5 Keys to building a strong brand
In 2020 businesses are faced with bigger challenges to stay relevant — what does it take to build a strong brand?
We live in a time where essentially any type of product can be bought any where at any time. For many, spending money is bigger than just purchasing an item.
People want to feel like they are a part of something bigger. They want to contribute to a cause and fulfill their social responsibility all while purchasing even every day items.
People are also looking for an experience.
Building a brand has a unique way of attaching identity, purpose, and consumption all in one package and for many customers — is essential to earn their business.
Let’s dive in and look at five ways to build a strong brand that people want to be a part of.
1. Understand your identity
Take a moment to think of your favorite brands, beyond just their logo. What fonts do they use? What are their most popular colors? Do they go for a minimalistic modern design? Perhaps a retro look and feel?
Further than the design, what do these brands stand for? What causes do they promote? What is their tone when they post? Is it funny? Informal? Sophisticated?
One of the most important, if not the most important part of building a strong brand is understanding your brand’s identity. Without an identity you have no idea what audience you will serve. You will find yourself shooting from the hip with no real vision or strategy for your brand.
Above anything else it is important to understand who you are speaking to, in terms of your end consumer, and what they relate to. Your brand should only pursue ventures and create content based around its identity.
Brand identity can be comprised of color, fonts, tone of content, supported social causes, release schedules, etc.
Before you create a new product/service or develop content answer this question first:
Does this fit with the brand’s identity? Yes or no?
If the answer is yes, continue. If the answer is no, extend the question further and ask, “how can I modify this so that it will fit with the brand identity?”
This simple thought process will elevate what you share with your customers. You will be more intentional about what you provide — sharing less but doing more with the quality of your posts and releases.
2. Social media is sexy but SEO pays the bills
You’ve seen it — the coveted blue check.
You’ve finally made it; you reached the pinnacle of social media success. Through post engagements, reposts, and a genuine admiration of you and your brand, users from all over the world have gathered to follow you. Now you’re verified.
But wait…
The last time you went online shopping for new clothes where did you start? Did you open up Instagram and type in women’s (or men’s) luxury clothes? Did you go to the discovery page, hit the fashion tab and gain inspiration to begin a Google search?
Or did you just open Google?
I’m not saying you cannot build a strong community through social media but what I am saying is that your online presence must expand beyond social media.
For example:
Our Christian apparel brand Believe Brand Co. does not have the most impressive social media following. What some would consider a less than impressive following base, I’m sure.
But that number has not stopped our pop-up shops from selling out. It has not kept us from shipping hundreds of thousands of merchandise world-wide. It has not limited us from having NBA, WNBA and global influencers purchase and rep their faith through our brand.
In fact, it has not affected our growth at all. This is not to say we won’t consider putting more effort into building a stronger social media presence; it just means we are more focused on building the best product and customer experience, so our social media tends to take a back seat.
Where we find success is with SEO (search engine optimization). Head over to Google and type in “Believe Brand” and you will see we own much of the first page. We are also able to be found through online searches for Christian apparel.
As an extension, if you know me then you will know Believe Brand Co. On all the content I personally put out I always link back to Believe Brand. No matter what. Doing so allows learning about me and the brand, especially the brand, easier for those interested.
Again, I get it. A strong social media presence is sexy. However, a majority of those followers consume content for entertainment — not to purchase and support it financially.
This may not apply to you now. You may have successfully built your brand on social media. My simple recommendation would be to consider this:
If social media disappeared tomorrow, would your brand still be visible online?
Consider making your brand social media proof remembering that we ultimately have no control over the accessibility and existence of it.
Keep that in mind as you grow your brand.
3. Your brand’s content should be about your community, not you
For years I wrestled with my place inside the social mediasphere. I envied accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers and I always wondered… what would it take for me to be adorned by thousands of people I don’t know.
I thought time and time again, what do I need to do for tons of strangers to affirm my thoughts and abilities and share the content I post? I was thinking from a “self” centered mindset. Instead I should have been thinking from an audience perspective — what content will resonate and connect best with them?
Changing the approach to sharing content within our businesses changed the game for our engagement. For both Believe Brand’s DJ company and my personal DJ brand I focus more on posting mixes, videos, and content focused on educating and entertaining my audience.
The DJ nerd in me would much rather talk about the latest gear, what I’ve learned about advance techniques and post tutorials on how to become a better DJ, however, my audience is not here for that. Chances are they saw me perform and were entertained, followed me, and have an expectation to continue to be entertained.
Some DJ’s may have been found through educating and are able to post about techniques and tutorials — it all comes back to your brand’s identity. Either way, it’s important to learn and understand what type of content resonates best with your community.
For our tech company our users want to be educated on leadership-focused content and kept in the know about our latest features and offerings.
For Believe Brand Co. our users want to consume easy to digest, faith-based content that encourages and inspires. Occasionally they do like to see others in our product and the social proof that people enjoy our gear.
When you identify what it is your community is looking for, be sure to do more of that.
4. Consistency is KEY
Consistently sharing content took me a while to jump on board with. I would haphazardly come and go as I pleased waiting weeks on end to post more content as opposed to having a consistent strategy to keep my brand at the forefront of my audience’s mind.
By no means am I recommending post every day and overwhelm your audience. However, there is power in giving your community something to look forward to, whether it be each week or each month. Many of our favorite brands probably have a day in the week in which something happens. Take a quick moment to try and identify which of your favorite brands have a day of the week or week of the month they consistently post or release something.
We live in a time of constant stimulation, fresh new ideas accessible at our fingertips, and “what’s next?” mindsets.
People lose faith in brands and pages that aren’t updated.
I get it, posting consistently can become overwhelming and challenging to find the time. To combat that, Believe Brand has taken a new approach. While our minds are in the creative space, we plan our content ahead of time — almost like a roadmap.
There are a ton of tools out there to help with planning posts, emails etc. Just do a quick search online and find out what fits your needs best. Shoot me a message if you want to know some of my recommendations.
5. Just start
What more needs to be said? Just start.
Time is passing you by. Others who are not as qualified may find themselves ahead the curve simply because they decided to start somewhere.
Do not fall behind because you are afraid of failing or not being perfect. You will fail and you will not be perfect. But as you grow and refine your brand you will learn along the way, and those who support you for the long haul will give you grace and wiggle room as you trial and error your process.
No one is going to wait for you, nor will they wait on you.
Just start.
Begin creating a brand that you can look back on in a year, a decade, a lifetime from now and be proud of.
. . .
Iman Tucker has built several annual six-figure plus earning brands in: tech, apparel, entertainment.
He currently serves as the marketing director of CardBoard It, owner of Believe Brand Ent., and creative director of Believe Brand Co. in Carmel, Indiana.Leave a comment, ask a question. If you liked the post leave a 💚 or share! Thank you for the support!
Iman Tucker a proud member of Believe Brand Co.
Believe Brand is a faith based apparel company who exists to allow others to express their faith and contribute to local causes through the proceeds.
SHOP APPAREL: https://believebrandco.com
DJ SITE: https://believebrandent.com
Follow me on IG: @Iman_Tucker
