Your Most Valuable Asset: Business brand identity 101

With consumers spending an ever increasing number of hours online, researching what they need, where to get it, and who to get it from, your online identity as a business is not just important… It's pivotal to success. 

Strong brand identity is how you’ll ensure your site promotes trust and loyalty, giving your business the best chance of snagging the sale. 

We know what you’re thinking, ‘I am nailling my brand identity. I have a brand spanking new logo, and I’ve plastered that baby EVERYWHERE (hello favicon!)!’

Here’s the catch. Your logo ≠ your brand.

Don’t get us wrong, no one is more excited about your fabulous favicon than us. Who doesn’t love a good lookin’ logo to spruce up a tired site? 

But your brand? Your brand embodies your organisational vision and culture. It’s what sets you apart and lets your audience know who you are, what you do, and most importantly how you’ll do it.. Your logo is simply one small step toward developing your brand. 

So before you hop onto Illustrator and start playing with pixels, you need to think about how you want to communicate with your audience… what do you want them to feel when they engage with your business. Rather than being synonymous with ‘logo’, brand identity is closer to synonymotity with ‘brand personality’. 

The first step is to audit your current organisational identity. Do you have a consistent presence on and offline? Is your tone of voice and presentation in line with your business vision? Is your current brand effective in speaking to your current audience? A HUGE step toward brand development is knowing who your customer is.

Once you’ve sussed that out, you’re better placed to work out what your business brings to the table in terms of value to that customer. It might be that your service is out of this world, that you have a laid back approach and open-door policy. It might be that you only use environmentally friendly products, or perhaps you only print for NFPs. Whatever your point of difference - nail it down and weave it into your brand’s visual vocabulary. 

If your organisation's essence is ethical, then let that underpin your colour selections. If you're innovative, then bring that innovation into your graphics designs. If you want a brand that’s perceived as playful, then choose fonts that portray playfulness.

From tones to typefaces, this is where the tangible elements come into the picture.

If you’ve got a stellar graphic designer on-hand (or you are the stellar GD) then you’re going to have no problems putting your well-laid brand plans into action (or should we say ‘into Adobe’?). 

Don’t forget that with your visuals, comes your voice.

Be authentic in your communication with customers. Set the tone for your clients’ sales journey. 

You’re loving your new logo. 

Now it’s time to beef up your brand.