So, you’ve got your brand. It’s beautiful, you love it, it resonates with your customers, and you are on your own now. Now you want to build your brand from the core it is now and get it out there. Some people will tell you that “building your brand” isn’t necessary. These are mostly people who want to sell you advertising. Others will tell you that your brand needs to build presence. This is mostly from people who do branding or social media work. I personally believe both help. It isn’t just about advertising to build your brand and there’s more to it than just making it look cool. So, let’s discuss a couple ways to grow your brand and why they are beneficial.
Create Content
Number one most important thing is to create content, but not just any content. You need some combination of useful and entertaining content. You can do this several ways, from blogging to posting on social media, to podcasts, and more. Just find the right places that you enjoy sharing your content and start getting it out there. I’d recommend that if you hire this out you make sure the “voice” they use matches or is close to your own or your brands. Content is great because it can be what you give away for free and attracts new and interested customers. It also keeps you relevant as well as being great for SEO when used properly. Check out our post on leveraging your content and see what content fits you best.
Engage
Just posting on your Facebook page doesn’t cut it any more. In fact, I don’t think it ever did, people just somehow got it in their head that posting on social media means people will magically see what they post. You need to get your brand out there, interact with current, future, and past customers. Engage on forums, social media platforms, answering questions, etc. However, you should be creating valuable and relatable content that your customers are interested in. None of this is to sell, just to provide value and get your name out there. This will get you found by people you might never reach with advertising and builds trust by providing value without only looking for money. Learn how to engage best with Our Top 6 Communication Tips.
Build Referrals & Partnerships
You can do this through your customer base and through networking. You should look for both individuals and companies to build your referral network. Building partnerships is a great way to grow your brand. Partnering with an established and well-liked company will give your brand a lot of strength and will catapult you. You only want to attach your name to companies whose brand aligns with yours and won’t damage your brand. This is a long-term reward process and you may not see this paying out for a couple years. I know several companies who now do basically no marketing because they spent the time developing good referral partnerships. They now have a constant stream of business from their customer referrals and other partnerships. This also gets your brand out there through real people, which often carries more weight than ads.
If you follow these three steps to building your brand, you’ll find it growing as quickly as you want. Brand awareness is essential for your growth. A brand is important and it’s just as important that you grow it after you have it.
