The Importance of Brand Image
As a brand marketer, chances are you don’t have time to be bored. There are always new clients to meet, new contracts to negotiate, projects to manage and of course, fires to put out. It’s no wonder that sharpening your brand image rarely makes it to the top of the to do list.
Putting your brand image on the back burner is a big mistake, but to understand why, you first need to know why brand identity is so important. Here are some of the most compelling reasons why your brand image deserves more attention:
Brand Image Creates a First Impression
Imagine your brand as a person walking into a crowded room. Would it steal the spotlight or quickly retreat to the sidelines with the other wallflowers? First impressions matter, and a strong and consistent brand image grabs attention and makes consumers want to learn more.
A Strong Brand Image Communicates Values in an Instant
When consumers see the Apple logo, they immediately think of technology and innovation. A simple glimpse of the golden arches is enough to make bellies rumble for some affordable fast food. Marketing complex values like family togetherness or trusted financial advice isn’t simple, but brands like Disney and Wells Fargo accomplish this through some of the strongest brand identities on the market. Instantaneous recognition leads to quick decisions and over time, major profits.
Brand Identities Build Trust
A reliable brand image is like the familiar face of a friend. It’s recognized and trusted instantly. Brands who are able to establish this level of recognition form an emotional bridge between product and consumer. Human connections and strong relationships earn lifelong loyalty.
A Solid Brand Identity Stands Out From the Crowd
To make an impact in a market dominated by giants, startups and small businesses need a strong brand image. Even established brands fuel their success with a consistent, trusted brand identity. Your specific brand image is what sets you apart from all of the other options consumers have. Without one, you’ll blend into the background and be forgotten.
New Products Get a “Leg Up” From Brand Image
Brands who’ve already established a high level of recognition don’t need to start from scratch when marketing a new product or service. Instead, they can leverage the identity they’ve built to make a bigger impact in less time.
Solid Brand Identities Support Omni Channel Marketing
90% of customers expect consistent interactions across channels. Achieving consistency is impossible without a strong brand image that’s established and communicated on all platforms. With a solid identity, brands can create a seamless experience that strengthens their brand image at every touch point.
Brand image is like your company’s reputation—everything rests on it. Understanding the importance of brand identity is one thing. Being able to create and control your brand image is another.
How to Create a Strong Brand Image
Creating a Brand Image Begins With Research
Every major business project should begin with research. Building a strong brand image is no different. You’ll want an identity that attracts your ideal customer, keeps them engaged, and helps you rise above the competition. Here are the three areas to focus on first:
Target Audience. Have you built detailed buyer personas for your brand? If not, now is the time to start! Create these personas by interviewing current and past customers, talking to your sales team, and brainstorming about the ideal buyer for each of your products. Once you have your personas, ask yourself: “What core values do my personas share? What inspires them to convert and to remain loyal to a brand?”
Competitors. Which concepts and values do consumers associate with your competitors? How do your competitors convey those ideas through messaging and design? Dive into your competitors’ websites, print ads, TV spots and more to learn the answers. You can also use tools like SEMrush to learn which search terms lead web surfers to competing sites.
Your Current Identity. How do consumers view your brand right now? How has your brand evolved? Talk to customers and clients, but don’t forget to poll employees. Tenured employees are a major resource that often goes untapped. Ask them how they think your brand’s perception has changed and what they would do to improve it.
Define Your Brand Values
As humans, our actions are guided by our values. Brands should be too. Many brands make the mistake of conflating value with values. But your brand values aren’t about what you’re delivering so much as how you’re delivering it.
Nike may be in the business of selling t-shirts and tennis shoes, but their brand values deliver bigger ideas: that anyone can aspire to greatness and that dedication can turn you into a legend. Nike lists their mission statement as follows: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Inspiration, innovation, accessibility—these are Nike’s brand values. What are yours?
Develop and Design
Don’t think design hurts or helps control your brand image? Think again. Here are just a few statistics that prove how crucial design is for brand and business success:
- Design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P Index by 219% over 10 years.
- Given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something beautifully designed than something plain.
