We are in the digital age, and social media is the top tool that any business or brand can’t refrain from using. Creating a brand identity for a business is a challenge, thanks to the tough competition set by other brands.
Now, imagine the challenge you would face in creating your brand identity for these total active users. Thanks to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly known as Twitter), brands can utilize tools and creative strategies to reach out to their target audiences.
In this article, we will discuss tips or essential steps to build brand identity using social media platforms.
Why is Brand Identity Important?
According to one report, there are more than 5.24 billion active social media users, which equals 63.9% of the total global population.
A brand identity involves your company’s name, overall look and feel, and what sets you apart – it’s the elevator pitch you want your community to be able to deliver on your behalf.
Consumers will generate views of your company regardless of whether you invest in your brand, so establishing your brand proactively and strategically is the best approach to ensuring your firm’s goals and values are communicated.
Creating a brand identity is a consistent process that requires strategies to implement and tell compelling stories that connect the audience with your brand. A well-crafted brand identity will help to increase brand loyalty and overall business success.
Tips to build a strong Brand Identity
Establishing Brand Voice and Personality
The first step in creating a strong social media brand identity is to identify your brand’s distinct voice and personality. Taking steps to understand your target audience and what appeals to them is essential. Remember to remain consistent whether your brand voice is professional and informed, humorous and quirky, or somewhere in the middle.
Using social media platforms is one of the best ways to establish your brand voice. One of the best ways is through video creation. Use AI tools to create videos that would speak volumes about your brand. These AI tools are changing the way videos are made for brand marketing purposes.
Legal Foundation for a powerful brand narration
Before launching your social media presence, it’s crucial to establish a solid legal foundation for your startup. One of the first steps many entrepreneurs take is forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC), which offers several benefits for new businesses.
The format of an LLC provides personal asset protection, shielding owners from business debts and liabilities. It also offers flexibility in management structure and profit sharing. Not only this, it also lends credibility to your brand as you begin to build your identity on social media platforms. With your legal structure in place, you can confidently focus on creating a compelling brand narrative and engaging with your audience online.
Forming an LLC involves specific steps such as choosing a unique name, designating a registered agent, filing articles of organization with the state, etc. So, for example, if you’re starting a business in New York, forming an LLC in New York would involve a fixed set of steps. While the process may vary slightly by state, the core benefits of an LLC remain consistent, providing a powerful legal structure for your startup as you build your social media brand.
Being Consistent
Consistency is essential in developing a social media brand identity. It goes beyond brand voice to include visual aspects such as your logo, colour scheme, and typography.
Consistency doesn’t mean that the entire process must be monotonous, but rather a way for your consumers to recognize your brand right away. Consistent branding helps to build a unified and recognizable identity across several channels, making it easier for your audience to connect with your business.
The team involved in generating external-facing products for your firm must be aware of the proper colours, typefaces, and elements to utilize. In addition, your brand’s social media presence should align with your entire marketing objectives and target demographic.
Work on Engaging Content Strategy
Engaging content is the foundation of a successful social media brand identity. It can be in different forms, including promotional materials or social media essays. In fact, a social media essay is the best way to communicate with your target audience, which not only speaks about your brand but other aspects of society.
You can even use entertainment as a form of creating effective content strategy which isn’t limited to jokes or creating funny films. Entertaining material can be informative, fun, interesting, how-to, and so on.
High-quality, relevant content can help your company establish itself as a thought leader in your sector. Make sure you grasp the intricacies of each platform and customize your material accordingly.
Using a Unique Voice for Your Brand Identity
There is a good amount of variation in brand voice, which you can use as your brand identity. Some businesses, such as pharmaceuticals, engineering, and government, choose brand voices that are more formal, serious, and occasionally authoritative. Other industries, including beauty and wellness, technology, and food and beverage, have found success by being a little cheeky and casual with their copy.
Whatever voice and tone work best for your firm, make sure it is distinctive to you and helps you stand out from the competition. When you work on the brand voice, consider below aspects-
- Your target audience
- Objective of your brand or product
- How would you want your target customers to think about your brand?
Using Visual Brand Elements and Consistent Voice
Once you are aware of your company’s stand and the message you want to convey through your brand, you can decide how your brand will look and sound while doing so. However, it should also comply with the type of business you are running. Whether you are running an LLC or Sole proprietorship, brand elements should work accordingly. This will further help in working on three primary visual choices for your brand: colours, typefaces, and logo.
Choosing a colour scheme requires a lot of trial and error, but Canva can help make the process much faster. With millions of colour palettes, you can experiment with unlimited colour combinations until you find one that speaks to you.
Engage with your Brand Community
Sometimes, many brands dismiss the fact that social media is an effective platform to have an open communication channel and disregard their customers’ comments and posts. If your brand only had a physical store and no social media presence, would you let the shop phone ring and ring without answering? Because that is what happens when you ignore communicating with your social media followers.
To build a strong brand identity, you need to engage with your community in two-way communication. Responding to comments, engaging in relevant conversations, and acknowledging criticism are all components of building a community around your brand.
Sharing Multimedia Content across platforms
To develop a strong and active social network, it is necessary to use several platforms and share multimedia content. Depending on your target audience, Instagram works best for reels and photo-sharing purposes. Similarly, Facebook works best for video sharing. When it comes to infographics or professional content, LinkedIn stands out. Try out various branded social media templates and compare their performance.
Conclusion
Building a strong social media brand identity for your business is a complicated process that needs extensive understanding of not only your brand but also your target audience and the overall social media market. It entails a combination of consistent branding, compelling content, engaging with active community interaction, and others.
By focusing on these elements, you can create a powerful and effective brand presence in the digital realm, building long-term connections with your audience.