What To Consider When Branding Your Business Online

When people think of a branding agency they often imagine a team of hipsters contemplating which shade of grey a new logo should be. In reality, branding goes far beyond a logo (and branding agencies can be a diverse bunch of people – take a look at our team). There are several things to think about when branding your business online. And take it from this branding agency, branding is a big job, but boy is it fun!

Who Is Your Brand Speaking To?

While it is important to take note of your business’ ethos and core values when working on your brand, don’t focus on what you think your brand is, instead think about how your customers will see your brand.

Branding is not about what you say, it's about what your customers hear Click To Tweet

It is vital you have the customer at the forefront of your mind when branding your business for the first time, or, when going through a brand refresh. Take Facebook as an example, back when they first began, they were targeting young college students. The primary Facebook demographic continued to be a younger group for many years but now Facebook are finding that their primary audience is changing – therefore so must their brand. Facebook UK noted that the number of Facebook users age 45-65+ grew from 2017 to 2018 while those age 12-24 dropped. There are now 5.6 million UK Facebook users age 45-54 compared to just 4.5 million age 18-24 (The Guardian, 2018).

So whether your brand is being established or refreshed, first think about who you’re speaking to.

Your Logo

So, we’ve already covered that branding goes beyond a logo but that’s not us putting down the value of a strong logo. In the press, now and then stories are released about the cost behind a company’s new logo. Take the news of Ontario Cannabis store’s logo design which reportedly cost $650,000. $650,000 for a logo does sound like a lot of money but the press obviously aren’t reporting on all the other work that went into it. The cost included a complete brand strategy. A logo should never be designed out of thin air. A brand audit, industry research and audience recognition should happen first. But, on a side note, don’t worry, we generally charge a little less than $650,000 for our branding services.

Your Website

Once you’ve established, what your brand is, who you’re speaking to and what your logo is, it’s time to put that brand online.

A website isn’t just a place to tell people what you do, it’s a place to show people who you are. If your website is designed correctly it can be a central part of the experience customers get when engaging with your brand.

Social Media

Being present on social media is a must for the majority of customers building their brand online. It’s not necessarily a must to be on every social media platform, just the ones that fit your brand. For instance, if you’re a family lawyer, a Pinterest page isn’t likely to add anything to your brand.

The Whole Brand Experience

Well known brand Harley-Davidson, said on their annual report that “the secret to our enduring brand lies in delivering an experience rather than just a collection of products and services”.

If people can move from platform to platform, for instance your store to your Facebook page, and recognise that they are yours, without reading your brand name or seeing your logo, you are on track with your branding.

To learn more about what makes a good brand experience, and how you can better brand your business online, send us a message or call us on 604-559-7509. We love to chat in person too, so feel free to schedule a time to visit our branding agency office in downtown Vancouver – we always have chocolate!