All businesses have elements that set them apart from others. The art of differentiating a business from another is brand identity. Well-conceived brands are ones which everyone knows about, and the best brands that create a strong brand identity can even positively impact consumer behaviour. Having a strong brand identity is imperative if you wish to run a business that stands out from its competition and build a loyal customer base.

Establish a clear idea of your business’s values, vision, target audience, personality, and unique positioning in the market first. They are what inform your brand identity. Then, you can use content and design efficiently to convey and strengthen this identity.  

What is brand identity?

The term ‘brand identity’ refers to the visual representation of a brand. It encompasses identifiers such as a brand’s colour scheme, logo, and other designs, as well as the marketing approaches that it takes. Some elements included in the marketing approach would be the business's slogans, taglines, and messaging, as well as how the business interacts with audiences and customers.

What is the purpose of brand identity?  

There are many reasons why it is essential for businesses to have a strong brand identity. A strong brand identity is not just about making images and packaging look pretty, but about communicating a story or message effectively. Building a strong and distinguishable brand identity helps a business become more memorable to consumers and differentiates it from its competitors. It can also build a positive brand image to increase exposure and to gain favourable impressions.  

Benefits of having a strong brand identity

Building a strong brand identity is vital for any business looking to stand out and build a solid reputation for itself. Below are a few key benefits when it comes to having a strong brand identity.

One immediate benefit of a strong brand identity is that it builds strong customer relationships and loyalty. This is because it taps into customers’ desires and caters to their needs. As a result, people are more likely to become repeat customers instead of making a one-time purchase. Additionally, studies have shown that people pick and recommend brands that they like or are familiar with to others. When they identify with your brand, they can further expand your brand’s reach by recommending it to other people in their circles.

Having a brand identity also makes it easier for a business to stand out from its competitors. Customers know what quality to expect from the brand every time they make a purchase. For instance, compare a Coke to a non-branded soft drink. Most people will opt for Coke because it is recognizable and lives up to what it promises. So, when your business has a strong brand identity and powerful messaging, you can distinguish yourself from the rest of the industry with your unique selling points. This will lead to people recognizing your brand, and then remembering it when it is time to make a purchase.

A brand identity can even help companies stay consistent in terms of visual direction. Instead of having various pieces of unrelated content floating around, having a brand identity ensures that each piece of content and messaging is in line with each other. This way, audiences are less likely to become confused by inconsistent messaging.

On the whole, a strong brand identity builds connections with a business’s target audience and cultivates trust in them. Over time, this can lead to a brand expanding and having its own community of consumers. Having a recognizable and unique brand identity can also be the best way for a business to position itself as an industry leader.  

How to build brand identity?  

Knowing what the benefits of having a strong brand identity are, you may be wondering, how does one go about building one? As we have covered, developing a brand identity is so much more than working with a graphic designer or picking what images and fonts to use. It’s about choosing a powerful message that aligns with your brand’s vision and the story you want to tell. If you are looking to get started, below are some steps you can take to build a strong brand identity.  

Outline the purpose of the business

Before jumping in, it is essential you understand the root of your brand and the purpose of your business. As such, knowing your brand’s vision, values, mission, and target audience is important. Understand what makes your brand unique, what you intend to do with it, and how you would like to be perceived by your audience and customers. This includes:

• Brand name: This is the name that your brand will be referred to. Once you have a brand name in place, can you design a logo and other visual elements.  
• Brand heart: This expresses your brand’s core principles, such as your values, mission, vision, and purpose.  
• Brand essence: This includes other non-tangible elements related to your brand, such as its tone, voice, and personality.  
• Messaging: To make sure your content communicates the right message to audiences, make sure you know your value proposition, tagline, and messaging pillars.  

Understand your audience

Another step that marketers need to do is to work out who the brand is specifically targeting. This is highly important when it comes to developing a brand identity because people respond differently to aesthetics, tone, and brand personalities. If you consider what your audience is looking for, it is much easier for a brand to connect and engage with them.

One way to do so is by creating buyer personas. A buyer persona is a rough outline of the typical audience member you are looking to sell to. This should include data on their age, gender, location, income range, interests, wants, needs, and other similar brands they buy from. Think of their desires and needs and think about how you can fulfil their expectations in your messaging. Appeal to their challenges and provide solutions for them.

Research competitors

Marketers should conduct competitor research to get a better sense of trends going on in the market, and any niches they can take advantage of. Ask questions such as how customers feel about your competitors. What type of content do your competitors often produce? How often do they publish content? What is the impact of their content?

Make sure to evaluate the highs and lows of your competitors, instead of simply the highs. You want to get a good idea of why they failed, so you can learn from their mistakes. You can also take a look at gaps in the market that may potentially benefit your brand.

A competitor research spreadsheet can help you to prioritize your findings. Your spreadsheet should provide a clear view of how your business is positioned compared to others, and opportunities you can take advantage of to make your brand stand out from the crowd.

Create a content strategy

A content strategy is a roadmap for all content market initiatives and your approach to content.

