Most people associate the term ‘brand’ with multinational companies and big organizations. The reason for this is people have the conception that it is intended for just large businesses because it is excessively costly and tedious for small businesses.
This is a huge myth people have. And they end up restricting themself from trying new ways to promote their business.
As a small business owner, if you are thinking that you have a limited marketing budget, it is absolutely fine. There are plenty of reasonable branding strategies available from which every business can be benefited from branding, either small or big.
To know more about reasonable branding strategies for small business, read this article.
1. Make your business presence on Google
Google is the extensively used search engine for all kinds of queries, and you would prefer not to pass up its advantages. There are many Google products available for businesses and one of them is Google My Business, a good option to start with.
People who are interested in buying the products or services you provide can easily find you. Google My Business makes it simple for them and it will be pocket friendly to you. If you have a business website then Google My Business offers you one more perk that is to improve your business’ search ranking on Google.
2. Good and engaging content
Everyone knows the impact made by good and engaging content. It can change the perception of people about your own business. Neglecting this while planning branding strategies for your business will be foolish. There is a reason why it is said that ‘Content is the King’.
If you cannot afford to hire someone for content writing no troubles. You can write for your business, it may consume some of your time. But it is worth the time because of the results it has to offer you. Should in case writing is not your strong point, you can improve it any day by reading articles and using digital tools to improve business writing skills.
Good content takes a shot at countless levels. To begin with, it offers you the chance to flaunt your industry expertise; by building up yourself as a go-to asset and subject master in your field, your target audience will develop trust in you—and, when they have to purchase products or services that you also provide, they will select your company to make a purchase from, you’ll be the prime spot they will go.
Furthermore, if you want another reason to know why good and engaging content is viable for small businesses? It is reasonable—so regardless of whether you are chipping away at a careful financial plan, you can make content work for you.
Content marketing is additionally an extraordinary methodology since it offers you a chance to reinforce your marking. By building up a solid brand voice (and afterward conveying that brand voice all through your substance) you reinforce what your identity is and what is your value proposition to your audience—which reinforces the relationship and assists with driving business.
Content is the key to marketing. Whether you do digital marketing, traditional marketing, or both; the right content makes a huge impact on the audience. The way to progress with using content as a marketing plan is to make the correct content. Do look into what sorts of inquiries your target audience are posing—and afterward make content that responds to those inquiries.
The fact is, there is a huge load of information about your industry that people want to know. And if you can answer their inquiries through your content adding some valued information, you’ll develop trust with those people— and that trust will convert into business.
In 2020, there are more than 3 billion social media users in the world and this figure keeps on increasing every year. Thus, all social media platforms have immediately become the main channel for business owners to advance their brands due to the various advantages business owners can use.
Make business accounts on big social media platforms- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Add Youtube and Twitch too if you give some informative videos related to your business. At least be present on two-three platforms as per your business niche.
Social media gives you a stage to drive more traffic to your business website, keep an eye on your competitors, and build trust; all simultaneously. The best part is, it is frugal.
Social media gives an opportunity to connect with a mass audience at one go. Use it wisely- keep your posts natural, respond to private messages, tags, etc. If you have some budget to spend on social media advertising then the best way is to collaborate with influencers having viewers with the same interest as your target audience. This will help you reach a more regional level audience and increase your brand awareness.
To learn more about how to leverage your social media you can read 10 Top Social Media Marketing Tips For Business Growth
4. Look for industry partnership
People prefer to do business with brands they trust. In case, you have just started and you are a new brand, building up that trust can be tedious. But an incredible method to accelerate the process is to look for industry partnerships.
The way to progress with this strategy? Collaborate with a business similar to your industry (yet not direct competitors) for a project or event. If you will collaborate with the companies that have the audience you want to target and they are not your competitors then they will willingly work with you.
Partnering with another business implies you will get noticed more. In case you are collaborating with an industry-significant business, you are getting acquainted with a totally different audience identified with your niche. People pay huge cash for that sort of access!
Consider it as a trust-building way by a substitute; if you get introduced to people through a brand they already know and trust, they are significantly more liable to stretch out that trust to you—and give you their business subsequently. There are high chances that these people will turn into your customers.
5. Include visuals in branding
Visuals have a tremendous part in branding. For example, when you think about a brand like Nike, you can undoubtedly recollect the particular typography, solid black color swoosh, and tagline “Just do it”. That is how strong an impact visuals can do.
Before you begin designing visuals, it is necessary to sort out the details of your design plan, like color pallets to us, text styles, and design do’s and don’ts.
A brand style guide is a good method to arrange your design plans and ensure you, your designer, and any other person chipping in for designing is on the same page with your design plan.
Following are somethings that you can do to build up a brand with visuals:
i. Logo
Company logo is effectively one of the main things you will require for branding and probably the best tip you will actually jump on making a striking brand picture is to make noteworthy logos.
This is on the grounds that it can summarize the whole business for example its products/ services, mission and vision, values, and so on. Fortunately, it is very easy to make a logo at a low cost by using tools available online to make logos.
ii. Business Card
Contrary to mainstream thinking, business cards aren’t totally obsolete yet. They are as yet significant, and rather well known. The only thing is you must be mindful so as to use your logo and brand style components in the design.
Ella Brooks, a Business Analyst at SunHR. She has expertise in Business Growth Strategy, Business Intelligence, and writes on topics related to it to help startups and small businesses grow. Also, she is a member of the investment advisor team at Alcor Fund, a global investment bank. She has an interest in artificial intelligence.
