4 Ways to Cultivate Your Brand

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Branding is important to all businesses, big and small. Your brand represents the personality of your business. You need to keep cultivating your brand so that it will grow to the point where people can look at your Web site or one of your marketing pieces and know right away it’s your company. Here are some tips on how to grow your brand.

Remember, everything that the public sees is your brand.
Everything from the brochures and television commercials you use to the label printing on your products – everything should represent your brand. Don’t neglect anything – from the color of tiles or carpet in your store to the font on the signs in your store – everything should be related to your brand. Your product labels should have your logo on them and contain colors that complement your logo colors or that are the same as your brand colors.

Design a great logo and put it on everything.
Your logo is part of your brand design and it should complement all of your packaging and marketing materials. Your logo should be on everything from business cards to letterhead to building signs to your Web site. Make sure your logo conveys the message of your brand – a cartoonish logo wouldn’t look right for a mutual fund company. A cartoonish logo would go best with a clown company or something related to kids’ products. Make sure your logo represents what you want customers to think of when they think of your brand.

Create a brand-enforcing Web site if you haven’t already.
Every business should have a Web site nowadays – you can get one for free, so there’s no excuse! Most people do research on the Web before choosing any type of product or service provider, so make sure your Web site is designed to reinforce your brand image and make sure you use your brand colors or logo colors throughout your Web site. Make your Web site an extension of your brand. Make sure to update your Web site at least every two years or when you update your product offerings.

Join a committee or a non-profit.
Join a local non-profit or charity as part of its committee or board, or sponsor a charity event. Aligning your brand with a charity will give your brand a big boost. You’ll show how generous you are and how much you care about the community and the community will respond by doing business with you. It’s easy to join – usually all you have to do is ask since non-profits are always in need of volunteers!

Start a blog.
Blogs can be great extensions of your Web site because they give you a way to get more personal with your customers. Just make sure your blog gives customers and prospects valuable information. Blogs and any other kind of publishing you can do give your brand more credibility because you’ll look like an expert for having published pieces that are helpful to your customers. Plus, blogs allow for two-way conversation by way of comments, and customers like to be heard. A blog can turn your brand from cold and formal to warm and friendly.

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