How to start a successful brand from scratch

If you need to start a brand from the ground up there are some excellent ways that you can showcase your brand and what you can offer for your customers. Before you begin to work on your branding one of the first steps you need to consider is how you will shape your brand for the future. The state of your brand will unfold based on your initial planning. It can take time for the public to eventually perceive your brand in the way that you intended but by working on your brand you can eventually reach a point where the idea of your branding will not only be shown in all of your logo/marketing materials, but easily explained.

Here are some top tips that you need to keep in mind when you are to start a brand from the ground up.

Gaining an understanding of your business:

Before you can begin to define the personality that will start up your brand, you need to be able to consider what is important to a brand and what makes your business so special. Understand the nature of your business inside and out before you even consider to start your brand. This will take some brainstorming and you will need to define all of the unique characteristics that can make up your corporate culture. These can range from secret product launches, offering style with affordability, a dedication to delivering high quality or fair trade goods and more. Establish the main values of your business and begin to translate this into a powerful branding message for the future. This will be the future goals of your company as well as a clearly defined corporate culture.

Sculpt a true visual identity for your brand:

Building a brand requires promotions and logos to really take off. Without these appropriate marketing materials it can be very difficult to launch a brand successfully. Think about what your business stands for and when you are building a brand, sculpt a visual identity that reflects your culture. In many cases this will require the use of a professional graphic designer. Working with a professional can ensure that a true brand identity that is consistent will be carried through with your entire brand. Changing your visual identity or brand more frequently often leads to a convoluted marketing message. Color can also play a big factor in the way that you represent your business. Picking out the right color swatches that convey the right meaning to your audience is important. A green logo or color swatch for example can be a great idea for a green/ Eco company. A blue logo is ideal for a creative agency because it spawns inspiration. Keeping these color swatches in mind can guide you forward. The same needs to be said for sculpting the visual identity of your text. The fonts you select and the way you present different texts in your marketing materials and logo can reflect your corporate culture.   A true visual identity is iconic and images that can take your company forward into the future. Think about some of the longest running brands like Audi for example. These are brands that have had the same configuration since the 1930’s because the brand knew where it wanted to go, and the images to take it there.

Build your online personality:

Today, one of the biggest aspects of building a brand is building up a buzz online. In the past a logo or branding persona for a company would be a little more difficult to build and it would require more customer representatives as well as interaction. Through the use of social media as well as creating your own website you can create a fully functional hub for your brand. By including all of the information that is needed about your corporate culture as well as starting to connect with your target market online you can work at creating a professional brand very quickly. Generating a buzz about your brand and your products can be much easier with the help of social media. This means that as soon as you have a direction, a business plan and marketing materials it is a good idea to launch on the web. Many companies today create landing websites or at least social media pages up to a year before their first product is launched. Showcasing the early startup of your company as well as early pieces of your corporate culture can really help you to gain traction in your marketplace. Building a website early attracts investors and can also help people to quickly have access to the answers they need about your brand. An about me page, a press release or even a portfolio page as well as a social media prescience is an excellent start for online brand building solutions.

By combining all of these elements of building a brand, you can work at having a more successful brand identity and eventual launch.

Read about the basics of branding for designers here!