Actionable Branding Tips for Startups
So you’ve taken the much-dreaded leap into finally building a startup business but you’ve quickly learned that everything you thought you knew about branding circa 2019 is totally different from what it is now in 2020. The pandemic set off a radical shift in how things used to be done. Now, what used to fly in 2019 wouldn’t rock as much now. And no, it doesn’t just end with how much financial headstart you can get from investors. Remember, it is you against other thriving competitors, what you want is to be etched in the minds of your audience
So how exactly can you nudge the brand of a fledgeling startup into success in the middle of a pandemic?
5 few actionable tips:
Wear your Audience:
Yes, this is to be taken literally. Think about who your ideal audience is and switch your mind into the many different possibilities of how your target audience’s mind would function when they think about your business and the services you offer. This will not only help you see if some of the objectives you have for your startup need to be improved upon, it’ll also help you see which one needs to be weeded out.
Think about who your ideal audience is and switch your mind into the many different possibilities of how your target audience’s mind would function when they think about your business and the services you offer.
Doing this also better helps you visualize who you want your team to be made up of. For instance, you know your target audience isn’t one to care about technical jargons so you want a web copywriter that knows how to communicate your services to a layman when making content for your website.
Wearing your audience is perhaps the best business audit you can do for a new startup because it just helps you see things much better.
Brand Storytelling:
Beyond the services you have to offer, what makes your brand human?
Besides making a point to let your audience know about how awesome your services are and how exclusively you’ll serve them, perhaps consider evoking emotions through sincere storytelling.
Think about the likes of Peak Milk with “Papilo, one day you go make us proud”, there’s also MTN with the super nostalgic “Oh, Jerry”,
Guinness with “my friend Udeme is a great man”,
Indomie with the delightful “To me, to you” song.
Beyond the services you have to offer, what makes your brand human? What part of your brand relates to everyday realities? How can you highlight that part of your brand and make it strike a chord in your audience?
You want un-forgetability? Brand storytelling is what will have your audience thinking about you with a smile on their face.
Relax with the hard facts and core business statistics. You bet Nigerians would fondly recall “Papilo, one day you go make us proud”, than the fact that Peak Milk contains Vitamin B12.
You want un-forgetability? Brand storytelling is what will have your audience thinking about you with a smile on their face.
The Power of Social Media & Content Marketing:
Photo by Hello I’m Nik ?? on Unsplash
You’ve noticed the remote shift in the workforce? Yes, things may seem to be going back to normal but where exactly will your audience find you? Certainly not in your brick-and-mortar space (well, at least not yet).
So what do you want to do?
Build digital traction on the most popular social media spaces. Social media has made it way easier to reach a wide audience demographic. How can you use this to your advantage?
This calls for a stellar content marketing mix. That is, constantly churning out what your audience would be delighted to interact with, it is from this that virality is birthed. Content that goes viral does not happen overnight.
What do you want to be called?
your target audience really wants to give you a chance but your complicated brand name just relentlessly gets in your way.
Brand Naming — This aspect of startup building is very often neglected but it is just as important, if not more than the other intricacies that are obsessed over.
Think about this: You start producing the most delicious packed cookies. Someone has your cookies for the first time and wants to get it again but then you give it a complicated name that doesn’t spark immediate recollection. They go to stores searching for it, and the storekeeper looks at them weird because they don’t know a cookie brand called Xerqskie. They try to look you up on Google and social media but the spelling of your product is muddled up in their heads.
See how your target audience really wants to give you a chance but your complicated brand name just relentlessly gets in your way.
Your brand name doesn’t have to sound like something from a Sci-fi movie just because you want to sound exclusive.
In addition to your audience forgetting you, chances are that you’ll scare investors away.
Outsourcing:
These tips are actionable, yes. It’s a new startup, yes. But it doesn’t mean you have to do it all by yourself.
Can you create good-looking brand logos and packaging for your startup product? If not, get a good brand designer/expert.
Can you string words that will have people furiously tapping the order button? If not, get a good copywriter.
Can you develop and implement a successful social media strategy to offset the growth of your business? If not, get a good social media manager/ strategist.
Basically, sift through core aspects of your business that would fare better with more experienced hands and outsource.
Startup is not a synonym for one-man, outsource when absolutely necessary, it just might be the key accelerator to your startup growth.
Creaveo at the core of your business is your brand. At Creaveo we help create an evident synergy between your brand and your business.
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