Business/ Affiliates/ Education and Motivational Word,: Feb 2, 2009

Monday, February 2, 2009

Business Branding

Branding your business is a necessary step. Branding does not just include a logo. Branding is a universal format to the way your business is represented. This needs to come out in everything you do. Every graphic you use, photo you produce, listing or page you create needs to have the same "feel" to it.
How do you create a branding strategy for your company?
You can do this by implementing a few rules when it comes to the representation of your company.
The first thing should be a logo or an image your buyers can easily and quickly associate with your company. It does not have to be complicated or even have anything to do with what your company does. Does the Nike "swoosh" say anything about shoes? Of course not, but it is one of the most known brand logos in the world. You could say the same for the Adidias logo or even the Pepsi "Ball". You can, of course have the logo represent something about your company. Apple Computers makes great use of their "Apple" icon, and AOL was fairly clever with their logo which is nothing more than the simple shapes of an "A" and an "O" blended together.
Then again, you may not want an icon as part of your branding. This is just fine, let your company name be the logo. People and Rolling Stone Magazine are very good examples of a brand logo that is strictly derived from the company name. Although this is very popular in publishing you can also find this strategy in other markets such as musical instruments (Zildjian and Fender), consumer electronics (Sony and JVC), and more notably the online industry (Google and Yahoo). The idea here is to create an icon that people instantly recognize.
The next step is equally important as the first. You need to format the pages, listings, e-mail advertisements, and even your content or text exactly the same across the board. Though it is understood that a listing has a different size and shape than an e-mail advertisement, you can still format it the same by using similar colors, graphics, or layout.
If your listings all have an overall orange feeling to them you need to apply this orange concept to the rest of your online persona. Always place the logo in roughly the same spot. DO NOT change up the logo after you have implemented. If you feel a need to change it do it over a long period of time and be very subtle. You can look at the Windows icon or the Apple logo over time for an example of how to do this. Always place the content in the same or similar location. Think of it as an overall marketing package. If you had an advertising agency create a marketing package for you they would do this. All of the billboards, TV ads, magazine ads, or online advertising would have the same overall concept and feel.
Format your photos to always be the same size. It is also best to photograph the items in the same place with the same backdrop and base. The same placement and angles is also a good idea. Place these photos in the same or similar location every time.
All policies, contact information, or any other company info should be formatted identical and always place in the same location. The bottom is usually the best place for this. This allows them to know where they can find the policy or contact information no matter what listing or advertisement they are reading.
The best idea is to create templates that are pre-formatted that just need photos and content placed where needed. Using the same template every time ensures a cohesive nature to your business.

posted by Arch Bishop, Dr J. O Faola @ 6:47 PM 0 comments

About Me

Name: Arch Bishop, Dr J. O Faola
Home: Shibiri Ekunpa Oto-Awori LGDA, Lagos, Nigeria
About Me: His Grace Prof. Prince J. Faola (JP)., He is the Senior Pastor of the Shield Of Faith Gospel Mission Int. and the founder of the “Joel International Ministerial and Theological Academy”. He is an international Bible teacher and a passionate author and bible expositor, he is a patron and adviser for Christ Believers Ministry. He is a member of BSN and IMCGBN, the President of JECAL CLUB, The founder of the PARLEY CLUB INT, Chairman of I.M.A.T.E.B. Chairman Board of Regents Christ’s College of Theology, a well known Radio Pastor and most sought after aggressive motivational speaker.
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