Brand Identity: What is it and steps to create a great one

Social media is inevitable. It has made an impact on every living person breathing on this planet. As a result, every business strives to build a strong brand identity. Developing and maintaining a brand identity requires consistent efforts and following a style guide. This blog will uncover different aspects that create a solid brand identity.

What is a Brand Identity?

A brand identity is made of a combination of visible elements, such as a logo and colour- all those things that help distinguish your brand in consumers' minds. 

Brand image and branding are two different terms ad differ in meaning and sense.

Branding hints at a business's marketing practices to shape a distinctive brand. The word "brand" is the perception of a company or an organization in the eyes of the world. Therefore, a digital branding strategy should include brand identity and branding. 

Understanding Brand Identity- let's dig a little deeper

Brand identity is a brand's visual (an illustration or symbol) aspect. 

For example, when you think of Apple, what image comes to your mind, mainly the famous "apple logo." Or when you shop for shoes, you can quickly identify Nike shoes only by seeing the "swoosh." In both instances-Apple and Nike- a brand's identity is connected with a visual aspect or symbol.  

Brand identity must include a powerful visual image to link the brand. As we said above, a brand identity consists of different elements. When you combine all of the ingredients, the identity becomes your brand's mascot. A solid brand identity is potent for a company's popularity in the market. 

Developing and maintaining a brand identity will help you in the long term. A value of a successful brand image for a business is intangible; it is something that can't be taken for granted. 

Nike, for example, is one of the world's most recognizable logos, the "swoosh." Forbes ranked Nike's logo 13 in its "2020 World's Most Powerful Brands" report. Removing the "swoosh" from Nike's shoes and apparel will eliminate the brand's identity, although it would change nothing about the performance or quality of their products.

How to develop a strong brand identity

Before we jump into mentioning vital steps you must take to create a strong brand identity, here are the basic yet most essential pre-steps you should take:

Pre-steps to build a brand identity

Develop a deep understanding of your brand before applying solid brand identity steps, you must cover and jot down your brand's characteristics. 

Ask yourself the below questions to figure out who you are as a brand:

• Your brand "mission," 
• Your business values (what belief drives your company?),
• Your brand personality, and 
• Your brand voice.

All these elements define your brand, making it what it is in the true sense. Before crafting your brand identity, you should clearly understand each element above. Brainstorming will assist you in getting transparency on who you are as a brand. You should take out ten minutes daily only for brainstorming.

To get a clear understanding, ask yourself: 

• Why did we start this business?
• What do we deliver uniquely and better than anyone else?
• What makes us exceptional?

If we had to describe our brand in three words, what would they be?

Once you are locked in who you are as a brand, the next step would be to get to know your target audience. 

Get to know your target audience. 

Knowing your target audience is vital as it helps create specific and relevant content. And you need relevant content to engage them in your published posts. But ultimately, it's all about impressing your consumers; you must make extra efforts.

Identifying your audience's interests and shopping behaviour pattern assists you in creating customized call-to-action. Other than this, the following are the things you should consider about your audience:

• What is their age bracket?
• What is their gender?
• Where do they live?
• What is their economic status?
• What are their interests?

After you are well-versed in the above two points, the next step would be to start shaping your brand identity on social media.

Post-steps to build a solid brand identity on social media 

Start with typography

It is particularly crucial to choose logo fonts and brand fonts. There are four prime types of typography:

• Serif fonts
• Sans serif fonts 
• Script typography
• Display fonts

The font you choose for your brand says a lot about your brand! So, make sure you pick a font type that represents your brand in the best way possible.

Standardize your colour palette.

Next up is- colour. Every person experiences a psychological reaction to different colours. So you must be patient with colour- give yourself enough time to pick the finest colour. The colour you choose will be used everywhere, from your brand logo to social media posts and ads-we hope you get the significance of this decision. 

Here is the impact of rainbow colours or how they can help you craft brand identity:

• Red: It is the colour of excitement and good times. It is a perfect choice if your brand identity is youthful and loud.   
• Orange: Orange is a high-energy colour and is a fabulous choice to appear friendly and playful. Orange will surely make you stand out from the rest. 
• Yellow: Another colour that represents sunshine. Yellow colour is all about happiness. The cheerful vibe that yellows offer will make your business feel fun, affordable, and accessible. This colour is perfect for you if you sell beauty products or stationery.

Following is an excellent example of how a colour choice can impact your brand identity:

Designing your brand identity 

Once you have figured out what font and colour you want to go ahead with- the next step will be to work with a professional designer. Having a skilled designer by your side is essential, as they are the ones who translate who you are as a brand. 

Your brand identity can be expressed via various elements, depending on your business nature. For instance, if you are a restaurant owner, your fundamental brand identity will be represented through a menu. On the other hand, if you run a marketing & branding solutions agency, your primary focus will be developing a good website.

Standard elements of brand identity contain:

• Logo: A logo communicates who you are as a brand. It must be simple, clean, and uncluttered.
• Website: You must have a functional and well-built website, especially running an online business. Your website is where your brand comes in full force.
• Product packaging: Many big brands are identified because they have great packaging.
• Business cards: You should have a remarkable business card if you are a business owner. A well-designed business card provides a chance to reinforce a positive image of your brand to the potential audience.
• Email design: Email is another way to attract your users. It can massively impact your brand identity. Invest a reasonable amount of time in creating an email persona and be consistent.

Collaborate with influencers who fit your brand identity.

Influencer marketing is in trend these days. If you want to establish your brand identity, collaboration with a famous influencer can benefit you massively. When working with an influencer, keep in line with your brand identity- the most thoughtful way would be to pick an influencer that matches your brand energy and vision.

Observe big brand social media accounts that collaborate with influencers carefully. Notice anything? Probably not! Because the influencers' content doesn't stand out, it fits perfectly into the brand's other posts.

Create a branded hashtag 

Forming branded hashtags is the most straightforward way to build your brand identity. Every brand has branded hashtags they use with every content. This is for two primary reasons:

To begin with, it helps spread your business name, and

Second, it becomes easy for you to discover user-generated content to share.

 What forms of an effective hashtag?

When picking a font, choose something easy to understand, catchy, and precise, and ensure that it reflects your brand positively. Go for something original and rare.

Build different templates for your social media channels

Templates are great time saviours. Already-built templates make developing content that aligns with your brand identity easier. It would be best to have templates for major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Don't forget to make a brand style guide

After you are done with your brand identity formation, you'll want to design a brand style guide to ensure its proper usability. A style guide will outline your brand identity and assets- guiding how to employ them and integrate them into your online branding solutions. As we emphasized earlier- consistency is the key, and having a style guide will ensure that everything is followed initially.

Wrapping Up!

Your brand identity establishes you apart from the competition. It shows your target users your business vision, ideology, and aim. A brand identity offers you a chance to communicate with your audience. Brand identity is crucial if you want your brand to be perceived positively. If you wish to help create a solid brand identity, assistance from a social media marketing agency can do wonders.

Author: Amit Kumar Khare

Amit is a tech enthusiast and loves writing about it. He is a senior developer with good hands-on experience in digital marketing.