You’ve heard about the importance of building a brand identity to grow your business, but your budget isn’t quite there yet to hire someone to do this for you. Is it possible to do it yourself without breaking the bank and your sanity?
Before we answer that question, let’s be real for a second. Like any DIY job, you need to know what you’re doing before you try to do it alone. If you’re uncomfortable with technology, social media, aesthetics, or learning new software, you might be better off looking for freelancers who work within your budget.
But if you are confident that you can figure it out if you have a guide to lead the way, here are the basics you need to know to build a strong brand identity without spending a fortune.
1. Research the Market
Maybe you love the color purple, and you’re determined to market your brand around that shade. But with a little market research, you’ll learn whether or not your potential customers are attracted to the hue you’re dead set on using, and you might change your mind.
Assuming you know what your customers want is a slippery slope. Yes, you’re trying to fill a need, but it might not look like what you think it does.
Harness the power of social media and join groups full of your target customers. Form a poll or link a survey and ask them for their opinion on things like colors, fonts, and website design. This gives you a better idea of what you want your brand to look like and could connect you to future customers.
2. Create Your Logo
Is art a passion of yours, or a subject you’d rather leave in the past? Knowing this answer will tell you whether you’ll have fun playing with computer programs that create art, like Canva or Adobe Photoshop, or whether you might want to outsource this job to a freelancer or art student.
Before you start any work, take some time to research your competitors. This step is crucial because you don’t want to choose a logo and then find out that another company has the rights to it. This could be a costly mistake because you could end up sending customers to your competitor, getting sued by them, or both.
Designing your logo works similar to your brand’s colors. Be cautious of choosing something that you love but that your audience might not connect with.
As an example, if you love snakes, and you can easily insert a snake into your logo, but your business has nothing to do with reptiles, the brand might repel people who have a strong fear of those animals. To be sure you aren’t scaring away your target market, use those social media or survey sites to get feedback on a few logos that you like.
Classic custom business signs are another great way to strengthen your brand identity without blowing your budget. A well-designed sign not only increases visibility but also reinforces your brand’s colors, fonts, and message. Whether it’s a storefront sign, a trade show banner, or a vehicle wrap, eye-catching signage helps create a lasting impression. By investing in cost-effective signage solutions, you ensure that your brand remains recognizable and memorable to potential customers, both online and offline.
3. Create Consistent Content
You’ve chosen your colors and the perfect logo. Now it’s time to integrate those brand components into your website and social media.
Part of your brand is the tone of voice you use in your content. Is your business professional? Casual? Fun? Choose how you want your brand to be seen, and use that tone in all the content you create.
Consistently use keywords to help Google’s algorithm position you as an authority in your industry. Look for keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush and integrate them into your website. Add hashtags to your social media posts and track which ones are working and which aren’t helping.
Following your content and tracking metrics is easier once you’re familiar with the software that does this for you. For instance, Facebook Analytics is a business tool that shares demographics about your users to help you see who is interacting with your content. Software solutions like Accelo discusses in this article streamline projects to make planning and sharing content more streamlined for busy firms and small businesses.
With the right tools and consistent content, you’ll see what’s working for your brand’s voice and what you might want to tweak.
Conclusion
With a little computer know-how, some artistic flair, and market research, you can build your brand’s identity without hiring expensive experts to do it for you. From your colors and images to your content and consistency, you have what it takes to get your brand out to the world.