‘Branding’ is all about perception. How other people view your brand, what they think of it, and most importantly, how they feel about it. In the oft-repeated words of Jeff Bezos, ‘Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room’. So, you see, a brand is all about perception and reputation.
And both these things can be controlled and managed through your logo design.
A well-designed and aesthetically appealing logo is influential in helping people perceive your brand positively. It triggers positive feelings, initiates pleasant recall, and help customers associate satisfying emotions to it. How a good logo helps with the brand building is through repetition. The more ‘available’ your logo is, the more people see it everywhere, the more those positive emotions will be reinforced and strengthened. And this process is called Brand Building.
Depending on how effective your brand strategy is, it can take weeks or even months (sometimes years) to establish a strong brand. So you have to be proactive from the start and be at it every day. Display your logo everywhere. Incorporate its colors in your marketing, promotion, every piece of communication. Embody your brand spirit and let people interact with it.
Below we are sharing five easy-to-follow tips to build your brand with the help of your logo design.
Display on Your Website and Social Media
The place to start building your brand is online. It’s cost-effective, has a vast reach, and can provide fast results. Even if you own a small business, say a wedding photo studio, it’s imperative that you get a photography logo for building your brand online.
Display your logo prominently on your website – especially above the fold and on landing pages. Also, make sure to keep your site design’s palette the same as your brand logo colors. You can use more colors on your website than are present on your logo, but the primary color or the main color should remain the same.
This is so that through your logo colors you can present a uniform and consistent experience to your customers. Every time they see those colors, your brand logo should pop in their heads. Much like what happens to us when we see red and yellow of McDonald’s.
Also, display your logo on all your social media as profile pictures. Every time you communicate with your customers on any social network, make sure your logo is visible and set as your display picture. By repeatedly showing your logo to your customers, everywhere they go, you can start building stable recognition for your brand.
Part of All of Your Communication
Continuing with the point above, to build your brand effectively, your logo should be a part of all of your communication, whether online or offline. Therefore, make sure that your logo is present on your business cards, letterheads, notepads, office envelopes, and all of the stationery you can think of.
It should also be a part of your email communication. Insert them on the top of the email body and make it mandatory for all official communication. They must be on your email newsletter, on your marketing emails, and every time you email anyone officially.
Must be Present on Your Product & Packaging
Another place where you need to use your logo to consistently showcase your brand is your product and packaging.
If you look at established brands, from Nike to Coca Cola, you’ll see that none of their products are ever without their logos or a variation of it. This is free marketing. While you may be in a business where you can’t plaster your logo on the product itself (food, for example) packaging is always available as a brilliant alternative.
Cartons, bags, boxes, and anything you use to deliver your product to the customers should incorporate your logo prominently. There are a few ways you can design your logo on your packaging: printed right on the boxes or bags, on stickers that can be pasted on the boxes, or as a whole brand experience by designing the packaging in the shape of the product/service you deliver.
A Fixture of Your Store
While you do need to display your logo on your storefront, don’t consider your job just by hanging it outside the shop. To truly allow your logo to work for you, it needs to be a permanent fixture of your store – inside as well outside.
On staff uniforms, on company vehicles, on doors, shelves, stands, and any other equipment or fixture you can think of, paste your logo there. Once again like your website design, decorate your physical store with your logo color palette. Make sure your primary logo color is visible in the store, your staff is wearing it, and it is also a part of your product design.
Through repeatedly and consistently exhibiting your logo can you hope to build a brand that has a ready recall in people’s mind, and will firmly establish you in the market.
Promote it on Your Promotional Material
When it comes to brand building, promotion is essential. Everything we’ve discussed so far has been focused on business operations. Now we are going to talk about fully marketing and promoting your brand.
PPC ads, social media ads, more conventional advertisements, marketing campaigns, and all such promotional efforts need to have your logo design at the center of every communication. Consider your marketing collateral incomplete – even damaging to the brand – if your logo isn’t present there. Print it on your t-shirts, giveaways, brochures, banners, and anything else that you can think of: coffee mugs, pens, tissue paper, anything you’re giving to your customers must accompany your brand logo.
Over to You
Consider your logo as the cornerstone of all your branding efforts, no matter if you’re running a retail shop, a pet store, or a creative photography studio. It drives your brand forward and helps you immensely in your brand building.
We hope the tips we’ve shared here help you build a solid brand with a firm footing, and can become starting points for your larger branding strategy.
Need more info? Here are some tips on how to hire a logo designer.
