In this social world, customers encounter new brands every day. Among the many options available in this crowded market, you must work hard to create a brand identity, whether you are a small startup or a luxury company. 

So, when developing your strong and long-lasting brand, focus on critical areas such as brand identity, brand strategy, brand voice, and brand positioning. But brand identity is at the heart of them all, and it is not just limited to the brand logo. 

Let’s get to the heart of brand identity, find a way to create it, and how it translates to consistent brand imaging across all content platforms.

What is Branding?

Branding is the consistent journey of a brand toward the consumer. It shapes the perception and values of your brand story so that consumers permanently associate it with you. 

A strong brand does not sell its product but instead solves consumer problems. The most concerning question before creating a brand is, “Why do customers choose you over others?” 

Undoubtedly, every industry has competitors. For instance, if you sell cars, many different brands, including Volkswagen, Ford, Mercedes, and Toyota, already do so, or if you operate an OTT platform with a subscription model, there are already bigger competitors like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+.

You must create your values, mission, personality, and voice to attract consumers who admire, remember, and prefer to come to you even if the market is crowded; this is called branding. 

What is Brand Identity?

Investopedia defines brand identity as “the visible elements of the brand, such as its logo, color, design, and messages that distinguish your brand in the minds of consumers.“

The concept of brand identity is not just limited to a company’s name, origin, and visual identity but also includes the brand’s story, values, mission, vision, brand voice, and brand personality. A strong brand identity forms the magnetic strategy of branding that shapes the consumer’s impressions long after the sale. 

Refrain from mixing brand identity with brand image; both have thin lines of difference. Brand identity is how a brand’s creators express themselves to consumers, and brand image is how consumers perceive the brand

What Makes a Strong Brand Identity?

Clarity in a brand’s story and values and a strong commitment to delivering quality services or products are required to create a unique brand identity. A strong brand combines graphical visuals and conveys powerful messages to elicit emotions and drive great sales, marketing, and retention results.

We’ve compiled the most important elements that you should always pay attention to when it comes to brand identity development.

• The thoughtful name, logo, and tagline
• Unique Value proposition (UVP)
• Consistency in delivering high-quality services or products
• Striking Visuals
• Responsive customer service
• Clear, concise, and customer-oriented marketing messages

How To Create A Brand Identity

Branding is about creating a distinct and memorable brand identity that leaves an impression on the consumer’s mind. We’ve created a framework for you to consider before developing an enduring brand identity. 

Build a foundation

Before you begin creating visuals for brand identity, Before proceeding, it’s important to make sure that your foundation is strong. That means you must find answers to those questions-

• Why does your brand need to exist? 
• Who are you?
• What is the inspiration for your brand name?
• What products or services do you sell?
• Are your products or services  a necessity, a convenience, or a luxury?
• What is your mission, vision, and beliefs behind your brand? 

Once the foundation is in place, you now have a brand direction and can strategize how to create and distribute content while providing value to your audience.

Set a Brand Voice 

Brand voice depicts the brand’s personality—how a brand talks to its customers—and that must be consistent in every channel of marketing, whether it’s TVC or social media campaigns.

It is a great way to connect with their customers on a deeper level. When your mission and vision are clear and concise, you can easily set your brand’s tone, personality, and uniqueness.

Create a Brand Positioning Strategy 

Brand positioning is the process of creating unique and memorable impressions in your customer’s minds that set you apart from others. There are some of the elements you should include on brand position strategy –

• Highlight the necessity
• Emphasize the value 
• Hit on their emotional perception

The principle of your brand positioning must be memorable, relevant, appealing to consumers and serve your audience by providing value.

Shape Your Target Audience

You need to clearly understand who needs your service or product, who your brand speaks to, and who will benefit from your brand’s solution to grow.

The more you understand your targeted audience, the narrower your path to successful branding. Make sure to gain in-depth knowledge about demographics and psychographics, which will allow you to filter out everybody to your potential. 

When you’ve filtered out your consumers, it’s time to hit on emotions on both an internal and external level to connect your brand with the audience.

Follow brand guidelines

A brand guideline outlines your brand’s visual identity. A brand’s logo, colors, typeface, images, and content are all branding elements required for brand identity. Some branding elements are  required for your brand identity –

• Logo– clear and concise logo tells your brand story so that your customers see and quickly recognize you.
• Tagline– Make humor, rhythm, alliteration, or the rule of three in brand messages.
• Typeface– Choose a font that is easy to read and fits with your brand personality and mood.
• Color palette– Pick a color palette that dramatically appeals to your target market and associates with the brand. 
• Striking visuals designs– The icon, the product or services photography, and the website or social profiles illustration must relate to the brand and stand out from the crowd.
• Social content– Share valuable and engaging social media content to learn more about the products or services.

This guideline assists a brand in maintaining consistency across all marketing channels. Especially with working with agencies, videographers, editors, designers, photographers, etc. – having brand guidelines will ensure that your brand image is consistent and uniform on all content that is made.

In closing, a foundation is necessary when you start a brand. From establishing an entity with logos all the way to how you reach your customers and target audience. Having a simple logo and brand colors are nice – but knowing why your brand exists, your values and the strategy to communicate them to your audience is how you can elevate your brand from basic to actually having influence and impact. Your foundation is the guideline to creating a successful brand that provides value to real people.