Hi, I’m Emily
I work with businesses to help them create simple and effective digital marketing solutions. No jargon or gimmicks. Just a proven framework that your audience will love.
Specialising in, and combining, Web Design, Copywriting & Branding.
Why branding is essential for your small business
in 2024
(and easy steps to ensure yours is effective and propery mapped out)…Branding is essential part of digital marketing for small businesses. It is all about creating a unique identity that sets you apart and resonates with your customers. It’s not just about having a cool logo or a catchy tagline – it’s about how your business looks, sounds and feels to the people who interact with it.
This includes everything from your colour scheme and fonts to the way you communicate and the values you uphold. A strong brand helps you stand out in a busy market, build trust and loyalty with your customers, and drive your business forward. By consistently sharing a clear and compelling brand message, you can make a lasting impression that keeps customers coming back and sets you apart from the competition.
Branding used to be a term used for large corporations, but now it’s relevant for every business, regardless of size.
10 key Benefits that having a Brand Idenity will bring..
Recognition and AwarenessDistinctive Presence: Helps the business stand out in a crowded market.
Memorability: Makes it easier for customers to remember and recognise the business.
Customer Trust and LoyaltyConsistency: Builds trust through consistent messaging and visuals.
Emotional Connection: Fosters loyalty by creating a strong emotional bond with customers.
Competitive AdvantageDifferentiation: Sets the business apart from competitors by highlighting unique values and strengths.
Market Positioning: Establishes a clear position in the market, making it easier to attract the target audience.
Professionalism and CredibilityPolished Image: Presents a professional and credible image to customers and partners.
Reliability: Conveys reliability and quality through consistent and professional branding.
Marketing and Advertising EfficiencyTargeted Campaigns: Enhances the effectiveness of marketing campaigns with clear and cohesive messaging.
Cost Efficiency: Saves time and resources by providing a clear framework for marketing efforts.
Customer EngagementClear Communication: Makes it easier for customers to understand what the business offers and stands for.
Interactive Platforms: Engages customers across various platforms with a consistent and appealing brand voice.
Increased Business ValueBrand Equity: Builds brand equity, making the business more valuable and appealing to investors and partners.
Customer Retention: Increases customer retention rates by creating a reliable and recognisable brand.
Employee Morale and RecruitmentPride and Loyalty: Instils pride and loyalty in employees by being part of a well-regarded brand.
Attraction of Talent: Attracts top talent who want to work for a reputable and established brand.
Expansion OpportunitiesScalability: Facilitates expansion into new markets with a strong and adaptable brand identity.
Product Line Extensions: Supports the introduction of new products or services under the same trusted brand.
Customer ExperienceUnified Experience: Provides a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.
Positive Perception: Enhances the overall perception of the business through a cohesive and appealing brand identity.
Where to start with your branding..
We know that branding is essentially the ‘personality of your business’. It’s about how you want to make your customers feel when they visit your website, see you social channels or somehow experience your company. You probably have more branding in place than you think, but there’s no harm in checking in with where you are and looking at ways to improve.
A good place to start is to ensure that your visual branding is consistent. So, for example, you have your chosen palette of colours that you use and they do not change across different platforms or channels. If you’re starting your branding from scratch, or perhaps considering a rebrand, take inspiration from the popular design rule of 60 - 30 - 10.
The 60-30-10 rule is a popular design principle used to create visually appealing and well-balanced colour schemes for branding and interior design. When applied to choosing brand colours, this rule helps ensure that the colours work harmoniously together and create a cohesive look. Here's how it works:
1. 60% Primary Colour
Dominant Colour: This is the main colour of your brand and should cover about 60% of your overall colour usage. It sets the overall tone and is typically used in larger areas such as your website background, main marketing materials, or primary packaging.
Visual Foundation: Acts as the foundation colour and creates a unified backdrop for the other colours.
2. 30% Secondary Colour
Complementary Colour: This secondary colour should complement the primary colour and take up about 30% of the space. It's used to create contrast and add visual interest without overpowering the primary colour.
Accentuating Elements: Often applied to elements like subheadings, secondary buttons, or background elements that require emphasis.
3. 10% Accent Colour
Highlight Colour: The accent colour is the boldest and should be used sparingly, about 10% of the overall colour usage. It's meant to draw attention and highlight key areas such as call-to-action buttons, links, or important information.
Pops of Interest: Adds a touch of vibrancy and helps guide the viewer’s eye to the most important parts of your design.
Application ExampleLet's say your brand colours are:
Primary Colour (60%): Blue
Secondary Colour (30%): Grey
Accent Colour (10%): Orange
Here's how you might use them:Website: The background is predominantly blue (60%), with grey sections or banners (30%), and orange buttons or highlights (10%).
Marketing Materials: Blue is the main colour for flyers and brochures, grey for secondary text or borders, and orange for important calls to action or highlights.
By following the 60-30-10 rule, you create a balanced, aesthetically pleasing colour scheme that ensures your brand is both cohesive and visually striking.
Another key area of visualm branding to keep consistent is your fonts. Brand fonts play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining a consistent identity across all communication platforms. Consistency in font choice ensures that your brand is easily recognisable and communicates professionalism. Using too many different fonts can lead to confusion and dilute your brand’s message, making it difficult for your audience to connect with your identity. A well-selected font palette should embody your brand's values and personality while remaining versatile enough for various applications. By limiting the number of fonts to just two or three, businesses can create a cohesive visual experience that enhances readability and reinforces brand recognition.
Non visual Branding Elements are just as important regarding consistency. A consistent brand tone, for example, is incredibly important as it not only strengthens your brand identity but also ensures a clear and cohesive image across all forms of communication. When the tone aligns with your overall branding strategy, it effectively builds trust and a sense of familiarity with your audience. In contrast, inconsistent messaging can lead to confusion among potential customers and weaken your brand's overall message, ultimately making it difficult for them to relate to your core values.
By maintaining a uniform tone, every piece of content—whether it be marketing materials, social media posts, or customer service interactions—effectively showcases your brand's unique personality and clear purpose. This strategic consistency boosts customer loyalty and enhances brand recognition in a competitive marketplace.
Blue Fern offers flexible Branding services. Read more about what we offer or book a call
FAQs
-
Branding is the personality of your business and it affects how your clients feel and perceive your products and services. These days, it is far more than just a logo, tagline and colour palette, and it is relevant to every company, regardless of size.
If you care about how your customers feel when they visit your website, or interact with you company in any way, then a branding strategy is going to help your business.
-
Not all companies need to outsource their branding, but if you’re unsure how structured yours is, then it could be worth chatting it over. Hiring a branding advisor can help you look at your business with a fresh view & help align your branding elements to portray your business in a profession and efficient manner.
-
We generally start with an initial discovery call (phone or zoom), where we discuss your requirements to ascertain what is needed. From there, we will put together a draft proposal of work, for your perusal. If you choose to work with us, we will then finalise the proposal and set deadlines and dates for the work to be completed.
-
Once we have all we need from you the client, we generally allow 2-4 weeks to create the first draft of the project. Where needed and possible, we will expedite this time frame for smaller projects. We will agree a start date and deadline at the outset.
-
Once we have completed an initial discovery call, we will put together a proposal of work, which will include timescales and costs. Then, if you would like to proceed, we ask for 50% of project cost in advance, to secure your start date, and then the remaining 50% on completion.
-
We have a number of clients who would be more than happy to briefly chat about the success of their project with Blue Fern Consult. Please enquire and we can set this up.
