Let’s talk about branding – it’s not just some fancy marketing term, it’s the heart and soul of your business. In fact, it’s the essence of your business and how customers perceive it.

Think of it like your first impression. You wouldn’t walk into a client meeting in mismatched socks, would you? (Unless mismatched socks are totally your brand, then all the power to you!)  Your brand is how you present yourself to the world, and it has a real impact on your bottom line. Strong branding can supercharge your sales, help you stand out from the crowd, and turn you into a customer magnet.

So, what can you do as a small business to strengthen your brand in the eyes of your customers? Keep reading to learn how to build a brand that sparks genuine connections and more business.  

What Makes a Strong Brand?

I’m sure you’re wondering, what actually makes a strong brand? You instantly know strong branding when you see an iconic logo like Nike or Apple, but it can be difficult to identify every element that goes into making the brand.

• Speaks to customers and target audience, and addresses their issues or challenges
• Uniquely stands out against competitors in a crowded marketplace
• Makes their ‘why’ crystal clear and shares the organization’s mission and values
• Creates a customer experience that reflects company messaging and positioning
• Tells a visual story with colors, logo, and a website that matches the company’s essence
• Has a consistent look, feel, and messaging across all online platforms and social media
• The brand is mentioned in a positive light on other websites, building trust and credibility
• Practices open and honest communication with customers and stakeholders
• Crafts a compelling story that connects with the hearts and minds of its audience

The Importance of a Strong Brand for Small Businesses (Both Online and Offline)

Powerful branding can influence a business’ ability to win over new customers and keep them. It helps shape consumer perception, build trust and credibility, develop a loyal following, and drive sales and revenue. A strong brand identity should be the foundation of any successful business, no matter what the business.

But branding efforts aren’t a one-time only task. There needs to be a constant and continuous effort to keep the brand alive. As the market evolves and customers’ attitudes change over time, a brand needs to stay current and reflect these changes. Brands that fail to do this risk falling behind their competitors (or worse going out of business), and that’s counterproductive for any business owner!

10 Branding Ideas for Small Businesses

Now, let’s get into effective and inexpensive branding ideas for small business owners. Before we get into our marketing tips, it’s important to understand the basics of branding.

Make Sure You Have The Basics Covered

If you feel your business doesn’t have a good understanding of these marketing basics, or think they’re a bit outdated (or even lightyears behind), we recommend starting with these:

• Know your audience and understand their pain points
• Define your brand’s mission statement and guiding principles
• Identify competitors and where your business stands
• Develop a brand name that stands out and fields curiosity
• Have visual elements like a logo and a formalized style guide of colors and fonts
• Create a comprehensive document that addresses brand voice and messaging

Now, assuming your business has a solid branding foundation of the basics, here are some small business branding ideas to test-drive. Remember, you can customize your marketing roadmap!

1. Engage in a Brand Refresh

There’s a difference between a brand refresh and full rebrand. A brand refresh modernizes the look and feel of the same brand, without completely overhauling it, like you would in a rebrand. Your core values, mission, and messaging remain the same, but your brand’s identity adapts to the times and consumers changing opinions in the market.

2. Invest in Online Content

Online content allows your brand to be seen as an expert or authority in your industry – and within your local or geographic area. It also establishes trust and credibility with your target audience, which helps build believability in your brand.

Companies should build a content strategy that works for their brand – and it always starts with your audience. Create valuable content that answers their questions and provides them with the answers they’re looking for, in their language. You probably have a list of FAQs your customers are asking, and if not, here’s why you should have them.

3. Use Unique High-Quality Imagery

Stock photos don’t quite cut it most of the time, and photos from your mobile phone may not come off as professional as you’d like. If you want to include images that are unique to your business and are high quality, consider hiring a photographer.

A local photographer (or even a talented high school or college student) can take pictures of your business, workplace, events, and capture photos of what’s going on behind the scenes. A handful of professional images uplevels your brand and keeps you in front of your target audience, all for a reasonable cost.

4. Align Positioning with Brand Messaging

Brand positioning is the process of positioning your brand and communicating that in your messaging to customers and your target audience. Positioning is also related to how your brand is perceived by your competitor, and how your brand compares to theirs.

