There are many challenges you face as a startup business, and building a strong brand is one of them. Rather than shy away, however, it’s important to tackle this head on as a strong brand will set you up for long-term marketing success and grow a loyal customer base.

Establishing a strong brand is particularly important nowadays since larger businesses have a significant advantage when it comes to dominating search engine results pages and acquiring millions of social media followers. A strong, unique and recognisable brand will allow you to cut through the noise and stand out - and when you can do this, sales and success will surely follow.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four ways to build a strong brand for your startup.

Face-to-Face Networking

Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that branding is all about having an online presence, but that’s not true at all. Showing up and representing your brand at a trade show or attending a conference will allow you to show up and represent your brand in person. Showing off your brand in real life will allow you to make more of an impression upon your prospects and prove that your brand is more about a logo, copy or a colour palette.

Video

Video marketing is powerful; in fact, studies show that audiences retain up to ten times more information from watching video than from reading text. Therefore, you should harness the power of video to build a strong brand.

Think about how you want to show up in your videos. It’s important to create the right tone and be consistent across all of your marketing mediums.

Why not start by creating a video about your brand story? This will not only convey your brand identity, mission and values to the world, it will also enable you to forge a deeper and more meaningful connection with your audience.

Social Media Marketing

Many businesses fall down at this step because they are either too spammy or don’t have a strategy. By creating social media profiles that build community, share relevant content and engage with your prospects, you will be able to strengthen your brand presence online.

It’s also important to stay consistent across all of your social media profiles, so keep this in mind when choosing your company’s username.

Email Marketing

Another extremely powerful marketing medium that can be used to build a strong brand is email marketing. The key here is to create content and offers that not only benefit your prospects but also engage them enough for them to want to opt-in to your email list.

When it comes to email marketing, always remember one thing: quality over quantity. It’s better to have a smaller, highly-engaged email list than a large list of uninterested recipients.

Q+A Websites

If you’re looking to build a strong brand, then it’s important to get involved with Q+A websites like Quora and StackExchange. This is because these platforms allow you to become an expert in your field, position yourself as a thought leader and generate leads from qualified prospects. It's also a good opportunity to make 1:1 connections and generate new leads.

Final Thoughts

Building a strong brand for your startup can seem daunting, but by following the tips mentioned above you’ll be well on your way to success.

5 Strategies for Startups to Build a Strong Brand