Today’s brands face steep competition. Thanks to global e-commerce technology, you’re now competing with companies around the world to win over customers. However, there is a way to stand out from the pack: have a strong brand marketing strategy.
Simply put, your brand is made up of the things that differentiate you from everyone else on the market. Think about your logo, your slogan, or even your brand values.
Brand marketing is the process of promoting that brand, which will help you connect and build trust with your target audience. Let’s dive into all things brand marketing to help you get started.
Note: Brands discussed in this blog were found during our online research for this article.
What is brand marketing?
Marketing and branding are both essential to promoting and growing your business. Add them together, and you get brand marketing!
First, let’s define these concepts separately. Branding defines who and what your company is at a high level and communicates that to your customers.
This could be through visual components, like colors, fonts, or graphics, or through messaging, like your slogan, values, and tone. Even your website and landing page URLs are part of your branding, and you can use branded short domains to keep things cohesive.
Marketing is the process of attracting and retaining customers. This is a broad category that covers everything from advertising to SEO to market research.
When you combine the two, you get a specific approach to marketing that focuses on elevating and promoting the brand as a whole. This is different from other marketing initiatives, which may focus on a specific product, feature, or campaign.
The core elements of brand marketing
You can break your brand marketing efforts down into three core pillars. These elements work together to communicate who you are to your customers.
- Your brand identity is the heart of your brand. If your brand was a person, this is who they would be. What do they care about? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Your brand’s values, mission, and tone make up a big part of your overall identity.
- Your brand image is the visual aspect of your brand. What logos, color palettes, and fonts do you use? What types of graphics, images, and videos align with your brand? Your brand image is also the overall impression consumers have when they think of you. Do they trust you? What sort of emotional response do they have to your brand?
- Your brand positioning is where you fit into the current market. It’s what differentiates you from your competitors. It’s also the value proposition you offer and the specific problems you solve for your customers.
The importance of brand marketing
No matter what industry you’re in, you need a brand marketing strategy. Here’s why brand marketing is so important.
Building trust through brand recognition
When customers recognize your brand and understand your values, they’ll be more likely to buy from you. Around 46% of U.S. consumers will pay more to buy from brands they trust, so brand recognition can have a real effect on your bottom line.
Think about it—why do so many people choose the iPhone over an Android smartphone like Samsung?
It could be because of its innovative features or operating system. However, there are lots of models out there that are technically superior to the iPhone. One could even make the argument that Apple’s closed ecosystem limits the things you can do with your iPhone.
The real reason people choose the iPhone is because of the high level of brand recognition it has created. Apple’s sleek designs are elegant, but their branding, in particular, fosters the impression that their products are in a class of their own.
The secret to Apple’s branding is that they sell a distinct lifestyle more than a product. From their slogans (“Think Different”) to their sleek packaging, Apple has successfully created a loyal fanbase that resonates with this ideal.
Aligning with customer values
Brand marketing is an opportunity to communicate your core values to your customers—something today’s consumers care deeply about. In fact, 82% of customers want to shop with brands whose values align with their own.
There are many ways to communicate your values, but the key is to remain authentic to your brand. For instance, Colgate sets itself apart by focusing on education in its branding.
While other toothpaste brands focus on the confidence that fresh breath gives you, Colgate emphasizes oral care and science more than anything else. By positioning themselves in this way, Colgate has built a high level of authority and trust with its users.
Enhancing reputation through charitable efforts
If your brand has charitable initiatives in place, your brand marketing is the perfect place to talk about them. Putting your charitable efforts front and center is a way to build a community, improve your reputation, and further connect with customers who share your values.
A successful example of this type of brand reputation-building is TOMS. They successfully built their brand by donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair bought by consumers. The mission statement on their website clearly reads they’re “in business to improve lives” in big, bold writing.
How to develop a brand marketing campaign
One of the best things about developing a brand marketing campaign is that there’s so much room for creativity. You get to tell your brand story and decide how you want to present it to the world. Developing an effective brand marketing campaign is a multi-step, multi-faceted process that takes time. Here’s how to develop yours.
Define your brand’s identity
Before you can start marketing, you need to know exactly who your brand is. Your brand identity is the overarching image that you present to the public, and it’s very difficult to change once it’s established.
Start by thinking about why you founded your company and what problems you want to solve with your business. This will help you define your brand’s values and your overall mission, which will lay the groundwork for your brand marketing campaign.
Once you have these important concepts in place, you’ll be able to start developing other brand elements, such as your visuals and the tone you want to use in your marketing campaign.
Set long-term branding goals
Brand marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Before you launch a brand marketing campaign, set goals and decide what you want to achieve. This will help keep your marketing efforts on track.
Use the SMART formula to set effective long-term goals. This approach means that goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Using the SMART formula keeps you from setting goals that are too vague or unattainable.
