Branding is overwhelmingly important in business. Without a strong character, your business will fade into the background, allowing more impactful brands to take your place.
The greatest commercial brands seem as if they have been around forever because they feel innately familiar. This is the essence of a great brand identity – to make customers feel as though they are interacting with an old friend rather than yet another business.
There are many constituent parts that create a successful business, but without a strong, recognizable brand, it will be like you are swimming upstream rather than down.
Building a characterful brand is not the work of a moment and requires a great deal of introspection. After all, most great brands you can think of (McDonalds and Nike, for example) are shot through with their founder’s DNA.
Therefore, you should think long and hard about what it is you, and your company stands for, as well as examine your unique personality traits. They will likely inform the direction of your brand messaging.
Of course, once you have started developing your brand, you need to display it to your target market.
Here are some great ideas for building your brand following quickly:
Brick fundraisers
When you are showing your brand off to the world, you want to do it in as novel and memorable way as possible.
What’s more, you want to be able to take your target market along for the ride, encouraging them to be active participants in your brand story.
It is for this reason that brick fundraisers are so powerful. They give your market the opportunity to have their name enshrined in brick – whether to be used to construct one of your buildings, or perhaps a prominent structure in the local community that you have sponsored.
By having their name etched in brick forever, your customers will have an automatic emotional reaction whenever they come across your brand. It is only natural when their name is staring back at them from your premises.
If you are interested in hosting a brick fundraiser, then use a brick marker who can create the etched bricks with zero fuss.
Social media competitions
Another great way to build your brand quickly is to host a social media competition.
These competitions could constitute anything from a giveaway to a chance to help design or name a new product.
Social media competitions are great for the same reasons as a brick fundraiser – they turn your market from passive observers to active participants in your brand narrative. Not only this, but you will be able to grow your social media following far more quickly.
Sponsor a local event
If you are a small business, then there is no point in trying to take on the world by hosting a huge social media competition. Many of the participants may not even be target customers, especially if your services are only available in a certain area.
Event sponsorship opportunities can be an effective marketing strategy for companies looking to increase brand visibility and engage with potential customers. The benefits of sponsoring an event can include increased brand recognition, the opportunity to reach a targeted audience, and the ability to build relationships with event organizers and attendees.
Therefore, it is best to focus on the local community – where you are likely to find the most customers.
Sponsoring a local event gives you potentially fantastic exposure and allows your sales team to meet prospects in person. Furthermore, it illustrates your strong brand values and willingness to invest in the community, which are both attractive traits in the eyes of consumers.
