries and a substantial increase in the number of rivals in different fields. The issue of branding is more important than ever, and we can safely say that if an organization lacks a branding strategy and program. It will certainly fail to compete with its rivals and never can reach the share of the target market.
The most important reasons for the importance of branding are the following:
1- Branding improves market share
Undoubtedly, it can be said that an organization or company that has a specific branding program and has a suitable budget for it can quickly increase its market share and overtake rivals.
2- Branding increases sales
When the branding process is done properly, a good image of the brand is formed in the minds of the audience and because they choose you from several brands, so a significant growth in sales of products and services. You will have it!
3- Proper branding improves the value of your brand
Contrary to the general perception of business owners, brand value. It is considered an intangible asset, has a much greater impact on value than physical and real assets such as offices, employees, warehouses, and so on. Therefore, the higher the value of your brand, the more your company or organization will be appreciated.
4- Principled branding impedes the growth of new competitors
If your organization or company has not adopted a plan and strategy for branding. It has taken the risk that a new rival with a sufficient budget will share the market. Make it your own! Therefore, not paying attention to branding can cause the loss of one or more parts of the market.
5- More pricing of products and services
Certainly, you have experienced the case that two similar products have different prices in terms of type, size, weight, and, and in most cases. The more famous brand is more expensive It is from the rest as well. So being known among the people and becoming a famous brand can easily increase your company’s net profit. Research has shown that most people are willing to pay a little more for a well-known brand because of the trust they have in it!
6. Proper branding puts you in the right position to raise capital
Indeed, a well-known brand has a better chance of raising capital than other emerging brands. Since attracting large capital can greatly increase the speed and volume of growth of your organization. So this can be viewed as one of the reasons for the importance of branding.
7- Attracting the best workforce in different parts of the company
All people like to work in well-known and large companies. In this way, in addition to making more income, they also strengthen their resumes and work records. If your brand has reached such a position, then you can attract the best and most specialized workforce and thus increase your growth rate.
8- Honest branding causes word of mouth
As mentioned before, verbal advertising is one of the best types of advertising that makes your brand known fast and virally among people. Branding and its honest performance will eventually lead to word-of-mouth advertising and significant growth in your business and market share.
9- Increasing the work efficiency of the company’s employees
When the brand and name of a company are on the tongue and most people are familiar with it. The employees of that company are proud to work in that company and perform their organizational tasks efficiently and correctly. They do it in the best possible way because they are much more motivated than the employees of an anonymous company and they feel a kind of superiority in themselves!
