3 Key Branding Tips For Small Businesses

If you run a small business, you know how important branding is for marketing and overall success. Your audience needs to connect with the messaging and be enticed to, at minimum, learn and explore more. This happens with clear intent and consistent visibility in the market. 

Know that you don’t have to be a marketing expert to make great choices for your brand. If you’ve struggled with this, also understand that it takes a little practice and good information, but it does get easier as you learn. Though there are many facets to operating a business successfully, let’s touch on a few key branding tips for small businesses. 

Use Quality Product Packaging

In a perfect world, humans wouldn’t judge people and things by appearance. However, we do not live in that world. The truth is, we shop with our eyes first. So, what are we looking for as consumers, and what entices us to buy? 

Here is a good example, a woman desires to try a new kind of natural skincare but doesn’t know anything about the products in front of her. There are 10 brands on the shelf and are all about the same price within our budget. How does she decide?

I would naturally pick up the first product that seemed the most appealing based on the outside appearance of the packaging. I would then read the label. If it seems in order there, I would likely buy the item without even looking at the rest, especially if I was tight on time. Though this is mostly psychological and has nothing to do with product quality, it is a popular method for product selection. So, it’s easy to see that you could have the best product out there but fail with its outside appearance.

The bottom line, packaging needs to help portray the essence of your business and the product itself. This can be done with visual stimuli such as color, fonts, package shape, and other details. I recommend giving this considerable thought as it applies to the branding of your business. In other words, don’t go off track with messaging and visual cues that don’t have any relation to the brand you’ve already created. Work on evoking emotions with your packaging.

If you are struggling to come up with ideas, consider hiring a designer and retail packaging provider that can get you on the right path. A good designer can help you to convey a message and emotions in the graphics, while the actual package can bring it to life with interesting shapes and materials.

Carry Your Branding over to Social Media and Apps

Most small business owners know the importance of having a sleek, easy-to-use, accessible and colorful website to engage customers. However, many fail when it comes to carrying that branding over to social media and apps. Just as with a website or physical packaging, what you post on social media and offer in way of apps needs to line up with the business brand and your overall messaging.

For social media, it helps to plan posts in advance and even schedule them to go live. That way you can focus on staying true to your brand with quality content instead of posting non-sensical photos and memes on a whim. Be mindful of your wording, images, and post themes to get the attention of your ideal audience.

Have a Logo and Graphics that Make Sense for Your Brand

Your logo and graphics you use are at the core of the visual appeal for your small business. After all, they will be on mailers, products, websites, advertising, social media, and displays. Your main goal is to first connect with customers and to promote brand recognition. Look at your logo and the graphics you have and ask yourself what message they are sending. Would you understand what they represent without any words? Ask other people what they think, as well. It may just need a little tweaking and a color change to have an optimal impact on the market. 

Spending the money to hire a quality graphic designer to create or update your logo is worth every penny. If it’s in your budget, have them design your other graphics and even collaborate on your website and app. Having all these streamlined and cohesive will help you to secure your target market and get the attention you want. 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to cultivate a clear business brand. Take it to the next level by envisioning the bigger picture and conveying your message with intent. Remember, potential customers will connect with what they see and hear first. From there, they decide how they feel and if it is worth acting on. This is what branding is all about.

It’s worth every penny to come up with something clever, exciting and interesting for your brand. Furthermore, make sure it reflects who you are and can speak directly to your ideal customers and clients. I know these are just a few branding tips, but I honestly believe they will make a difference in your success with a small business.