When you first start a business, you get worried about a lot of things. The phenomenal feeling about having your venture is priceless. But, some concerns arise with it. Like;
- How will I expand the business?
- How will more people know about my business?
- Will my business be a successful one?
- How to set priorities for my business?
All of these questions can get a perfect answer if you drive all your focus on successful branding.
Branding, when done in a powerful and impacting way, will create a lot of differences in how people notice your brand. It will also make loads of things easier for you once you go forward.
But, branding is not a piece of cake. It requires diligence, hard work, and complete awareness of audiences and the targeted market. Branding is the first step where you represent your brand to the world.
If the first step moves in the right direction, the other steps will automatically follow through. And when we talk about branding, the first thing we should focus on is branding materials.
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What are Branding Materials?
Branding is not only focusing on some imaginative and abstract ideas but coming up with a whole plan to effectively present your brand is what we call branding.
A branding material will differentiate your brand from other companies present in the market thriving in the same competition.
Branding materials make way for strengthening your brand identity and nurturing the link between your company and your customer. Here one thing to consider is, that the branding materials will change depending upon the nature of the business.
Branding material defines your values, your mission, and the things your company stands for. A branding material incorporates the root elements your company is made of. It showcases the value structure of your company and basically what you are all about.
Some branding materials examples include;
- POS (Point of Sale) displays
- Calendars
- Press releases
- Stickers
- Banners
Also Read: 10 Conference Branding Ideas: Guide for 2024
Types of Branding Materials
Although branding materials can be divided and differentiated into many elements. But, in this new world of technology, all these different kinds can be restricted into mainly two.
- Online Branding Materials
- Offline Branding Materials
Online Branding Materials
Online branding materials are mainly used in Digital World, like a website or a social media page. They are going to represent your business in an online world. Most people supposedly do not like to buy your services or products if you have a poorly made website.
The same goes for a social media page. If your social media page does not have enough likes or followers, people are not going to buy from you. It is also true that online branding materials create a positive image among the audience.
If you have a social media page and a bunch of positive reviews, your audience will be prompted to buy from you or at least know about your brand.
You also have to be consistent and thoughtful when it comes to online branding materials because anyone from anywhere with an internet connection can see it.
Offline Branding Materials
To turn your small business into a thriving corporation, offline branding materials are equally important as online branding materials. Big corporation uses a strategy which is called multi-channel marketing for keeping their success alive.
Coming to the definition of offline branding, encompasses all the non-digital marketing materials for small businesses.
Since you can’t animate those materials, you have to be extremely careful when designing these branding materials. They need to have a strong voice, prompting colors, engaging fonts, and a realistic design.
People must be able to clearly picture your brand and successfully get your brand’s voice once they encounter your branding material.
Some offline branding materials ideas include billboards, brochures, posters, promotions and competitions, subway signage, billboards, in-transit advertising, business cards, and many others.
Online & Offline Branding Materials Checklist for Small Businesses
Here, you’ll find out the checklist of 5 branding materials for small businesses. These will be a mix of Online and Offline branding materials.
A Perfectly Built Website
A website is your sales representative and when you think of a human sales representative, you picture someone who is good at communication and knows how to convince someone to buy things from them.
This is how a website should be, bridging the gap of communication between the customer and the company, it must incorporate the promoting design element which would convince the visitor to buy from the company.
Carefully Drafted Pamphlets
In the 21st century where everyone has got a little time, pamphlets are a great and classic way to drive attention towards your brand.
They are also an intuitive way to create brand awareness. But there is one thing that you must keep in your mind and this demonstration.
One look at your pamphlet, and the reader will decide whether they want to continue or not. Once you have designed your pamphlet by keeping your targeted audience in mind, then comes the stage of its distribution.
You need to make sure that you are being creative. You also need to make sure that you are dropping it off in places where your potential customer will be able to see it.
Well Designed Logos
A logo is something that reminds people of your brand. So it must be unique, representable, outclass, and must have gone the extra mile.
The logo has got the power to make or break your brand. Imagine a successful business, what is the first thing that came to your mind? Well, it must be the logo before building a brand people either get inspiration from online free logo design or they themselves think about a logo that best describes their brand.
This is the power of a logo because it uniquely identifies your brand. It sets you apart from all the daunted competition. That is why your logo must be groundbreaking.
It must be designed with intuitive colors and must encapsulate fonts that represent the true essence of the company.
One other thing, a logo must be powerful enough to instill your brand’s message in people’s minds without even having the name of your brand. The logo falls in the category of both online and offline branding material.
So you must make sure it looks equally great and equally beautiful on both channels. Here, consistency is important in terms of colors, icons, and fonts.
Informative Press Releases
In the 21st century, where everyone is looking for something different and something that triggers curiosity. A press release can go a long way as branding material.
Press releases have always proven to be effective and there is no opponent to it ineffectively sending out your brand’s message.
A press release encapsulates a summary of one page. It usually includes something that needs to be on the news.
It will include all the important aspects of your business like the name of your business, your contact information, your website link, and many more. A press release is also considered one of the most effective branding materials for events.
Intuitive Brochures
A brochure gives the whole review about the product people are going to purchase. The brochure is the simplest way to introduce your brand to people. Now it is up to you, how creative you can get with it.
A brochure needs to be expressive and eloquent just like a website. You must design your business in a way that includes a pitching note or a pitching element.
So that when you go to an event unprepared you can still have the upper hand and have something beautiful to present to your potential clients.
Conclusion
Branding, whether done online or offline, requires a strategic approach and deep research to effectively present your brand. You need to find your brand’s voice and carefully articulate it into your branding materials.