Your strategy can include segmenting content into educational, inspirational, or promotional posts. The platform of choice that a brand chooses to engage with should also be considered, as different platforms cater to different content types.

For example, Instagram is ideal for showing polished product images and is usually used by Gen Zs and Millennials, with 2 billion monthly active users. Whereas TikTok is great for circulating short reels with a personal touch and is typically used by Gen Zs with 834.3 million monthly active users. On the other hand, YouTube is fantastic for long-form educational videos and has over 2.1 billion monthly active users worldwide and is mainly used by those aged between 15-35.

You should also determine the types of content that are being created, such as social media posts, podcasts, videos, blog posts, and more. Make sure to set specific goals, whether it is driving website traffic, increasing brand awareness, or generating leads. You may also want to put down how often you are posting content (are you posting once a week versus once every two days, etc).

Develop a brand personality and voice

Brand personality and voice are two of the most important things that make up a brand identity. Whether your brand is humorous, professional, inspiring, or entertaining, a brand personality is the easiest way to showcase that your business is unique. This voice helps audiences differentiate your brand from the competition and makes it more relatable to them.

The same voice should echo across various content types, from web copy to product pages, blog posts, videos, social media profiles, and more. The voice a brand chooses will largely depend on its target audience, industry, and mission statement. For instance, if you are targeting millennials and Gen Z audiences, then you may want to pepper slang into your marketing copy. That said, it is important to not lean too much into generational stereotypes, and research should always inform your marketing decisions. On the other hand, if you are in the finance sector, then you may want to adopt a more serious and professional tone.

Create a brand story

Stories are a fantastic way to connect to people on a personal level. This is because people love storytelling and tend to remember stories, which makes it a great way to appeal to your customers. Storytelling is a great addition to a brand’s mission statement, as it can help explain to potential audiences why a brand exists, and its values and beliefs. This makes it easier for audiences to resonate emotionally with your brand.

Create a consistent message

Aside from creating valuable content, brands must also maintain consistency across all platforms, both online and offline. This is because consistency makes marketing efforts more credible and persuasive, which can improve a brand’s bottom line. On the whole, consistency helps to reinforce a brand’s image and identity, and it is this kind of repetition that helps consumers remember you.

For example, a brand selling hiking gear may adopt an adventurous tone, which should resonate across all its marketing copy and content. This may include blog posts about hiking in the winter, a newsletter recounting a hiker’s inspirational journey on snowy mountains, or a video detailing the best hikes to experience in the colder months. Scheduling posts consistently on various platforms also helps to maintain audience engagement and interest.

Different forms of content  

The goal of creating content is to connect with your target audience. Businesses should pick the best type of content according to their ideal target customer and business objectives. This increases the chances of capturing a potential viewer’s attention and gaining leads.

Social media

Social media posts are considered low-cost content. There are plenty of platforms businesses can choose to take advantage of. These range from TikTok’s casual and fun app to LinkedIn’s more professional and serious networking platform. Businesses and brands typically leverage social media to gain more brand awareness as well as execute digital marketing campaigns. Social media is also a great way for brands to alert audiences of new updates, promotions, or new content. Audiences can even create user-generated content (UGC) that can further promote a particular brand.

Blog articles

Blogs are usually made up of written content, with some images. These take various forms, such as how-to guides, FAQs, and listicles. Brands are likely to use a blog to provide personal content or engaging information to their audience, allowing them to slowly build trust in the long run. Blogs can also actively invite engagement by including a call to action (CTA) at the conclusion, such as urging readers to share the article or make a purchase.

Videos

Although videos are comparatively difficult to produce, they tend to generate the largest results. Videos help to highlight what a brand stands for and audiences can easily gain a deeper understanding of what and who a brand is. This is because users are more likely to retain messages watched on video when compared to those read in text. Videos are also more likely to be shared via other social media platforms, increasing reach and brand visibility.  

eBooks

eBooks are mainly used to demonstrate expertise and showcase thought leadership. eBooks also tend to be long-form content, allowing a business or brand to provide greater insight into topics that are relevant to their customers. Aside from providing information, eBooks can also maintain engagement through infographics and quizzes.

Whitepapers

Whitepapers are comprehensive, search-driven pieces of content that cover a specific subject in detail. They are often used to educate audiences on a complicated issue or persuade them to take a course of action. Regarding branding, whitepapers can be used to build trust in potential and current customers and solidify a business as an expert in their industry. Sharing expertise and positioning a business as an authority figure, can increase brand awareness and make a business appear more reputable.

Whitepapers tend to have a longer shelf life and can remain relevant for months or years. This means whitepapers can potentially continue to generate leads long after they have been published.

The bottom line

Building a strong brand identity through content requires a deep understanding of your target audience as well as consistent effort to maintain it. By creating authentic, engaging, inspiring and valuable content, you can establish a compelling brand identity that resonates with your audience and sets your brand apart from the competition.  

Create your brand identity with MediaGroup

MediaGroup offers various SEO services, including content marketing services, such as creating a comprehensive content strategy, producing evergreen and topical content, as well as launching social media strategies. Contact us today to discuss the best options for your business and how we can help optimize your content.