- 90% of all human communication is non-verbal.
- 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive.
- Colors increased web recognition by 80%. Sites with dark color schemes increased growth by 2% whereas sites with lighter color schemes experienced 1.3% growth.
- Color can improve brand recognition by up to 80%.
Shape, form, space, color, texture—design is made up of many elements (and these are just a few). The world’s most memorable brands have dedicated and experienced design teams. If your design team isn’t established, or is still growing, consider contracting with industry experts to direct the design of your brand. Then get detailed feedback from your employees, loyal customers, and target markets to make sure you’ve sculpted a design that reflects your brand values.
Creating a Brand Image and Controlling Brand Identity
You’ve done your research. You’ve defined your brand values. Your team has designed everything from your brand logo to your Facebook Cover photo. You have built it. They will come. But how will you keep them coming back? The trick to lasting brand success is to continually guide and control your brand image. Here’s how:
Detailed Brand Guidelines
Are your social media team, franchisees, sales reps and designers on the same page when it comes to your brand image? The first step in maintaining brand consistency is creating a clear and detailed list of guidelines. These guidelines should be available 24/7 to any stakeholder who designs or delivers branded collateral. Store and share your brand guidelines through your dedicated Brand Marketing Center. That way, when someone has a question about branding, they can find the answer instantly.
Digital Asset Management
Are outdated versions of your brand logo or marketing slogans still in circulation? Ensure everyone’s using current versions of branded material with the help of Digital Asset Management. This service allows employees and partners to access current collateral as soon as it’s available. Through integration with their Brand Marketing Center, they can even use local vendors to print their updated pieces.
Marketing Templates
If you have local partners like franchisees creating collateral, marketing templates can help! These tools allow users to modify certain aspects of a print ad, social media graphic, or other piece of marketing. Branded elements can remain fixed while other details can be optimized for local markets. This way, businesses maintain brand compliance while creating highly-relevant material on the local level.
Social Media
It’s nearly impossible to control your brand image without strong social media management. Don’t give the keys to your account to just anyone. Trust them to a dedicated social media team. Ensure social media policies are outlined and shared along brand guidelines in your Brand Marketing Center.
Monitoring Tools
Use tools like Hubspot and Hootsuite to monitor social conversations around your brand. This way, if your brand is being misrepresented or misunderstood online, you’ll be the first to know. You can also set up Google Alerts for branded terms. These alerts will monitor blogs, news articles, web pages and other mentions of your brand and send the links directly to your inbox. You can’t control the conversation if you don’t know it’s happening!
Open Door Policy
The most important thing you can do to strengthen your brand image is to create open door policies. Stakeholders may be confused about branding, see major branding mistakes happening, or have valuable advice on how to improve your brand identity. They need to be able to share their thoughts without fear of reprisal. Consider creating opportunities for employees to anonymously give feedback. Google Forms is a great way to collect insights while protecting anonymity.
Take Charge of Your Brand Image
A consumer will make the decision to buy your product or service based largely on their perception of your brand. By creating a favorable first impression and building trust over time, your brand can not only develop the kind of identity you can be proud of, but also one that stands out as the best choice among your competition.
This guide should give you the foundation for building and maintaining a solid brand image, but remember to shape your strategy to fit your brand—not the other way around. To learn more about building and controlling your brand identity, schedule a brand consultation today. Our team will help analyze your needs, goals, and market to build the tools that fit them best.
It is most important that the consumer gets attracted towards your brand and it is so when your brand image is attractive and impressive.
This a very helpful post to those who really are keen to developing their brand name and maintain its image. Brand is so fragile we really need to take care of it.
Creating a perfect brand image for your brand is absolutely crucial if you want to move it to the next level.
Very helpful post for businesses struggling with establishing their brand identity. The tips shared are easy to follow and apply.
Good brand image is important and many companies are investing time and money for this. Especially nowadays that social media are so strong, that it can uplifts or pull your brand down easily.
I have been thinking of rebranding my blog for a while now. I think this was an excellent article for me. So many great tips. Thanks!
Creating a brand is very important if you want to earn money from your blog. These are some great tips.
