WHERE MARKETING ENDS, BRANDING BEGINS

WHERE MARKETING ENDS, BRANDING BEGINS

So, you have a business and you are ready to start promoting your brand through the Internet. The first question you face: "How do I create my brand?"

To begin with, it is worth investigating what includes the notion of "branding". Usually, opinions on this issue are divided into several options:

• ·        Design of logos, color schemes and sites.
• ·        Mentions about brands, links and popularity in social networks.
• ·     Achievement of the best positions in search results, advertising campaigns and      other promotion measures.

If you agree with one of the above options, then we regret to inform you that you misunderstand branding. These measures are marketing tools and strategies, and only the outer layer of branding. We must dig deeper.

What is the difference between marketing and branding?

Marketing is a combination of activities and tools that promote your business. This includes SEO, SMM, e-mail distribution, as well as traditional methods and tools of promotion. Branding, on the other hand, is a culture in itself, it is the meaning that determines and controls all the processes of your business.

Common mistakes in understanding branding

Mixing marketing and branding is just one of the common mistakes that you may encounter. Many businessmen and marketers who carry out branding tasks meet the following misconceptions:

Misconception 1: Branding is marketing / advertising / promotion / etc.

Marketing, advertising and other promotional activities speak only about the nature of your brand and your slogans. Your brand consists of your character, your voice and your appeals, and branding is the process of creating them.

Misconception 2: When it comes to your brand, you are the ultimate truth

This is a common misconception, especially among those who start a business for the first time. The truth is that when you set the tone and start talking, establish rules for your organization to work with the brand, do not become instant authority in this area.

Your customers - they define your brand. The way people understand it determines their attachment to the brand. That's why it's very important to carefully choose the brand values. Otherwise, you can go on the wrong path - or, even worse - fail in the form of loss of regular customers.

Misconception 3: There is a formula for success for branding

The fact that everything can be measured in online marketing does not mean that there is an exact formula for everything. There are no two identical companies. And although the process of developing a brand can be the same for companies from the same industry, these organizations have unique properties and needs.

In fact, there is no formula here - branding was, is and will be the result of personal experience. The good news is that you can easily check whether your brand is successful or not. In this case, you need to closely monitor the behavior and interests of the target audience.

Correct Branding

To create and build a strong brand, you need to ask yourself the most fundamental questions. Even before planning for online marketing strategies, you need to do the following:

Define your goals

The first thing that needs to be clarified is why you are doing what you are doing. You do not immediately get answers, you need to ask yourself these questions several times to reach the root goal, to the very essence of your business. Start with these questions:

• ·        Why do I build this business?
• ·        Why do I need to help a certain group of people?
• ·        Why is it important for me that all this be done?

As you progress, mark the answers that you give to each question "Why?" - they will help formulate your goal. Walt Disney, for example, very accurately answered these questions, and realized why he created it all: to bring joy to children all over the world.

Choose your character and sound

After asking why you are doing what you are doing, ask yourself: what is my brand? This will help shape it, become a "skeleton", to which other ideas, values ​​and messages are attached. At this stage of brand building, ask yourself these questions:

• ·       How should my brand sound?
• ·   How do I want to be perceived - as a friendly person in the style of casual or formal, corporate?
• ·       Will I be able to really be this for the entire life of the brand?

The last question is especially important, because your audience is looking for a solid, stable personality. Your ability to truly match your brand is one of the most important elements by which customer loyalty is won.

Highlight Your Values

After you finish asking yourself who you are, it's time to ask: "Who am I?". The values ​​obtained at the previous stage will help determine who you are as a brand. Rewrite them and define these values ​​in the light of your business.

Excellent work to identify and determine their values, held by the company Zappos . They have ten key values ​​by which they live, and if you read their blog, these values ​​permeate all their processes. Also, you need to note that people follow these values ​​- from blog posts to customer service. The definition of a good, lasting set of values ​​will help employees become more coherent and use it when working as guidelines.

Determine what your culture will be like

The integrity of the organization depends heavily on the culture that you are nurturing in your company. Happy employees are more productive, passionate and connected with each other, which makes your business stronger, and production processes more manageable.

The culture of Google is known for its motivation for creativity and innovation, it gives our employees time and resources to learn new things. Although this rule is no longer applied, but their engineers are still trying to engage in third-party projects that allow them to innovate. You can see how culture lives, despite the fact that the rules have changed - this is the power of corporate culture.

Tell us about your audience's brand

Finally, you've come to the point where marketing is going to be done - now you need to decide how to raise awareness about your brand. The previous step along with marketing research and analysis will play a huge role in determining where you can talk about your brand and effectively reach the target audience.

When planning a communication strategy, it is necessary to discuss the following most important issues:

• ·     Determination of the mission of the company, which is easily deduced from its       objectives.
• ·     The benefits that customers will receive from your business.
• ·     The platforms you selected and the corresponding media resources.
• ·     Your calls for action - what are your goals, and how are you going to attract           your audience.

And remember, branding is the "heart" of your marketing strategy. In order to build an effective brand, you need at every step to be extremely clear and correct at each of the stages described above, which will allow you to successfully identify a target market that identifies with the nature and values ​​of your brand.

The last thing to remember (and this is very important): branding is not a one-time thing to do when you start your business. This is a constant effort, piercing all your processes, your culture, and your business development, and for this to affect your work, you will need dedication and devotion. In the end, the real measure of the success of your brand will be the conquest of loyal customers who will become lawyers for your brand.

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