In this post we’ll go through the 6 crucial things you need to have in place to ensure that your business brand is highly functional, useful, and stands out from your competition. As you know, a brand is more than a logo, here’s a few steps and factors to consider. 

Step 0

Before you look at your aesthetics, your marketing strategy or any form of branding… Make sure that you have a functioning business model. Without a value system and a working business model that functions effectively internally, coming up with a brand that shouts success will only lead to failure.

So let’s get started

Step 1

Create a consistent corporate identity

Your corporate identity is the soul of your brand. It’s what people know and see first hand before anything else. Your brand colours, logo shapes, imagery and content needs to be CONSISTENT.

Without a consistent brand, people won’t be able to make the connection between shared content and your business. 

Remember.. our brains on social media has an attention span of about 8 SECONDS! If a person scrolling down sees your content.. finds it useful or funny or whatever it is you want them to feel.. and DID NOT MAKE THE CONNECTION TO YOUR BUSINESS.. you lost an opportunity!

Step 2

Use your corporate identity to create an amazing Website

Depending on your industry and if you have an e-commerce store, not all your clients might need to use your website.. but having a website makes you 

• Credible
• Findable on google
• Allows your clients to learn more about you in the future

Before setting up anything social or printable.. make sure these 2 aspects are in place.

Step 3

Use your corporate identity to setup a stable Social Media Presence.

Not having a strong social media presence is a crucial mistake. With about 4 and a half billion social media users worldwide.. this is the world we live in, and this is the world your business should thrive in.

With an eye catching Profile Picture that sits on every post, Make sure that whatever your post, weather it is a video, a piece of text, a photo of your product.. that your posts corresponds with your CI and most important:

 Make sure that your posts are:

• Engaging
• Informative
• Entertaining or
• Purposeful

Step 4

Use your corporate identity to craft creative Print Media

Print media is more than just a flyer..

It is all the physical material that will take your business negotiations to the next level.

It’s sometimes difficult to say what you want to say without having anything to point at or show. There’s a reason why we have a drink in our hands when at a party.. its very awkward talking to someone with empty hands.

At a meeting with a client.. it’s no different. Having something for show, or something to give is always helpful. 

Besides indoor and outdoor branding, small printed media items such as a creative and beautiful business card, corporate profile, foldable brochure or your catalog of products can make a big difference in your sales successes.

Step 5

Use your corporate identity to design eye catching Digital Media

Presenting your business structures and methods or even products to your clients on powerpoint is not a bad idea..

But NOT making use of high quality and professional templates and design features that corresponds with your corporate identity might make people

• LOOSE INTEREST
• THINK YOUR COPIED CONTENT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE
• OR JUST THINK THAT YOU ARE AVERAGE

You are not average! You have an amazing skill and talent that most people dream of having!! 

The way you display any form of digital media should show and enhance this!

Step 6

Make sure you have a Strategy!

A strategy is definitely not a type of media to have in place.. but branded content without a strategy is just noise!!

Making sure that you target the right people when running a campaign is crucial. If you try to advertise on social media with the use of traditional methods (methods used on television, radio or flyers), you are making a big mistake!

Making sure that your content leads somewhere your clients can learn more or get support is important, and will ensure that your time and money spent on your branded content is not wasted.

Let’s recap:

1.

Design a consistent corporate Identity

Then: Use your corporate identity to:

2.

Create an amazing website

3.

Setup a stable social media presence

4.

Craft creative print media

5.

Design eye catching digital media

6.

Have a strategy