Brand image is so important and it needs to be considered at all times. I work hard to create and maintain my brand image!
Being a marketing student, I find all your tips to be very resourceful. I totally agree with you that having an online presence is critical when it comes to creating a brand. But this should be done effectively and efficiently. I believe the core for a strong brand is its relationship with your clients/readers. So FOCUS on that from day one.
I’m bookmarking this post to keep me on track. Every now and again I get sidetracked and have to focus back on my brand and its identity.
This is so important. Definitely, something I have been working on. You want to create something more than just your main project like a blog
Having a solid brand is so crucial. These are great tips!
I wish I had this information soon. Better late than never. Thanks for a great resource.
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It’s definitely important to understand who your target audience is. And to come back to that every year to make sure you are still on brand.
Branding is so important, for small and large companies. Great article, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Bookmarking this! This will help bloggers like us create an excellent brand image.
I totally understand the importance of brand image is to your business. this post is very informative and I will pin it.
Brand image is so important! This post is filled with tons of useful information
Lots of great information here! I am going to pin it so that I have it to look back through as time passes. Brand image is so very important and I need to get it together in that area for sure! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love these tips. They will help me update my brand image.
i wish i had found a list like that when i started my blog or my bussines, this is perfect a complete list helps so much for any newbie out there. i am taking this list to improve some aspects of my blog
I agree, having a brand image is important. It helps your readers to get to know you and familiarize themselves with your identity. It does need to be eye-catching and expressive.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I was researching about brands and how to create a good image for my blog and came across this. It’s so helpful!
Thanks for your guide. A good quality brand image is crucial for a successful branding.
You make some wonderful points. It’s important to keep in mind the ultimate image of your brand, it keeps you consistent. I agree that I would rather read something on a page that is eye catching.
Branding is key to estalishing a company and creating a niche for it in the marketplace. Brands that can articulate their purpose and how they bring value to the customer will always make waves and thrive. Loved your post.
Having a strong brand identity really is something. This is where Marketing people and companies are taking care. Having a good brand identity entails a lot of collaborations and brings more credibility
Brand guidelines is a must! Working with different companies, back when I was in a media agency, helped me learn the value of brand guidelines. Strict compliance is a must at all times!
Branding is definitely so important! You have shared some really awesome and super helpful tips! Thanks!
wow amazing tips not everyone share this information, so helpful specially for me I am recent starting.
I agree! A establishing good brand name is very difficult. That’s why you should give your best to protect it.
Where was this post when i started by biz last year? Honestly, you’ve covered all things i discovered as I went along with my business. Great article.
It took me YEARS to define my brand image! I am so glad I finally figured it out because it makes everything else THAT much easier!
Oh my goodness! This is such incredible information. I’ve never stopped to think about controlling my brand image that comprehensively. I’m scrolling up to re-read your post one more time to really absorb all of this super helpful content. Thank you so much!
This is a perfect post for my friend. She is just starting out with her business and has a lot of questions you have answered here. I will have to share this with her.
Great article! the brand image is evrything for a usiness!!!I´m just starting out so this post was super helpful for me! Thnk you so much
Brand image is so important and something I should spend more time on. As a blogger, I too have my own brand image that I need to present to the world.
This is a really great post, thank you! So true about brands needing values – I like to think that the businesses I engage with have a ‘heart’ and a good moral and ethical compass. Food for thought! Rx
This is so helpful, thank you! I’ll be keeping this in mind for sure. I always want to have a good brand image.
These are some wonderful tips, ensuring you have a good brand image is a big deal. I to tweek mine a bit
Consistency is key for me. And not changing a logo too often. I come to know a company online by their logo.
As someone working in fashion and social media, I absolutely understand the importance of perception and brand image. If your brand has a band image, nobody will want to buy from you so it’s really important that you work on it xx corinne
These are some great tips, making sure you have a good brand image is a must and something I really need to work on as mine is a little all over the place.
I fully agree that brand image is extremely important in a business. It does need to stand out from the rest. This is a great resource for learning how to create a brand image that inspires and is memorable.