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Last Updated on December 28, 2020 by Work In My Pajamas
The potential of online world when it comes to business is really vast and wonderful. Many people turn to the internet to advertise and get more sales. Are you one of those business-minded people who aspires to build their own brand then rock the online world? Take heed, because before you embark on your online business journey, you should first understand the importance of having your own brand. If you want to get more attention online, a brand is very crucial. But before enumerating how you can build an effective brand, let us first define what a brand is.
In This Post:
WHAT IS A BRAND?
A brand is anything that will make you distinct from your competitors. It can be a business name, a logo, a sound, a reputation, employees, and much more. You can actually build a brand by consistently reinforcing anything that is mentioned above to your customers.
WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD YOUR BRAND
The term actually originated from animals such as cows being burned by their owners with an identifying mark or marking criminals with a hot branding iron to easily recognize them. Same with a business, if you want to be easily recognized, you should have an effective brand. For example, you see a shoe without any name but with a check logo on it, the brand Nike will immediately come out of your mind. Additionally, many people are spending more for a branded product. So if you can establish your brand well, chances are, you will be more successful. So how can we achieve it?
LET’S START TO BUILD A BRAND ONLINE
So to be able to have one, we have narrowed down six ways on how to build and develop your brand.
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Do a Research for Targeting your Audience and Competitors
Before actually making a brand, make a research on who your potential customers and competitors are. It is crucial in making an effective brand because you will know what image you should evoke to your stakeholder’s mind. Here are some ways to do it:
- You can start by searching at Google; search for trends and competitors. See how they market their products and etc.
- Talk to people or make a survey to those who are part of your target market. Ask them what brands do they patronize and analyze why they chose that specific brand.
- You can also follow your competitors’ social media pages so you can understand how they interact with their customers and how they market their products.
- Take note what they use for their ecommerce platform. Do they prefer a shopping cart software? What is the most efficient ecommerce platform for your chosen industry? For example, Shopify’s online clothing store platform is mostly preferred for selling clothes online, while WordPress users prefer to use WooCommerce because it can be easily integrated in the CMS.
While doing these steps, take note of what segment of your target market will easily turn to your product, who your top competitors are and how they work, and what are the interests of the general public.
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Positioning in the Marketplace
A positioning is a statement not just about the product, but about the company or the organization itself. This statement can be a two sentence declaration of your product, who they are for, what your products are for, and how they differ with your competitors’ brands.
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Create Your Online Presence
Although brand is not just about the name, you should still consider choosing a respectable but a catchy name. It can actually impact your whole branding plan like your logo because it is hard to make one for a very common name that describes your business. Choose a business name that is easy to remember, hard to imitate, and cannot be confused with other brands. Moreover, you want a brand name your customers can comfortably share to others when they are satisfied with your products or services, don’t you?
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Pick a Color and Font of Your Brand
When you already have a name, the next thing you should consider is the color. Color is powerful because they can convey feelings. Sometimes, companies can be recognized by just their colors. For example, in the coffee shop industry, you will probably think of Starbucks when you see a green color. When it comes to your font, make sure that it can easily be read. This will be very convenient when you are already building up your website.
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Design Your Personal Logo
The logo that you will create will be the face of your company. After all, it will probably be everywhere. You want a logo that is unique and identifiable. There are many ways to design your logo. For instance, you can put an abstract logo with no initial meaning, or just the initials of your business name. Your creativity is the only limit.
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Continue to Study your Industry
These tips are just the initial requirements of building a brand. You need to continuously grow and evolve. Research about the up and coming trends and make necessary changes to your business. Everything will surely not go as you planned so you must be ready to evolve your brand as deemed necessary.
