Branding: Advertising Slogans, Taglines, Company Mission, More

Your brand is the most important part of your marketing effort and the first thing you should focus on if you're planning on starting a business. Sometimes we shout our brand from the sides of buses or splash it across highway billboards. Other times we slip it in quietly during our email communication or we sneak it into the text of our information products. We can be bold with our brand, or subliminal. But one thing is for sure, we need to establish something powerful that fans and readers won't soon forget. This is where brand development comes in.

Brand development begins with a target audience analysis.

The first thing you need to do when branding your business is start with a target audience analysis. If you're already well familiar with the people who will want your business, great. In that case, you should have no trouble relaying in detail the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your audience. If you still need more help fleshing out your ideal customer, then we recommend conducting market surveys and focus groups. A copywriter will need accurate information about your audience before she can begin the process of conceptualizing your brand.

Branding Essentials:

Your Business Name, Logo and Company Tagline

Before you can even think about doing business, you need to get clearance on the availability of your business name. Then, if you plan to have a website (which you should), you'll go through the process of selecting a domain name (like Wordfeeder.com) that is either identical to whatever name you choose, or at least matches it. Next you want to bring in a graphic designer to design your logo. Remember that the logo will need to appear in several formats and sizes, including:

A copywriter can work alongside of your designer to brainstorm out a list of company names, as well as provide feedback on the logo design. We also take an active role in conceptualizing the tagline that will appear beside your logo, in all your marketing materials. You want something memorable. You want your tagline to explain, in a single line, the emotional need that your product satisfies (without telling what the product is, because that may well change over time). Basically, the tagline is a memorable line that tells people what your company is all about.

Many people confuse taglines and slogans. Your tagline might remain the same for many years, but your company slogan changes each time you launch a new advertising campaign with a new theme. Some people use these terms interchangeably, and that's okay, as long as your copywriter understands what she will be creating for you, where, and in front of whom will it appear.

The company history, mission and values also fall under the category of branding because it is through this information that readers will come to understand more about who you are, what you stand for, and whether they are ready to trust you. Selling is all about trust, after all. If you have a great story behind the launch of your business, by all means share it. If you work with certain values in mind, and hire people who embrace those same values, then explain to your readers why these values are important to you. Maybe your values are based around being kind to the environment. Maybe you celebrate a diverse workforce. You want to share this information up front so that people will feel an affinity with your brand.

Carry your brand through every advertising campaign you run.

Once you figure out what your core values are and what statements you're ready to stand behind, then you want to be sure that this is communicated across the board in your marketing. When you partner with a copywriter for the long term, she will be able to capture the essence of your brand, and carry this message and tone across all forms of media for you. When we are consistent with what we say, people are more likely to trust us.