Having a strong brand identity is imperative in order to stand out against the competition. Without a recognizable identity, your employers and customers may become disenfranchised from your services.
In this article you’ll find out why maintaining an effective brand identity is important to a business’ success, and what you should consider when creating your own.
What is Brand Identity?
Your brand identity is what makes your company your company. For example, in the 1970s, Apple’s brand identity centered around its goal to make computers (then large and corporate) personal and accessible. It had to evolve its logo to maintain its brand identity of cutting edge innovation for personal consumer use.
According to Moz CEO and founder, Rand Fishkin, the three important elements to company identity and culture are:
- Core values: What your company stands for and it’s business beliefs
- A mission: What are the “bigger picture” targets and goals of the company
- Talent strategy: What kind of team does the company want to assemble and how should they be performing
Why is Brand Identity Important?
If your company has successfully formed a brand identity that is recognizable and helps it to stand out in a competitive niche, then it’s highly likely that you’ll attract customers. And there’s nothing more encouraging than glowing testimonials of satisfied customers who then share your brand with others.
According to Brandwatch, the significance of a sound brand identity is made clear by the following social media facts:
- The internet has approximately 3.17 billion users
- 2.3 billion internet users are active on social media
- 91 percent of retail brands are aware of the above figure and use an average of 5 social media channels to grab the attention of all these internet users
With such a huge amount of internet content available, it’s believed that the average person is exposed to hundreds (if not thousands) of ads per day. And the sure fire way to stand out? A clear brand identity.
Make a List of What You Consider Valuable
Compile a list of what you value the most for success. Is it teamwork? Desire? New ideas? Whatever it may be, you’ll find that your selected values will lead your company’s actions to best serve your business goals.
For example, the Twitter platform is based on transparent communication and allows users to voice their opinion, and interestingly, the walls inside Twitter’s office display those very themes of “open communication” and “transparency”. Evidently, what’s important for Twitter on the “outside” is reflected and implemented by employees on the “inside”. Consider doing similar things around your office walls.