Small Business Branding Guide

Branding on a small business scale may seem a bit overwhelming. It often plays second fiddle to other aspects of your business that require more attention. If you’re a small business owner, most likely, you’re a jack-of-all-trades and sometimes, branding tends to get lost in the mix. Here’s a few tips on branding for those of you who really don’t have the time to think about it.

What’s your brand’s personality?

When thinking about your brand, what’s the first thing comes to mind? Is your brand very professional or is it more it more relaxed in nature? Does it have a funny side? Defining your brand voice can help it stay consistent across all channels which makes it easily recognizable. Your brand’s personality should be interwoven into all aspects of your businesses from social media and blog posts, and even into your brand’s aesthetic. It helps keep you and those who work for you on the same page when it comes to content.

Know your audience

When you started your business, it’s likely you had a target customer in mind for your goods and/or services. Not only should you know the basic demographic makeup of your customer like their age, but it’s also good to flesh out their profile on paper. Write out all the things that make your customer unique and most importantly, yours. What are their likes/dislikes and how do they shop? Are they heavy mobile users? The more information you can specify, the better. Some even give their target customer a name like Sally or Jim. Defining this information will help you make decisions in the future that will help you stay aligned with your core demographic.

What do you value?

Once you have your customers profile fleshed out, you can then define what your company values most. This can and often will align with what your customer finds important as well. For instance, if giving a portion of your proceeds back to a certain charity is important to you, then, make that part of your branding strategy. It’s always good to advocate for a “feel good” component of your business

Blog about it!

Supporting your brand through blogging can help build your brand and your company’s credibility. Blogging can offer many benefits that traditional ad campaigns cannot. Through blogging you’re able to speak directly to your customer and they can comment back creating great engagement for your site. Posting can also help drive traffic to your site through optimizing your content while increasing visibility for your brand.

We hope this post was helpful in developing a concrete brand strategy for your small business. Check back soon for more useful tips on how to leverage your small business in a big world of competition. If you need help managing certain aspects of your small business or you’d like to know more about the services ARK has to offer, email us or comment below! Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram for industry news, inspiration, and helpful tidbits for finding small business success.