But by completing a few simple exercises, you can build a brand strategy to help you launch a marketing campaign that your audience will love and will help you grow your business.
Find your target audience
Building a brand isn’t effective if you don’t know who you’re trying to reach. You want to build a brand that accurately reflects your company, but that also resonates with your target audience. You started business because you wanted to solve a problem for someone. Spend time understanding who your target audience is and what appeals to them.
Evaluate your competitors
Even if you have an innovative new product, chances are there’s a competitor in your space. Their target audience will be similar to yours, so they’ve done the research on what appeals to the same people you’re hoping to reach. You can learn from the language, channels and strategies that they use and see how it applies to your own branding. It’s good practice to conduct these competitor audits regularly to ensure your brand stays relevant.
Establish your brand values
Now that you’ve done the research on your target audience and your competitors, you can look inward to begin developing your own strategy. You need to develop a brand that reflects your values, so it’s important to have your values clearly defined. Outlining a set of values – which are reflected in your brand – will make it easier for your audience to identify with your company.
Develop your voice
It’s not only important what you say, but also how it comes across to your audience. Your voice could range from formal and professional to light and silly. Your brand’s voice should speak with your audience, but also accurately reflect the personality of your company. When done correctly, your authentic voice will help you build trust with your audience.
Articulate your value proposition
Earlier in this exercise you identified your audience based on the problem you plan to solve. Now, you have to clearly articulate the value you bring. Describe how your product or service is valuable to your audience. Additionally, you’ll also want to explain why your organization is different and/or better. A succinct, powerful tagline can do both.
Create brand guidelines
Now that you’re narrowing down your brand strategy, it’s time to create guidelines that will help you maintain your brand identity across all of your marketing. Some of the things that you might detail in your brand guidelines include:
• Your brand story, mission and values
• Your color palette
• Your voice
• Your audience
• How your logo can be used
Consistently apply your brand strategy
Once you’ve shaped your strategy and created guidelines, it’s up to you to apply your strategy consistently. This exercise is not a one-time task; you should consistently evaluate your brand strategy. Ensure that your marketing applies the brand strategy you’ve outlined so that your audience can come to know and trust your brand.
Building a brand strategy is an important part of growing your business. The team at Spin Creative combines our expertise in brand strategy and video to help marketers make impactful brand connections.
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Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.
