When people talk about marketing, the words “brand,” “branding,” and “brand recognition” are tossed around a lot. But what do those words mean and how can you put them into action, especially when it comes to catering to a college student consumer base? We’re covering what you need to know about branding in a three-part series to help you inform your marketing strategy and better publicize your business.

Know Your Audience. What does your audience want and need? What do they like and care about? What inspires and motivates them? And most importantly, how will your business help them achieve the answers to these questions and reach their goals? You need to really understand your audience in order to properly market your company to them — and that means diving into their psyche and exploring who they are and what they stand for. Once you do that, you can move on to actually building your brand, but fail at this first step and your branding efforts won’t yield the best results.

Understand Your Value. Now that you know your audience, you need to position your business as a unique company, offering something different than your competitors. Relay to your audience why your business has value — something that can only happen once you fully understand what your organization’s value is. What’s your mission? What do you stand for? Why should college students buy or interact with your brand — or care about your brand at all? The answers to these questions will help you better brand your business and steer it in the right direction.

Branding = More Than Just A Logo. While a logo is an important part of the branding process, your brand goes beyond the logo — your logo is just a physical representation of your brand. So what colors are you choosing? Why? What does your logo mean and could it be construed as something else? Is it similar to an already existing logo that may confuse consumers? And does your logo adequately reflect your brand? Before you start creating and analyzing logos, make sure you’ve really thought out what your brand is and what your business stands for. Perhaps there’s a phrase or slogan that will be part of your brand and also part of your logo or branding process. Once you’ve made these considerations, then and only then, can you begin playing around with logos.

Embody Your Brand. Every person that works for your company is a representation and ambassador of your company and brand. That means everyone needs to know the brand, share it, and try to be it. Knowing what your brand’s attributes are, what it stands for, its value, etc., is something each employee should be responsible for. You never know who will end up making an impression on someone else when it comes to your brand so you want all your bases covered and every employee to be a potential influencer for your brand, maximizing your brand recognition.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog post where this series will continue and we’ll continue to share advice on branding your business! Until then, start implementing these tips to improve your company’s brand.

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