If you’re positioned as a premium or luxury option among direct competitors, make sure to accurately portray that in your messaging and brand aesthetics (your overall look and feel, and visual identity). It’s important that other parts of your business reflect this too, including pricing, consumer experience, and marketing strategy.

5. Focus on Building Trust with Your Audience

To win over your audience, brands need to focus on building trust. This comes from brand reputation and establishing trust and credibility with your target market. Here are some ideas to build that trust:

• Reviews – feature customer reviews on your website and encourage customers to leave reviews on directory sites like Google Business Profile, BBB, Yelp and others.
• Earned media – articles, third-party reviews and public mention, often earned through word of mouth, build a strong sense of connection.
• Refine your messaging – be honest and true to your brand’s values and be transparent and empathetic to your customer’s needs. You are your brand 24/7 so live it!

6. Lean Into Your Brand Personality

There’s been a lot of talk lately about brand personality. Your brand personality is how an organization expresses its “human characteristics” to their target audience. It’s how you show your brand is for real!

Humanizing your brand helps you be seen as more favorable and likable. And hey, everybody wants to be liked. It’s an opportunity to show the people behind your brand, and that starts with the founder of the business, and trickles down to management and employees. Top down, bottom up, and everyone in between.

7. Promote Your Brand with a Local Social Media Influencer

Social media influencers have a loyal online following and a specific or niche audience. As a small business owner, partnering with a social media influencer can be a great way to expand your reach to a new audience and reinforce your brand image and services to those who are familiar with it.

Choosing the right social media influencer to partner with is important. So, for this small business branding idea to work, consider choosing an influencer who would be a seamless fit as a brand ambassador or advocate. Don’t forget that they should closely align with your brand mission and values and have a following that overlaps with your target audience, particularly with their social media following.

8. Look for Co-Marketing Opportunities with Similar Brands

Co-marketing allows small businesses to cross-promote their brand with a shared product or service, or an online marketing campaign (like an article, webinar, or event) to expand their customer base and brand awareness.

Is co-marketing is a possibility? Find a trustworthy business in a similar but not competitive industry that’s a fit for your brand. Then, collaborate to create a campaign to co-promote your two brands. Develop a marketing plan where you both win and gain attention. Co-brand all materials, collateral, signage, online graphics, messaging, and PR outreach. If you’re thinking of co-marketing an event, check out these 12 Small Business Event Marketing Ideas.

9. Build a Loyal Following on Social Media

Social media continues to be a huge opportunity to establish and reinforce small business brands. Start by identifying the best social media channels where your audience is most likely to engage, and where you think your following is the strongest.

Give your audience a reason (at least 10) to follow you. Focus on sharing authentic content that’s informative and entertaining, not just promotional in nature. Appeal to your target audience’s emotions and create a real connection, that’s always you.

10. Partner with a Non-profit and Give Back to the Community

Giving back to the community is a feel-good small business branding idea that offers a wealth of benefits for both organizations. Seventy percent of consumers will choose brands that support social and environmental issues because they want to do business with companies who care and support a cause.

This small business branding idea helps you earn trust and gain credibility with your target market and reinforces community spirit. Be a brand that increases engagement and promotes corporate social responsibility in a personal way that shows good will and good citizenship. Before you commit, look for a nonprofit that matches your brand values and a mission you feel strongly about.

Ready to Build Your Brand as a Small Business?

Don’t be intimidated by the big brands – every powerhouse started small. With these 10 Branding Ideas for Small Businesses, you’re well on your way to building a brand that tells your story, connects with your target audience, and fuels your small business’s success.

Remember, a strong brand isn’t built overnight. It’s a commitment to understand your customers, craft a compelling story, and consistently deliver on your promises. So, take the first step and test-drive one, two, maybe even five of these small business branding ideas this week. Your loyal fans are out there, maybe just around the corner. 

Like this article? Check out 10 Marketing Tips to Ace Your Branding and my Top 30 Small Business Marketing Blog for more small business marketing and PR ideas.