3 ways of improving your brand in 2018.

2018 is here and everyone’s new year’s resolutions are materialising or fading fast. The buzzwords in 2017 were all centred around the brand, improving your digital footprint and maintaining your online presence. A key focus for the year was the power of “influencers” Billee Howard, a contributor for Forbes emphasized the importance of focusing on your brand by saying:” Successful marketers in the year ahead will place brand purpose at the core of business and brand strategy and use it as a lever of growth with internal and external audiences.”

Before we start, think about your favourite brand. Did you see a noticeable shift in 2017? Can you identify your favourite campaign? Now that you’ve thought about it, think about your brand and your goals for 2018. In this blog, we will unpack 3 ways of improving your brand in 2018. We encourage you to share this post with your colleagues, friends and family.

1. Know your Customer

Can you describe your customer? Who are they? What do they do? In essence, who are the people that engage with your brand? Knowing your customer is the foundation.

David Caygil, head of innovation at Iris discusses the importance of understanding your customer on a more personal level which will be beneficial and needs to be taken into consideration. He says:

The core theme of being a better brand in 2018 is going to be building deeper empathy for the people you want to be a part of your brand. By getting closer to their needs, behaviours, ambition, fears and desires you’ll be able to play a more meaningful role in their lives. It’s about building a brand with them, not just for them. Once you have the human truths to work from then get your timing right and you’ll be able to ride the rising tide of technologies and trends that work for your audience.

As we take on the first few months of 2018, take these factors into consideration and adapt them to cater to your market. Billee Howard, a contributor for Forbes emphasises the importance of engaging on an emotional level. “In today’s age of brand experience, it seems that emotional engagement is proving to be more and more critical to achieving winning results and effective storytelling and digital marketing are at the heart of this movement.” Know your who your customer is based on their demographics as well on an emotional level.

You can only do this once you have a solid understanding of who you are targeting. Erna George summarises the above perfectly in her article Fair Change, she says: “Understanding consumer needs and how your brand must leave people feeling are more important than your living the brand week in and week out.”

Now that you have a solid foundation and are set to get to know your customer, we can start evaluating your social media platforms.

2. Evaluate your social media platforms

An easy way of improving your brand is to look at your social media channels. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does your content showcase your brand effectively?
  • Is it consumer-friendly?
  • Can they access information easily?
  • Are you using each of your platforms effectively?

The consumer is focused on finding the information they need without having to look for it. Content that is well. David Caygill stresses this fact in his article on Six trends brands should know about for 2018 and the tech they need to craft responses,

“Consumers will no longer put up with being offered generic offers and messages, they’ll expect to be offered something relevant, a missive to be meaningful and sent to them on a channel that works for them.”

An easy way of doing this is to implement shorter, targeted content aligned to your customer’s needs.

It is also integral that you understand which channels are most effective for your brand. Spend time looking through your social media statistics, these are easily accessible on most social media platforms.
“Prospects and customers want a relationship with people they trust not corporate marketing. It is through direct conversations between employees and customers via social that brands will win in 2018.” – Tim Hughes, Co-Founder @Digital Leadership Associates.

Social media is a cost-effective way of connecting with your consumers directly.

3. Ask the question: What does your logo say about your brand?

Knowing and understand the brand is the most important thing. The feel and ideals of the brand should come across in your logo. One of the most important considerations for logo design is colour. Colour carries meanings and communicates ideas and triggers feelings.

MarketingTunnel.com summarises the importance of having good branding by saying: “Branding is just like the old coat of arms that families used to have connected with their name. It instils respect, fear, and wealth. Likewise, a country’s flag gets people to feel a certain way about their country.” Sometimes you’re pegged to the colours of a brand, but other times you’ll have the freedom to explore. Although the colour is vitally important the logo should still be able to work in black and white. The type of company also determines the colour palette you’ll use.

Use fonts that won’t age. . .’fancy’ fonts will go out of fashion, your basic, simpler fonts will live on. Most important is to keep things simple – there are times a busy logo can work but simpler, clean logos are safer as they won’t go out of fashion or look dated. Logos like Nike, Apple, McDonald’s are good examples of effective simple logos.
We at Airborne Experience have designed logos for multiple brands, connecting it to their objectives and brand ethos. Crust & Friends, Northern Cross Wealth Management and MobeeWash are only a few of the brands we’ve designed logos for.

We love brands and what they mean to people! Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Let’s get the conversation started on how you can improve your brand in 2018.

Contact us on: [email protected] or +27 21 201 6866