Branding is important. Having a strong brand differentiates one business from another and allows customers to quickly identify a business. More importantly, strong branding also reduces what is often referred to as the ‘noise’ of other brands. So how do you build a brand? Particularly in the fast-paced world of social media?
What is a brand?
Firstly, what is a brand? It’s so much more than just a logo. A brand can be defined as a business’s personality. Another way to think of it is a collection of all the things that make up a business’s identity. To be more specific, there are 10 components that make up a brand and allow a consumer to identify and recall a particular business. These are:
- Colour
- Outwards appearance
- Mascots
- Packaging
- Origins and stories
- Names
- Emblems
- Noises
- Typeface
- Slogan
Each of these elements makes up an individual part of a brand but when employed together they represent the brand as a whole. Together, these attributes help to communicate a desired image or benefit across all products and communications.
Defining the brand
To begin with, it’s important to define the brand. As the business grows, so too can the brand evolve, however, having a defined starting point allows consistency as everyone has a clear idea of what the brand looks like.
One useful way to do this is by using a four-part framework. Consider:
- Existence
Start at the beginning. Think about how and where the business started and what had to be overcome. It is helpful to include imagery to build the story.
- Purpose
Taking this a step further, what’s the meaning behind the business. Ask yourself – what do you do and why do you do it?
- Identity
Brand identity is the look of the business. This is where the ten components come in. What visual identifiers separate your brand from another? It’s important that this step is clear and specific as it’s what’s most obvious to the consumer.
- Connection, communication, tone
Finally, consider the brand’s tone of voice. Think about how you want to communicate with customers. Is the brand formal or is it light-hearted and warm? The same tone needs to be consistently used across various marketing activities and channels. This is also really important when taking your brand digital.
Taking the brand to Facebook
Whether this is an established brand, a fresh brand just starting out, or an existing brand looking to refresh, Facebook is an excellent place to build a brand for consumer recall.
Facebook is a community of over 2.8 billion people and today a large majority of those users are accessing the app through their phone or other mobile devices for a minimum of 38 minutes daily. Users scroll through the app pausing on content that is attention-grabbing. Being that attention-grabbing post is the goal. Branding increases the likelihood of standing out. Remember consistency is key!!
Irrespective of whether your brand is established, newly created or undertaking a refresh, having the intent to build a strong brand on Facebook creates a foundation that can be built upon over time and the platform has a variety of tools to assist in this journey.
It’s important that all posts include specific branding elements and the more detailed and consistent the strategy is across all facets of Facebook, the better. Make sure all posts utilise the same colours, fonts, imagery, filters and tone of voice.
Understanding the desired frequency of posting is also important. Quality and regular content increases reach and engagement over time. This means employing content that is consistent, interesting, informative and on-brand.
Top tips for branding
If you get stuck, just follow our top tips:
- Know your audience
- Stick to your branding strategy – include colours, imagery, fonts and filters
- Communicate brand personality through tone of voice
- Post quality and regular content, which is interesting, informative and on-brand
Still stuck? Contact us at Purple Giraffe and we can help you get your Facebook brand strategy on track.
