What is Brand Identity And How To Create a Great One?

If you have ever wondered what exactly is brand identity, you might have looked it up on Investopedia, for example.

It is defined there as the “visible elements of a brand, such as color, design, and logo, that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers’ minds”. Reading a definition always seems a bit dry, especially in the case of brands.

One expects to have a certain passion behind it all in order to succeed. And that is probably just as important as the other things listed.

But let us take a look at some of the things that can help you build a great name for yourself and your company.

A design worth a thousand words?

The visual identity depends on several things, but one of the most difficult to choose from is color.

The color theory has been around for a while as a guide to specific combinations of colors.

Picking your mix is one of the first steps to the visual design that will accompany your logo – which is another foundation of your identity.

Go for a more complicated or simpler design, as long as you feel it suits your needs and represents who you and your company are.

For the finale, don’t forget that font is another choice that can make or break your visual identity.

Don’t hesitate to ask someone to create a font just for you – this will give you an extra edge in the battle for customers attention, especially when doing all the necessary promotional printing: business cards, USB sticks, mugs, various stickers and the like.

What are you really about?

The underlying part of your brand identity is the actual idea of what your company stands for.

Probably the best way to go about is by creating your own set of core values. This is a list of “fundamental beliefs”, not really directly connected to what your business actually does, but to the underlying layer.

The detachment from the actual realities of business are there to help you keep your course, regardless of the little daily changes.

Your values are in the messages you send and in your everyday communication.

Your company practically lives and breathes these values, which allows you to build a unified image of your brand without having to check everything that each company representative says.

Are you using all the platforms at your disposal?

The presence of your company in traditional media takes second place to your presence on social networks.

Even the design of your website, flawless though it may be, with great care taken to make sure user experience and interface are optimal, is still less important unless you can drive the traffic towards it.

Depending on your niche, you might not even need to do this, but can fully rely on social media. Remember that social network penetration is high in most countries – but it might be different per platform per country. It is very important to know where you need to talk to people in a specific region.

How different are you from your competition?

One of the worst things that can happen to you as you build your brand identity is to run too close to competition.

Whether this is done on purpose or by accident, by you or by them, it is not a way to become great.

An easy way to notice the similarities is again by looking at color in the design or your logo design.

What are the similarities between your competitors and you when it comes to social media marketing?

Do you run campaigns at the same time as everyone else in your niche? You share the limited number of people who are your targets – you need to make sure to be just different enough to stand out.

Passion and support

The strategies we have listed above are not a surefire way to success – nothing is.

However, if you put your hard work and passion behind the big words and investments, your customers will feel it.

This feeling is probably the most important way to attract new clients, which is the harder and more expensive part of the equation.

The other side of the coin is the retention of the customers who have recognized your passion for your brand.

They are the ones you need to keep, and one of the most important tactics to do this is high-quality customer support.

This ties-in nicely with the importance of social networks we have already mentioned, as customers love to complain directly to you, and you need to be there to answer.

A few final words

The constant struggle of remaining competent, as well as reaching above the competition is the reality of a company’s life. Follow our advice, make your customers feel valued and let your passion shine among others, creating a great brand identity.