Basically it is how your business is recognised and it tells people what your business is about, it’s story. It should create loyalty, awareness and excitement.
People will form an opinion of your brand and whether it appeals to them just from your logo, so your brand identity needs to be well thought out and truly personal to you and your story. It should appeal to your target audience and be strong enough that you stand out from the crowd.
Branding ties together your business, so when people see a social post they instantly know it’s from you. A consistent brand also gives the idea of a more organised business. Think Nike, think McDonalds the feeling seeing those Golden arches have.
A little fact for you - the use of a signature colour can increase brand recognition by 80% (Reboot, 2018)
So, when did you think about your brand identity or is it one of those things you just muddle through with, choosing new typefaces and colours with each social post?
Ideally you create your branding right at the beginning of your new business journey, you have a clearer view of who your customer and what you have to offer that no one else does. People often just opt for a quick, off the shelf or designed yourself logo without realising the effect that has on a customer’s perception of the business. A poor quality logo gives the impression of a poor-quality product.
You become unstuck almost immediately when you realise you have a logo but no brand identity. You end up spending unnecessary time then designing your business card, how should your social posts look, what other colours go with my logo, everything has to be redone from scratch and that inconsistent look is obvious to your customer.
Have you ever looked at a lovely co-ordinated Instagram feed and thought, wow! That’s the power of a strong brand identity.
So what is the difference between a logo and a brand identity?
A logo is a visual graphic or icon that says your company name. A brand identity is so much more, colours, fonts, your tone of voice they create recognition but it’s also your philosophy, your customer service, your culture that customers react and become loyal to - that’s what makes you unique.
Consistent presentation of a brand has seen to increase revenue by 33% (lucidpress, 2019) so it’s not something to be ignored.
If you don’t feel confident in looking at your branding yourself then finding a graphic designer that shares your enthusiasm and that gets you and your business is vital.
Designers all have very unique styles which may or may not be right for you, look around, check out their portfolios, have they worked for similar businesses such as yours, do they have good feedback?
One thing I would advise is to spend a bit of money getting it right the first time, choosing a logo because it was really cheap is probably going to cost you more in the long run when you keep having to get bits added and redesigned. It is also highly unlikely you’ll be the only one with that style.
So many people don’t spend the time at the beginning and find 12 months down the line they having to re-look at it, their look isn’t consistent and people just aren’t recognising them.
I am always happy to have a free no obligation chat with anyone about their branding. I'm a bit of a geek about it and love helping people clarify how they want their business portrayed.
Rebecca Caslin
www.notjustscribbles.co.uk
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bekicaslin/
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