How Has Branding Changed Over The Last 12 Months?
As you may have noticed, in the past few months we have been in somewhat of a difficult time. Businesses around the world have been drenched in a wave of new challenges. Some have passed the test and others have unfortunately not. In this article we look at these changes and what it means to you business.
As you may have noticed, in the past few months we have been in somewhat of a difficult time. Businesses around the world have been drenched in a wave of new challenges. Some have passed the test and others have unfortunately not.
The real change that we saw and are still watching happen, is three-fold. Firstly, local customers are now seen as on par with global customers, in terms of value, loyalty and importance to profit margins. Secondly, local marketing, especially SEO marketing has become the top priority for many companies. Lastly, branding practices have had to develop at a rapid pace to keep up with these changes. We’re going to focus on the last point, branding, and how it has changed in the past 12 months.
Optimism In High Supply
Particularly for retail businesses, real-world marketing has really been a challenge. Restaurants want to get their customers back through the doors and they have found a way to do that in the form of optimistic marketing. But what is ‘optimistic’ marketing? Here are a few things to notice.
Bright Colors
The first thing to do is to pick bright colors such as yellow, white, pink, and oranges, to place onto your banners, hanging signs and more. Avoid darker colors like red, black and blue, as these are more formal and to some people, less inviting.
Font Styles
Instead of a formal font, pick something that is a little less serious. A fun font style indicates a more inviting, party atmosphere. More curves in the lettering the better.
Use A Happy Face
If you have a mascot or some kind of character that appears in your brand, make sure it makes an appearance with a smile, an inviting wave, etc.
Not to mention, if you have employees greet the first few people through the door every morning and evening, you can display a friendly atmosphere and give customers the confidence to peer into the store even if they are just passing by.
Restaurant Branding
Getting people to walk through the doors of restaurants remains a challenge. There’s no denying that the hospitality industry has taken a huge hit. So, something has had to be done to make this industry bounce back.
For branding, menus should go online. It may be expensive to print menus with complex designs, but buying online is no issue. Using a company like Creative Jam that does illustrations, animations, designs and more, can really boost the appeal of your menu to viewers online. They can see what type of food you serve, the various dishes you can combine, the side dishes that come with every main meal, etc. it can be done in a fun and interesting way, especially as interactive menus which allow customers to order before they turn up to be seated, helps to boost confidence.
Social Slides
Slide decks have become a useful tool to decimate a lot of information concisely on social media. This is done when you have multiple slides or images or infographics and you place them alongside each other in the same post. This could be, for things like your discount offers. If you have multiple products on sale, then posting the best ones in the same post where users can swipe to see which ones they might be interested in without having to click on and off posts, it’s a brilliant way to lock them in.
Not to mention, you can give users a brief overview of what you are doing in various campaigns. Take for example, Nike, if they wanted to show how they are using recycled materials in their shoes, they could make a slide deck on Instagram using pictures, images, text and video all in the same post. Use this great tool to your advantage.
Put A Face On It
Content marketing is so important for your branding campaign. Perhaps it’s the most important because in the various other techniques you’re using mainly images, videos and photos. However, when it comes to SEO content, you have to write interestingly, be informative, know what you are talking about and persuade customers to take your word as an authority in the industry.
SEO content marketing for businesses is a great way to increase organic growth. So if you lost customers during the virus and subsequent measures by governments, creating original, interesting and trustworthy content is vital to bringing new blood into your fold. But, it has changed, you must now put a face to the content.
Always post a photo of the person who wrote it, or perhaps a photo of you doing the thing you mention in the post. If you are writing a post about making progress on a project or design area of your product, show a photo of you and your team working on it in the office.
Stand For Something
Whether you like it or not, the consumer culture has now changed and people are much more careful of buying things that do not sit right with their values. This is especially true in a few areas, such as slave labor, poor eco-friendly scores and lack of mental health support for employees.
Make it in your next campaign, to be more culturally aware of what people care about. This could be to change the way you make your products by increasing the number of recycled materials. It could be to use solar power to fuel your production facility rather than fossil fuels. Or, it could be that you pay your workers more and boost the support for their mental health at work, showing customers you care about the people that keep your business thriving.
Branding has dramatically changed in the past 12 months. Businesses must show they are aware of what has helped them to survive. Local customers need to be catered to more when marketing. Standing up for something and supporting the local community is vital. And being more optimistic in your choice of colors and fonts in retail goes a long way.
Wrapping Up
We hope these tips have helped you think of a new direction to take your branding in. How have you adapted your brand over the last 12 months? Let us know in the comments below what you’ve done and what impact you’ve seen.
Branding has undergone a whirlwind transformation over the past year, fueled by digitalization, sustainability, personalization, and inclusivity. As companies adapted to the online world, social media became a vital tool for engagement and feedback. Embracing sustainability and social responsibility became crucial for brand loyalty. The rise of personalization enabled tailored experiences, while inclusivity and diversity became integral to fostering connections. This fast-paced evolution showcases the power of branding in shaping the future, with forward-thinking companies leading the way.