Each task seems no less essential than the next, and in the blink of an eye, you find yourself swamped with things that need to be done yesterday.
In the midst of all of the chaos, it’s easy to believe that branding your business is something you can put on the back burner. After all, with all of those overlooked bills piling up on your desk, you barely have the time to concentrate on branding your business. While juggling a multitude of tasks, you totally overlook the most critical element of establishing a thriving business.
By neglecting to build a brand and creating awareness around that brand, you’re unwittingly depriving your business of the highest pinnacle of success it can reach. You’re nurturing a business that could acquire a stronger position in the market — if it had the support of a registered and notable brand.
Here at MAXBURST, our mission is to develop brands that resonate in the in the hearts and minds of individuals. Brands that people fall in love with. That’s why we’re here today to share with you a list of 9 unique branding ideas that will elevate your branding efforts in 2019 and beyond.
1. Identify Your Archetype
Conceived by popular psychologist Carl Jung, the idea of archetypes means shaping your brand on notable characters from well-known folklore, fables, and novels. Throughout the years, many distinguished brands across the globe have utilized this branding tactic to ensure their brand resonates with their target market. For example, Harley-Davidson is the outlaw, while Nike is the hero. Each archetype will automatically attract a particular type of customer, and identifying what your specific strengths and weaknesses are can help you determine how to more effectively market to that group. A majority of businesses will have characteristics of several archetypes, but determining your principal archetype — the one that most pertains to your core values and brand philosophy — can help you better recognize how and why you make the choices you do.
2. Develop Interactive Content
If you want to see your engagement and conversions soar, consider Interactive Content Marketing (ICM). According to the Demand Metric report, interactive content converts buyers 70% of the time in contrast to only 36% for passive content. Shifting from a passive to an interactive content model dramatically enhances the probability of brand trust, purchase intent, and a lasting relationship. In addition to implementing traditional marketing techniques, augment your content by incorporating ICM focused contests, quizzes and games. Most users want content that’s directly linked to their interests as well, so marketers can integrate polls in content such as blog posts to identify what their next post should be focused on. Also, remember to notify your fans on social media and through email every time you post.
3. Create Brand Videos
Video is an essential marketing medium. In fact, studies show websites utilizing videos retain site visitors for 88% longer than sites who don’t include video content. Additionally, studies indicate 57% of customers depend on product videos to aid them in their purchasing decisions. With that being said, it’s vitally important to use targeted videos to educate your buyers, help them identify your brand, and entice them to buy from you. Naturally, you’ll want to conduct a good amount of research prior to creating your videos. Specifically, try taking a look at the video content your competitors are producing — this will not only give you an idea of the type of content that performs well, but you’ll also be able to distinguish yourself from whatever they’re creating so that your content is unique.
4. Add Branded Links to Your Offline Advertisements
Although digital marketing has been in the spotlight for quite some time (and rightfully so), offline marketing can still have a positive effect on your brand. Digital marketing efforts are easily measured, and an ongoing disadvantage to offline marketing has been the lack of ability to track the conversions of the physical ads. Additionally, people want more details than the ad presents. What’s the solution to both of these issues? Branded links. Branded links comprise your brand’s name, what you do, and where the link will lead. Try adding branded links to your offline advertisements. (Print, telephone, radio, etc.) Adding branded links to your offline advertisements is an inexpensive and efficient way to fortify your branding.
5. Use Highly-Targeted Snail Mail
Have you received a letter in the mail recently? If you are like most people, the answer is probably not. The quantity of mail sent yearly in the United States plummeted from 213.1 billion pieces in 2006 to just 154.2 billion pieces in 2015. That’s nearly a 30% decline within a decade. That decrease means there’s a huge opportunity for you as a business owner. Direct mailing is flexible, customizable and highly measurable. While direct mailing has progressively declined over the past decade more marketers are including it into their overall marketing strategy. Even though the cost of snail mail marketing may be high, the return on investment stays consistently strong.
6. Stand Out from the Crowd
Thinking “outside the box” can help you stand out in a sea of marketers who routinely rely on tired and contrived advertising techniques. Here’s a perfect example. Andrew Chwalik, a prominent marketer and Youtuber, hosts a creative marketing podcast called Creativity Killed the Cat that helps small businesses develop cost-effective, creative campaigns. In an effort to get businesses interested in sponsoring an episode, he mailed off a letter. Yet, this wasn’t just any regular letter. He bought some old-style paper and envelopes, composed his sales pitch in Shakespearean-English, sealed them with a wax stamp, and sent them out. The results were nothing short of mind-blowing. Why? How frequently do you discover a letter like that in your mailbox? Being unique is a terrific way to make traditional marketing work in your favor.
7. Invest in Community
Community development is something that every small business must carry out in response to market difficulties. Having a strong community backing the business is a tremendous benefit. In addition to strengthening your customer base, you will also acquire a lot of happy customers who zealously promote your brand. However, before you attempt to build a community, you need to identify the type of community you want. It could be linked to a worthy cause or similar interest, act as a support group or a take on a number of other forms. You’ll want to make sure to build a community that aligns with your brand, services or products. It needs to be one that your customers find value and want to join in. In the end, community development has to do with immersing yourself in the community around you. Try sponsoring local activities, and exhibiting a sincere interest in community development.
8. Engage your Audience with Facebook Live
If you’re wanting to develop your brand, strongly consider using Facebook Live. It’s quickly establishing itself as one of the most popular new trends on social media, and it’s going to greatly contribute to the success of your brand awareness in 2019 and well after. One of the primary benefits of Facebook Live is that you’re able to reach current fans much quicker. You’ll also receive a major boost of brand awareness with the burgeoning popularity of live video. Social Media Today reports people spend three times longer watching Facebook Live videos than videos that aren’t live. However, it’s important to take advantage of the platform while it still has the “novelty” factor associated with it.
If you’re curious how Facebook Live compares to other major social platforms, you’ll be pleased to learn it’s at the top of the heap. Yes, you can use YouTube Live to increase traffic, but Facebook Live is a more viable solution, as more people log into Facebook on a daily basis. Moreover, Facebook Live is nearly as popular as YouTube Live. A recent survey conducted by Livestream and New York Magazine suggested 66% of participants “liked” Facebook Live.
9. Build Genuine Connections
In the end, it all comes down to establishing strong and authentic relationships with your customers. This is why pinpointing your branding and identifying who it is that you’re helping is crucial. It’s kind of like trying to sell inexpensive car seats to couples who are 60 years and older –there’s no connection. However, if you actually took the time to learn that you should be focusing on, 20–30-year-old women, who hold part-time jobs then you’ll understand who to target and how to position your product to help solve their issues. This will not only imbue a sense of trust, but you’ll come to mind immediately when it’s time to purchase.
The branding process can seem to be a complex endeavor, but if approached in a correct manner, it doesn’t take long to promote a brand that potential customers can identify and connect with. The list of unique branding ideas above will help your business stand out from its competitors and bring your company’s vision to life. As always, the talented people at MAXBURST are available to discuss any branding and marketing strategies in more detail so feel free to reach out to them when the need arises.
