Most business owners know they need a logo to visually represent their brand, but what does it mean to create a visual brand identity? A strong visual brand identity empowers a brand to articulate its message without writing a word. It allows companies to be recognized by potential customers—whether online or off—and evokes an emotional connection with their audience.
In fact, as we talk about in this previous article, your brand isn’t even directly defined by you — it’s defined by your audience when they interact with your company.
Putting it simply: To attract your target customers and retain your existing customers, you need to have a compelling visual brand identity. But where do you start when creating an online and offline presence? Read on for 3 keys to creating a solid visual brand identity.
The parts make the whole when it comes to your brand. Your brand is defined when customers call for support, when they walk past your business storefront and a new sign you put up, or when they follow you on social media.
Your brand is defined by the smaller decisions in your business. So when creating a comprehensive, consistent brand, you have to think of how the smaller elements (your logo, your color choices, or the brand messaging you use) fit into the overarching story you want your customers to receive.
When building your website design, print materials, or even your social media content, it’s just as important that you think of the visual content as the written messaging. Like we talk about in this article, to build a strong brand, you need more than just fun color schemes, taglines, and modern logos. You need a comprehensive brand message that speaks across the visual and the written. And that brand message needs to articulate a compelling story about how your customers undergo a positive transformation by using your product or service.
An invaluable part of creating that compelling message is the discovery phase of your brand creation. When building a brand, think of your business as a person. What would their personality be like? What words would you use to describe them? By personifying your brand, you’ll be one step closer to humanizing your brand so you can make a closer connection to your ideal clients.
After taking the time to discover your brand, then take the time to discover your audience. To attract your ideal customers, you must first profile them—learn about their motivations, pain points, and traits. Then, when you sit down to build your brand identity, you’ll craft a brand that feels authentic for your company and also compelling to your target audience.
You want your brand to be memorable, and nowadays it’s not enough to just have a cool logo. (Although great logos don’t hurt!) We talk more about must-haves when creating a logo in this article, but it’s important to remember that while your logo is important, your logo isn’t the end-all for your branding. Here’s how we put it previously:
“Your logo is not a complete description of your business, or a narrative of your business’s story. You’ll never have a logo that can explain everything you are—rather, it’s the context around your logo that does the explaining. Logos derive meaning from your company, products/services, customer experience, and more.” (Read more about logos here.)
When creating a memorable brand, look for unique ways to stand out against your competition. Know your audience and what matters to them, and be consistent with your visuals and your messaging. We offer several more tips to build a memorable brand, but the biggest takeaway is to show your customers that they matter to you in a special way—whether it’s through your customer service, your mission or promise, or through the customer experience.
And use compelling visuals at every step of the customer journey in your quest to follow through on your unique sales position.
There are several aspects to consider when building a successful visual brand identity. Whether you’re building your company website, rebranding your print materials, or launching new social media initiatives, it’s important to be consistent in your written and visual messaging and to strive to make a connection with your audience. When discovering your brand, it’s also crucial to find what makes you unique and how you can service your audience in a novel way.
Harvest Media excels at helping businesses discover their brand and attract their target audience. Interested in learning how we can help your business stand out in a crowded market place with smart, comprehensive branding? Contact us today to find out more information.
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