Branding is a necessary part of starting a small business, now more than ever. Within the last 10 years, we can see huge growth in the branding and how small businesses are building brands that help them stand out from the competition. These days, many businesses are struggling with creating a strong brand that will help to grow awareness, popularity, and boost lead generation. Let’s be honest; it takes time, resources, and knowledge to build a small business brand. And it can be difficult to do while running a small business because you generally have more important daily tasks and limited resources. But these tips will prove your wrong. They are affordable, and applicable to just about any industry or business niche.
Identify Yourself
Branding isn’t just about your logo, design, or marketing activities. The first step in building a small business brand is to understand your value niche and how you want people to think about your company. It’s the idea that you want to share with the world. You can do this by creating a brand statement that clarifies the mission of your business and sharing it with your employees. Answer a few questions to get started:
- Why does my business exist?
- How do I want my customers to feel about my company?
- What are the core values of my business?
- How do I want to contribute to the marketplace?
- What is unique about my business that differentiates it from the competition?
Be sincere and get more clarity. Don’t look for examples of large famous companies. You and your brand are unique. So the more you understand your idea and mission, the more your brand will stand out in your niche.
Show Your Expertise via Content
Content marketing is an affordable and easy-to-implement way to get yourself in front of your target audience. First of all, it will help you to show off you and your company as an expert in the niche. Be that resource of knowledge for your audience. Share your tips and answer the questions of your community. When it comes to the purchase, people will remember you because they trust your expertise.
Secondly, consistently running a blog with high-quality and subject matter content will boost traffic to your website. It’s not a secret that content is the king of SEO. So the more helpful and SEO-friendly articles you create, the more traffic you will get. The matter is in Google rankings. You can find lots of ways on how to rank high and attract more visitors to your site.
And content marketing can definitely strengthen your brand. You show who you are and what you offer through meaningful content and as a result strong brand voice. If you still don’t believe in the power of content, just check these numbers:
- 82% of consumers feel more positive about a brand after reading customized content
- 53% of businesses rely on content marketing as a branding strategy
Leverage Your Personal Brand on Social Media
Have you ever heard that there is no more B2B or B2C marketing; it’s now H2H (human to human)? This is very representative of marketing these days as people prefer to trust people, not companies.
For example, you can run a typical online shop for clothes. But if you show potential customers how you choose items, help to mix clothes and look stylish, share your knowledge and tips on how to look trendy, people will consider you as an expert and they will trust you. To successfully build a small business brand, you have to reach your audience on a personal level and can’t simply hide behind your logo anymore.
You may know a lot of examples of entrepreneurs who build their business through the personal brand. For example, Neil Patel is one of the most successful and famous marketers. He’s established a few businesses, but it’s important that he got a strong personal brand in the process of business development. He shares his knowledge and a lot of useful content simultaneously with the promotion of his products and business.
Social media is one of the best places to leverage your personal brand. Be consistent in posting useful content for the audience, sharing your expertise, and just be sincere in what you do. Don’t be afraid to share who you are, behind the business; people will value that.
Get the Most Out of Collaborations
Partnerships are an easy and effective way to attract a new audience and it doesn’t cost much more than time. For example, let’s say you are a professional content marketer and you run your own agency. What obvious opportunities for partnerships are there?
- Partnership with providers of SEO tools – They recommend your services for customers, who need help with content marketing.
- Partnership with website builders – Their customers are in the early stages of web content creation, so some of them would definitely need help with that.
You can find collaboration opportunities for any kind of business. Just try to analyze your audience and niche. Find a business with a similar audience, but make sure your features are not competitive. What other services do your customers need? What value and benefits can you bring to a partner?
You don’t have to spend lots of money on building a small business brand to be effective. Just use your creativity and try out tips that are listed here. In the comments below, share your stories of success with building a brand for your business, and inspire other small business owners.
