1. Create original content
There are literally hundreds of websites offering stock images that you can use for your marketing and social media content. From chargeable providers such as iStock Photo (www.istockphoto.com) to free sources like Pexels (www.pexels.com), these give you the peace-of-mind that you are using content that is copyright free. However it also means anyone else can use them too! A great way to set your brand apart from the crowd is to create your own imagery that is 100% exclusive to you. With the advances of mobile phone cameras you have the power right in your pocket. Amazingly, almost all the images featured on the DSD website and social accounts are shot on an iPhone!
2. Be consistent
Consistency is key to any brand and can take you to that next level in marketing. Your customers’ trust and loyalty will thrive when they know what to expect from you, be it your social media posts, general correspondence or level of service that you provide. This uniformity should run through from the colours and fonts you use for your marketing, to how often you post on social media or release a new blog. The more consistent you are, the greater the brand recognition, which in turn helps your customer to get to know your brand on a personal level. This leads on to the long-standing concept that purchasing of products or services is generally more of an emotional decision than a practical one. Brand recognition draws us in and subconsciously triggers our memories.
3. Be personable
How many times have you visited a company’s website and read “Our team are ready to help” and yet there is no elaboration of ‘who’ exactly the team is. Or received a flyer from a company that proudly states “Our family-run business” without revealing how the business came to be, a contact name, or any back story. For a client or customer to invest their time, trust and money in your brand they want to know about the people behind the business. It makes your offering more personable and is the basis for strong working relationships to develop. This ‘back story’ element is something that I’m immensely proud to have in place on the DSD site, if you haven’t already you can check it out here.
4. Interact with your customers
The way your brand interacts with its customers on social media and across other communications is a huge part of building it’s ‘tone of voice’. This tone helps represent your brand’s personality and values, and should be consistent across all platforms. It’s also important to be as prompt as possible when replying to any form of interaction. This promptness shows that, however small, the fact someone has chosen to contact you and your brand means something to you, is appreciated, and must be acknowledged!
5. Feedback
With the continued increase of social media platforms forming a large part of a brand’s outreach, it’s important to have a positive reputation online. A great way of building your brand is to simply ask your clients to leave a review on either Google or one of your social accounts that allows the function, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Positive feedback from satisfied clients not only gives new customers confidence in your brand before they have even interacted with you, but also Google reviews can aid your search engine rankings for your website. You’d be surprised at how ready and willing happy customers are to write a review following a polite prompt!
I hope you can take away some of the points raised and successfully apply them to your brand. It does take time to build brand recognition, but with hard work and persistency the benefits and success will come. Obviously these are all things that you can execute yourself to a certain degree, but there’s no doubting that an experienced graphic designer can help you get to another level! If you do have any questions on the topics covered in this blog then please leave me a comment below and I’ll reply to you as soon as possible.
Brilliant content Dan that echoes my sentiments completely – especially the amount of junk mail that comes through my letterbox from family-run businesses with not a single mention of the family name or contact!
Thanks David, glad you enjoyed the article. The key is transparency, people like people first.