Simply existing on social media, or on advertisements or merchandise, isn’t always enough to be seen in the modern business world. Companies aren’t expected to just have social media and branding, but to use that position actively and constantly. Whether it’s to stand up for a social issue or to banter with another brand – your brand voice is under more expectation to perform now than ever.
Fulfilling all these expectations can be tough, here are the do’s and don’ts of branding across social media and physical merch.
Physical Branding – The Don’ts
A hoodie with a logo slapped on is the bare minimum effort required to make branded merchandise. Cost-effectiveness is important and so cheap options like this are often turned to as a way to quickly fill a page with products for your brand.
However, speed and quantity aren’t everything. If your branded products aren’t well researched based on the audience you are targeting, then the merch will feel stale.
Therefore, never take a quick and dirty solution.
Physical Branding – The Do’s
The best thing to do is work with a partner who can take your branding seriously and apply it to the products your brand actually fits, rolled out at the right time for the market.
Using a branding partner like Anthem Branding is a great way to make sure your vision for your brand image is maintained and held true for the entire design process.
Therefore, research your merchandise options with a partner so you can find the right product for your brand.
Digital Branding – The Don’ts
Social media is the cornerstone for all online communications. It is vital to your brand voice, but you need to do it the right way. With the rise of resistance against brands being too intrusive on things like meme culture through things like Silence, Brand, it can be easy to see how the social media space can be dangerous for young brands. You want to stand out, but not be seen as intruding on something that is considered un-corporate.
Therefore, do not enter every social media space without preparation thinking a few posts, comments and memes will make your brand user-friendly. Interaction is vital, but you can’t expect results without looking at what is expected of you yourself first.
Digital Branding – The Do’s
More and more the social media space is the main way people see news of the world, react to important events, and engage with topics and brand they find have meaning. To that end, and following research, brands need to ensure their presence on social media is seen with responsibility. There is an expectation that brands speak out on real-world issues and have the backbone to stand up for whatever values align with their brand voice – even if the topic is unrelated to the brand itself.Therefore, ensure your brand voice on social media is reinforced daily. Having a solid brand voice leads to more clear and authentic responses to world events, all leading to a more authentic company as a whole. In turn, this will lead to your branding meaning more to people.