For example, you might set a goal of reaching a specific number of social media followers in the next 12 months. Continually check back in with your goals throughout your marketing campaign and adjust as necessary.
Identify your target audience
Not every brand is going to appeal to every consumer, and that’s okay! The key is to find a group of loyal customers who are the right fit for your products and services. So you’ll need to determine your target market and your ideal customer before launching your brand marketing campaign.
Start by creating a persona for your ideal customer. Consider the demographic groups they fit into. For example, your target customers might be moms between the ages of 25 and 35 or young professionals living in large cities.
Then, think about the problems these people have that your product helps solve. You should also consider their goals, motivations, and values.
Some brands might have multiple customer personas, depending on the size of the company and the types of products and services they offer. Use each persona to inform your brand strategy and create an emotional connection with your target customer.
Focus on consistency
Ensuring brand consistency across all of your marketing is a key part of building customer loyalty. Simple brand awareness could make all the difference, as 50% of customers say they’re more likely to buy from brands whose logos they easily recognize.
Having a consistent look and feel across your brand assets instantly makes you more recognizable. This is particularly important when you first hit the market. Things like your colors, fonts, and tone of voice need to be consistent across every single brand element you have, including your website, ads, social media content, product packaging, and more.
Using brand guidelines, along with tools like Bitly branded links, makes it easier to keep small details consistent across your marketing assets.
Create compelling content
Today’s consumers are often overwhelmed with digital content. Your content marketing strategy needs to cut through the noise and create an emotional connection with your audience.
There are many different types of content you can use to support your brand messaging. This includes video content, blog content, short-form social media content, email marketing newsletters, and more.
You can also use more traditional advertising strategies like TV commercials, billboards, and print ads and add a branded QR Code to send viewers to your website.
Use your content to tell your story while also providing value for your audience. This value could be through humor, education, nostalgia, or something else—don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
Dove’s ongoing Real Beauty campaign is a great example of this. For over a decade, they’ve created content focused on their values, such as breaking down toxic beauty standards, supporting families, practicing sustainability, and fighting for equality. Their videos and written content are informative and engaging while also creating a strong brand identity.
Choose the right marketing channels
There’s no shortage of marketing channels to choose from, but you’ll need to identify which ones your customer base is most likely to respond to. Marketing channels could include various social media platforms, as well as email, your website, and even in-person marketing strategies.
For a B2C brand catering to millennials and Gen Z, platforms like TikTok and Instagram might be most effective. However, a B2B brand will likely have more successful results on LinkedIn or industry-specific platforms.
No matter who your audience is, there’s value in social media marketing as you build your brand. This is because social media is one of the best ways to interact with your audience directly. You’ll also be able to adjust your marketing plan in real time based on how your audience reacts.
Another method to consider is collaborating with influencers to extend your brand’s reach. Influencers are social media masters, so they’ll help you present your brand in an authentic and appealing light.
The key is to find the right influencers for your brand. They don’t necessarily need to be someone with millions of followers—they could be a trusted SME (subject matter expert) or a micro-influencer more specific to your audience.
Monitor your campaign performance
Once you’ve launched your brand marketing campaign, you’ll need to closely monitor its performance to see what’s working and what isn’t. Many marketing tools already have analytics features built in, which makes it easy to see exactly what’s resonating with customers.
For example, Bitly Campaigns helps you track link traffic from your social media posts to your website. You’ll be able to see which links are getting the most clicks, which can inform your future posting schedule. This information can also help you see how you stack up against your competitors.
Examples of powerful brand marketing
Need some inspiration? You don’t need to look far for examples of successful brand marketing in action—you see it in the products and services you use every day. Here are some examples of brand marketing campaigns that make a powerful statement.
- Disney is a case of wildly successful branding. They’ve condensed their entire brand experience into a single tagline: “Where Dreams Come True.” This powerful mantra guides everything that Disney does, fostering a sense of wonder and appealing to both children and adults alike.
- Duolingo makes language learning fun with its cast of colorful characters. The app encourages users to maintain a “streak” of lessons each day, which fosters brand loyalty. The brand has also made a splash with bold, funny, and occasionally unhinged social media posts.
- Airbnb uses its brand messaging to help customers feel comfortable traveling around the world. The tagline, “Belong Anywhere,” tells audiences exactly what the brand’s values are and what you can expect when you stay with them.
Let Bitly help you take your brand marketing efforts to the next level
An effective brand marketing strategy will build trust and name recognition among your audiences for years to come. It’s an opportunity to show the world who you are and what you have to offer.
Small details matter when it comes to building your brand strategy. Keep your marketing cohesive with Bitly’s branded links and QR Codes, as well as advanced analytics features.
Get started with Bitly today and watch your brand marketing come to life.
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