Establishing a strong brand is an essential yet complicated part of starting your company. Branding requires difficult choices and meticulous preparation –and it can be quite expensive. Although it is a valuable recipient for your hard-earned money in the long haul, many small companies (and even some bigger ones) do not have a significant amount of money to invest in the process.
However, with just a little innovation, you can get your brand out there without dumping handfuls of cash to the advertising companies. We think that companies of all sizes need to establish a strong brand and, thankfully, there are several different approaches to making that possible. Here, we have compiled a list of ideas to brand your business if you are on a small budget, read on!
Do your research
Powerful brands are built on market analysis–you ought to understand who you are selling to before you aim to create a brand framework. Your consumers encounter branding without market analysis like you would do to get a wedding present from Great Aunt Lily who has never met you–perhaps you’ll give her a cute thank-you note, but that serving bowl is heading right to the recycling bin the first opportunity you get.
To put it another way: do your homework. While big businesses often pay professionals to conduct market research for them, you can conveniently lower costs by using toolkits from all over the internet. From developing a Facebook survey to doing enough search queries, there’s now plenty of (unrestricted!) ways to figure out who your consumer is and get inside their thought processes.
Here are some tools so you can get started:
- Keywords everywhere – It is a free keyword analysis tool which provides search density and CPC information about any keyword you would like. Use this method to pin down all the things your potential customers have been looking for–the need you are attempting to solve.
- Facebook analytics – Demonstrates all kinds of demographic data about your existing users, such as their age, gender and home country.
Construct a logo without a designer
There are all kinds of factors why a logo is essential to your brand, and it’s one of the very first things you need to pin down after starting a new business. But rather than giving away thousands of dollars to a graphic designer like a big company would, with a logo creator, you can create your logo design for a cost similar to purchasing a cup of coffee.
The logo creator uses the title and intent of your company to design a special, recognisable logo. Also, a logo creator allows you the freedom to take complete creative ownership; to get a finished version you love without running over your budget, you always can modify the styles, colours, and symbols. You can start with websites such as PicMonkey.
Use a website builder
Long gone are the days when you have to spend fortunes to barely afford a developer who can design a webpage for you; luckily, to get a professional-looking web page up and operating in under a day, you can now use a virtual website generator. It is also just our good luck since this is not a phase you can skip – each company needs a website, either as a place to sell goods from or as a way to demonstrate that you are running an existing, legitimate company.
The previous study indicates that when looking for goods or services, close to 100 per cent of customers check online first, so you should better be sure to have a website that reflects your company. Also, if your buyers want information regarding the company, your webpage will be the first place they will go. Squarespace is a great place to start as it has great website templates for a minimal fee.
Possess a strong identity
Direct your emphasis on design towards one objective: to create a long-lasting brand identity. To be powerful and effective, your brand does not need bells and whistles – several of the finest brands don’t depend on costly publicity stunts and gimmicks. Simply put, they are prosperous because they convey the objectives, values and mission of their businesses straightforwardly.
Take the time to think through what image you want your brand to convey. Is your business selling outdoor products? How can a passion for exploration best be passed on by your brand? Take into account how the broader message can be devised by your brand, and how consumers will interpret the meaning. You can inexpensively create a brand identity equal to one that ends up costing many businesses millions by operating with a strong emphasis and aiming toward a particular target.
Use social media to its fullest potential
The modern era has equipped brands with one of the most valuable resources available – the social media platform. These channels give emerging brands a free and simple way to relate to their customers and create loyalty with the millions of social media users. For instance, a Page on Facebook is a perfect location to highlight the image of your brand and improve the interaction of followers.
There are several ways to use social media to boost market presence, such as creating fun contests that inspire customers to share or getting low-cost Facebook ads suited to particular demographics.
Email Marketing
Perhaps the only thing commonly used other than social media is email. All you need to do is tap the “Send” key, and you will have direct interaction with hundreds of consumers at a time. If you are running campaigns or selling the latest goods, email marketing is a fast and convenient way to update your customers of the latest offers with relatively little effort.
However, never use email as an opportunity to spam your customers –nobody appreciates that. Several small business email advertising services charge almost nothing, like:
- Mail Chimp
- Active Campaign
- Get Response
- A Weber
- Convert Kit
- Send loop
- Emma
Create productive content
It is a sound financial investment to create content which is better for the long-run, and the only thing that it costs you is time. Articles, expert blog posts, training videos, as well as other lengthy texts, will give you a wider brush to decorate your brand –creating brand recognition in the meantime. More significantly, quality content helps your intended audience value you as an agency; you can address customer queries, provide them with instructional content, and give them guidance that helps them believe in your brand. Besides, content production offers the chance to partner with other businesses in the same industry, gaining more recognition through their audiences.
So, if you have not yet created a blog, start one right away. It’s a critical tool for organic market research; your potential customers will be looking for the details you offer, and reading your blogs might give them their first introduction to your brand.