BRANDING 101: PILLARS OF A SUCCESSFUL BRAND STRATEGY

Are logos part of your brand identity? Of course.

but they are just a slice of the cake , not the whole cake.

lets talk about it.

So, what is branding.

I wont even try to define branding, there are so many different definitions of it floating around the internet.

Essentially, it is how your business is perceived by your current and potential clients.

In order to communicate the correct brand identity to your customers it is important for you to have a clear understanding of what your brand is and what it is not.

This is referred to as BRAND CLARITY.

And as the name suggests, you must be clear on key concepts like your purpose, vision, long term goals , ideal audience and your story.

Understanding these concepts will enable your messaging to be clear and consistent.

But what exactly do these key concepts mean?

Without getting too technical, it simply means that you must have a solid understanding of your audience, what they like, dislike and aspire towards.

You need to know your why.

cheesy, I know.

But its true.

Why are you in business, what made you start, what is your story?

What sequence of events led to the decision to start?

What problem do you solve and what sets your brand apart?

Values are also a key concept, these help you define what your brand is not.

Whenever something is not in line with your brand values ,you automatically know not to support it as a brand.

We will re-visit this point in the next article where we dive deep into BRAND PERSONALITY, specifically , BRAND VOICE.

Understanding and being able to answer questions on the WHAT(your product/service)

WHO(ideal client) and WHY (purpose).

Is the first pillar of a successful brand strategy.