by Sophia Martin
We recently attended an event at Whitstable Community College, where we presented to a group of charities about how to build an effective brand both online and offline that will engage customers, encourage loyalty and raise the funds their charities needs. These techniques aren’t limited to charities and can be applied to any brand no matter what service or product you offer, so we have put together a summary of pointer below that we believe will help you to build an immersive and engaging brand and why branding is so important.
So, what is a branding and why does it matter?
Building a brand is about creating something intangible and applying it across tangible mediums; it’s what people feel, see and believe when they engage with your brand. This may seem vague, but branding isn’t rocket science, it’s simply the ability to have an impact on your audience and ensure your product or service is memorable.
You have the ability to influence your audience online and offline, whether this is through printed material or digitally through social media and a website it is important that you apply the following methods across the board to create a seamless brand experience.
The first step in building your brand is to understand your target market and know your audience - this is a vital part of the branding process, yet it’s something that is often overlooked.
Rather than focusing on what you want your audience to do, rephrase this and ask yourself - what does your audience want to do. It’s only a subtle shift in focus, but having their interests in mind when designing your website, dressing your shop window or designing your store layout will make all the difference in converting customers.
As well as creating an engaging visual experience for your audience, you should also focus on user experience within your website. This is everything that your audience will experience when connecting with your charity, and how easy or pleasing your website is to navigate through.
In order to create a website that is successful you should ensure that it is:
Brand focused Make use of your colour palette, tone of voice, imagery and logo
Immersive and authentic Full of personality and representative of your brand
Clearly signposted Easy for users to navigate and find key areas of interest
Rich in content Keep your website up to date and rich in relevant content
Stay live Treat your website as an ongoing project
Once your brand is established and your website is up and running it is easy to see this as the final step, however try to see your brand as an ongoing project that should be nurtured and developed over time.
At the core your brand will remain the same, with the same values and character but it’s good to adapt and grow. We are living in a fast paced world, where technology and social media play an influential role, so ensure you stay up to date and don’t get left behind - whilst also staying true to your brand.
Make use of certain methods to identify what works best for your audience, for example using short run print techniques or A/B testing as a way of experimenting with different layout, designs and calls to actions to see what receives the best response.
By doing all of this your audience will be more engaged, you’ll encourage loyalty, and increase the likelihood of converting customers.
Click here to download the full presentation
If you have any questions about how to build an effective brand feel free to give us a call on 01732 749 455 or get in touch by visiting our contact page.
Thanks to our trusted partners for collaborating and supporting the production of the presentation: