As a business owner, having a strong brand is really important. If you don’t have a brand yet and aren’t sure where to start, check out our three-step path. You may think the work is done after your brand standards guide is created, your brand pillars are identified and written, and you’ve implemented the brand everywhere.
To really make your brand work for you, though, we have a few recommendations.
Differentiate Your Core Brand
Create differentiation within your core brand by expanding elements, such as varying background colors, and include elements to reinforce on-brand cohesion while still implementing variations to keep things fresh.
Need some ideas?
- Vary background colors and included elements to remain on brand and cohesive, while still implementing variations to keep things fresh
- Craft supporting elements to expand your branding
- Patterns, image sets, iconography, illustrations, motion graphics
- Specific messaging (copy or core messaging guide to pull-and-play)
It’s important that with these differentiators you still maintain your cohesion!
As your brand grows, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by assets. Creating an asset library allows everyone to have universal access while giving you the ability to remove any outdated assets so your team doesn’t use the wrong ones.
Our team recommends Canva, and are actually avid users ourselves. Interested in the asset library but don’t want to put in the work? Evolve Systems builds libraries for many of our clients, and we can set them up for you, too. Reach out today!
Immerse Your Audience
Immersing your audience can include partnerships for better exposure, contributing to LinkedIn articles, and branding beyond digital with print collateral and event materials. Sprinkle in personality with custom-branded wearables and swag, and focus on ongoing growth tactics to keep your brand fresh and relevant.
Partnerships for Better Exposure
While it’s fairly easy to use your brand in your own spaces, it’s important not to underestimate the power of collaboration and visibility. It is often in a company’s benefit to act as an expert in their field. To show you’re an expert though, you need to make sure people are seeing you.
A great way to do this is to partake in your field. This could be spending one hour a week commenting on LinkedIn posts related to your industry, or even writing your own LinkedIn articles! As you make connections, you may find yourself on someone’s podcast, interviewed for their blog, and hopefully picking up leads along the way.
Brand Beyond Digital
Whoever said print is dead has never asked someone if they want a free t-shirt.
While digital is the world we live in day in and day out, it’s important not to underestimate the power of print materials. Whether it’s brochures, stickers, or a branded tote, 77% of consumers say print marketing leads to higher levels of brand recall (Newsworks, 2020).
Need some ideas for print?
- Print collateral and tradeshow/event swag
- Environmental branding
- Wearables and Merch/Swag (check out our blog from a few weeks ago where artist JRO created a wearables collection based on Evolve Systems branding!)
Unsure if it’s worth the investment? Consider this: anyone who wears your branded shirt, has your sticker on their water bottle, or passes on your business card is a brand ambassador.
Ongoing Growth Tactics
If there’s one thing you take away from this article, it’s that you are never done expanding your brand. It should grow with you and your company — both visually and in strategy. As it grows, update your brand standards guidelines and asset library. By setting your team up for success, your brand is also set up for success.
Having a strong brand and brand strategy is always easier when you have expert cheerleaders on your side. Give Evolve Systems a call today to start your branding journey.
