An online business is one of the best ways to earn more nowadays. Since almost everyone is present in the online world, having an online business lets you have a wide reach of your target market while saving on some of the operational expenses, such as rent and other facility costs.

The challenge is how you will make your business stand out from the vast and competitive online business market. This is where branding comes in.

What is a Brand?

Shopify defines Brand as “how people perceive you wherever they interact with your business- both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t.”

Some people would relate a Brand to a business name or logo. Actually, it is more than that- Brand is the totality of your online business’ personality, like how a person brands themselves by their name, looks, fashion style, communication styles, and traits. A business should have a name, logo, slogan, colors, voice, and reputation that will distinguish it from the rest.

Reap the benefits of having strong branding for your business. Here are some tips on how you can build one.

Identify your audience

First things first in building your brand is identifying who you are targeting your efforts to. It is essential to know who you are trying to reach to customize your approach based on their preferences and needs. This will be very beneficial when choosing your brand voice, design, and marketing strategies.

You can build your knowledge of your target audience by:

• Examining the demographics and behavior of your existing customers, if there are any.
• Research your product and service category and analyze your direct and indirect competitors.
• Talk to people who are part of your target market and learn the brands they are buying from and patronizing. Ask them what factors they consider when purchasing a product or a service.
• Check out other social media accounts or pages your target market follows and engages in.
• Look at things from a customer perspective and check out their experience to know how you can make their shopping and buying experience pleasant.

Create a unique brand name

Having a unique brand name will make you stand out and be recognizable. Your business name is one of the defining features of your brand. Make sure it is catchy and conveys the right emotions and ideas to your audience.

You may choose from the following approaches in coming up with your brand name:

• Make up a word like “Pepsi” or “Vision Clothing”
• Descriptive names like “Florist” or “The Shoe Company”
•  Emotive names like “Innocent Drinks”
• Origin names like where the business began or its founder, like “Ford”
• Combined words like “Facebook” or “Pinterest”
•  Acronyms like “HBO” (Home Box Office)

Build your why

Come up with your brand’s story or “why.” This will state your business’ purpose and core focus. To help you with this, think of the reason why you set up this business and how your products will positively impact people’s lives.

A good story can aid you with your slogans and marketing strategies. It can also make your customers respect and love your brand.

Design your logo

A logo is one of the first things that comes to mind when building a brand. And why not- the logo will be the face of the business, and it is something that sticks to the mind of your target audience. Aside from your brand name, your logo is what customers recognize in your brand.

Your logo must spark your customers’ interest, especially with people’s shortened digitized attention span. It must convince them to look further and want to get to know your brand better.

You may seek the help of a designer in coming up with a logo. The design can be an emblem, mascot, letter marks, icon, wordmarks, or combination marks.

Establish the brand’s look

Establishing your brand’s look will create the visual representation of your brand, which will be used in your websites, and other marketing collaterals.

Choose the important elements of your brand, like:

• Colors- what colors and shades do you want for your brand? Since colors have a psychological impact, think of what you want your target market to feel when interacting with your brand
•  Fonts- like colors, fonts also exude a personality that you are showing your target audience. Do you want to be perceived as fun, modern, authoritative, or traditional?
• Imagery- what images, pictures, and illustrations do you want to use on your products, website, and advertisements?

Integrate your brand everywhere

Now that you have built your brand make sure that your presence is known! You need to share it and be visible on different platforms, especially digital ones.

• Have your website and make sure that it is easy to navigate. Remember that your website is your digital address; make sure that people will want to visit it often.
• Share your brand across different social media platforms. Provide engaging content that your target market will be interested in, and make sure to interact with your followers. Engage with our target audience and stay active. Answer questions and comments posted on your accounts.
• Be present in other e-commerce stores to broaden the channels on how your target market can reach and buy from you.
• Be active in different marketing campaigns. Maximize the power of social media and digital marketing.

Key Takeaway

Building a brand is crucial for the success of your business. This will make you stand out from the rest and be more recognizable to your target audience.  Think of how you want to package your business and start choosing the elements of your brand now.

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Joy

Joy Collado is a freelance writer and loves to write about personal finance, self-help, and digital marketing.

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