Brand.

The word has a lot of power and resonance. But what does it actually mean? More importantly, how can it help your business? Advertising OG David Ogilvy views a brand as ‘the intangible sum of a product’s attributes.’ It can speak volumes about a business without even looking at the products or services offered. It’s what a customer think of when they are thinking of you. Think about Nike. What’d you think of? World class athletes. ‘Just do it.’ Winning. Championships. That’s the power of branding. A company’s name becomes synonymous with something so much bigger. Welcome back to the Helix House blog, this time around we’re offering a helping hand and pointers on how to starting building a brand at a minimum cost to you.Is this going to give you THE ULTIMATE COMPANY BRANDING? Hell nah, but it will help a small business owner establish a foundation which can be built upon later!

Brand Blueprint

Before you go hop on Twitter to start blasting memes to “establish your brand”, it’s important to game plan. After all, following in the footsteps of Denny’s might not be what your business needs (probably not, it takes a certain kind of company to be this focused on egg puns.)

*school*teacher: are you prepared for the exam?student, pulling out a fork and knife: i’m always prepared for eggs ham

— Denny's (@DennysDiner) September 14, 2018

1. Create your brand identity - “Big idea”
2. Who you are  
3. Who your customers are
4. Communicate your brand identity
5. Social  
6. Blogging
8. Copy
10. Consistency  

Develop a Client Avatar or Persona

The first step in developing a brand is knowing who your target audience is.  Who is buying your products or services? What’s the demo? Knowing this means you know your potential customer’s wants, needs, and how they are looking to get those met. Learn where they live online, what sites they frequent and participate in.

Now Build One to Match

Now that you have an idea of your client’s identity, it’s time to really build your brand’s. Find a voice that represents you accurately, that’s true to your goals and who you want to be. Answer these questions to help give you a framework:

•       What are your values?
•       What do you represent?
•       How do you want to be viewed/talked about?

Creating a cohesive voice and identity for your company to use means that every communication across streams all come from the same voice. You are able to reinforce that brand identity rapidly. Soon the Brand will continue to promote itself, with customers vouching for your products and preaching your message.

Laying the Foundation

Use the Channels Available to YouIf you are reading this to find out how to build your Brand, then you’re probably not trying to spend tens of thousands of dollars (which is what serious Branding can cost). Because of that, you need to start leveraging the means available to you now, and that means social media.Take a look at the major social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and to a lesser extent LinkedIn and Pinterest. Where do your ideal customers hang out? Move into those and focus your efforts building your presence.Blogging is another surefire way to get your business out there. Not only can you write up long-form content for customers to find and enjoy, but you can also use it as an SEO opportunity. Two birds, one stone, ton’s of business.

Serve Your Customers Well

Your Brand won’t matter much if your customers loathe having to deal with you. In fact, no matter what sort of personality you’ve crafted, if you don’t serve your customers well then your Brand will become that. Think about Comcast, even if you have never had them, you’ve heard of their… particular kind of customer service. Do you want that to be you?

Stick to It

You’ve spent all this time building your brand, now you need to stick to it! Anytime your communications with the public differ from the plan laid out you’ll dilute the brand, muddle your messaging and hamstring your branding efforts. That’s no good.When you have this put together, when you have your ‘Starter Brand’ as it were, you can really start growing your brand using digital marketing best practice to grow your business. All this to make certain the brand customers find is the one they need – yours! Go ahead, give it a whirl and get started. If you think you need more than what you can handle, or you’re ready to take your brand game to the next level and get your business more – everything, Helix House can help. Reach out and together we’ll build the brand you’ve always dreamed of.