A well-defined brand is not only important for a business to position itself in the marketplace, it is important and necessary if that business is to stand out by establishing itself as the best at what it does.
To explain the importance, and the concept of branding, I’m going to use some rhetorical questions based on some popular brands that you can relate to.
What comes to mind when I say the word, “apple”? Most of you would associate it with one of Apple’s gadgets like the iPhone.
The reason this association is so strong is that Apple Inc. has done a solid job of positioning itself as one of the best mobile phone manufacturers in the world.
The same goes for KFC when it comes to fried chicken. But do they stand out in taste and quality from the rest?
Probably not. But the reason why KFC is seen as the best is that they have put millions of dollars into positioning themselves as the best brand out there.
What is startup branding?
I’ve been using the above examples to give you an idea of the power and influence of branding. Let’s also look at its general definition as well.
Branding is the overall process involved in the creation of a new unique image for a product in the consumer’s mind.
This whole process is done by leveraging advertising campaigns that go with a consistent theme.
One of the ways to kick off your advertising campaigns is through video.
Why? Well, 70% of marketers said that videos showed a positive ROI; so there’s definitely some opportunity there.
The reason why all this is done is to position and establish a significant presence of a company in the marketplace which will, in turn, allow it to both attract and retain loyal and existing customers.
If you split the definition above, it’s easy to see that there are three key pillars involved in branding namely strategy, branding design, and marketing. The key pillar of the three is branding design.
I think it’s important to highlight some of the organizations that established their market positions through effective branding.
One key example of a startup branding that effectively modeled itself until it became a great brand is the social networking company, Snap inc.
Everything about the brand and how the company positioned itself is unique.
Other startups that had effective branding strategies are Dropbox, Socialchain, and an African online mobile top-up company Senditoo.
So, now, let’s look at the branding tips you can use to position your company in the market.
8 startup branding tips
Be consistent
When it comes to branding, nothing will take the place of consistency. It is indeed the key to creating a successful startup brand.
It’s the reason why you will never think of very large data centers, but a simple website when you hear the word Facebook.
Though they have some of the world’s largest data farms, they have rather hammered on their website in their ad campaigns.
They have also been consistent in branding themselves as the world’s best social networking site.
Another company that has been consistent in the way it branded its coffee startup, Starbucks. They offer great service and personalization and they are consistent at doing it.
Define your target audience
Defining your target audience is a crucial step for any startup. Everything you do next will depend heavily on it.
This step informs your overall marketing strategy and helps everyone on your team understand who to pursue.
For example, TripCase is a travel app that is geared toward frequent travelers who fly for either leisure or business.
All it wants to do is bring peace into their lives while booking their trips.
Set a tone of voice
Your tone of voice is a very important part of branding. It will help keep all your communication (internal and external) consistent and help your brand personality shine through with all your messaging.
To design a tone of voice, dissect the key features of your brand and the values you wish to uphold, and then distill it into writing.
This is how we define MotionCue‘s tone of voice:
- Expressive: Using simple words to express big ideas.
- Curious: Interested in trends. Looking beyond the horizon.
- Creative: Finding inspiration in the world around us.
- Realistic: Being straightforward. No superlatives. Staying grounded.
Authenticity is key
Want your customers to run away and never associate with your company ever again? Then here’s what you’ll need to do: lie about the quality of either your product or service.
Dropbox is a household name when it comes to remote file sharing. They have done their best to position themselves as the best and their delivery is consistent with what they say.
That is what you should do for your startup. Make your message authentic or else you’ll lose potential clients.
Check out this neat explainer video Dropbox made to explain who they are as a brand and what they are promising to their customers.
Read more: Video Branding 101: All You Need to Know
Make your brand relatable
You might be a brand but every great social media marketing agency will tell you that for your branding efforts to succeed you have to be relatable.
The overly buttoned-up vibe was a thing in the 20th century, but the dynamics have changed.
Today, people want corporations to be more human and talk to people like they’re not cold, robots without feelings.
So, the key to branding your company as approachable in the world today is by being personable as a brand and learning to appeal to people’s emotions.
Be unique and extraordinary
Imagine if Uber were just another taxi service where one would shout in the street to have a taxi come pick them up. I bet they wouldn’t be as popular as they are now.
The thing is, they came into the market through their own unique angle and did a great deal emphasizing the idea of “move the way you want.”
Find something unique about your own startup that would appeal to a wider audience and then use that as the primary message of your branding campaign.
Also read: How Can a Business Take Advantage of Video?
Your logo is your first name
Your logo should be thoroughly marketed to an extent that people would easily know your company by just looking at it.
Snapchat has remained popular among young people and you’ve got to admit that its logo is instantly recognizable and evokes fun energy.
Here’s a small video announcing their new update for Android. Check how they are incorporating their logo in this.
Another example of a startup with a great logo is Squarespace. The elegant design is easily recognizable which makes it easy for customers to relate to their brand.
Keep your brand and marketing strategies in sync
Branding is one thing, but you also need to align your marketing strategies with your goals as well.
You need to ascertain the kind of marketing channels you will be using to amplify your voice about your own brand.
Also, designing your marketing content will give your brand a certain personality. So, you have to be creative and thorough while crafting your game plan.
Wrapping up
In addition to these tips above, there are a lot of other tips to follow and use if you want your business to stand out and establish itself as the best provider of a particular solution.
The most important thing is to just stay consistent and have a unique appeal to your target audience when it comes to having a startup branding strategy.
Want to learn more about how you can create a strong brand? Here’s a secret technique that Apple Nike and Pepsi used to make themselves recognizable across the world.