Brand Management Essentials for Startups

You have your storefront, administrative assistant, production facility, tax forms, and water cooler — what’s next? Of all of the time and capital investment entrepreneurs put into startups, the most critical aspect usually winds down to how successful they market. Without proper brand management, the best product in the world could still fail to find an audience or distinguish itself from the competition.

For new companies, online marketing is an affordable, effective way to get the word out. According to a recent post on Venture Burn, there are several dos and don’ts when engaging online crowds. The article says the classic “If you build it, they will come” approach is a dangerous path to follow, something you may have noticed in your own companies Web-branding campaigns.

Dot-Com Dominance

Websites are a powerful tool and capable of filtering all of your marketing outlets into one place. Not only that, but websites give you a chance to develop your brand’s messaging and voice.

• Messaging: Successful online campaigns and published content aren’t just splatterings of promotional content and random snipped about a business. Instead, brands need to develop a goal and work toward it. If this was the 19th century and you were selling an apothecarian “cure-all” drug solution, you could focus on miracle cures and affordability. These key messaging statements make up the foundation of your campaign.


• Voice: Between Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, press releases, blogs, banner ads, and countless other ad outlets, you have a lot of leeway when determining how your business communicates. Consumers are more likely to see you as an authority if you speak with a unified voice throughout various platforms. Every piece of content should link and reflect the rest.

Your website should be clear, concise, and directly reflect your brand’s messaging and voice. If you’re out to sell miracle cures, make sure page visitors know what you’re doing after five seconds of viewing your page.

Target Audience

Even if you have a fulltime intern handling your startup’s social media accounts, it’s difficult to balance quality, quantity, and consistency. Choose which platforms match your brand’s voice and messaging. Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are safe bets for almost every company, but a tax attorney may have difficulty picking up interest on Pinterest (LinkedIn is a safe bet here). A craft store, on the other hand, may focus its efforts entirely on image-friendly platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Our vintage apothecary would have to find a niche where it could share information and miracle cure testimonials with large amounts of fans.

Brand Imaging

Brand recognition is important for major companies. Who doesn’t recognize the Apple and Pepsi logos? Invest in high-quality brand imagery to attach to your social profiles, emails, business cards, and other company-related publications.

The Blind Buyer

Like TV commercials, it’s not hard to ignore online promotional content. Make sure you don’t sell your products in every publication. Focus more on attracting consumers to your webpage or informing them on why your industry is the next big thing. You also need to become easy to find on the Internet. You can do this by making sure all of your accounts have the same name, keywords, and everything is inter-linked for easy access.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/branding/brand-management-essentials-startups-0601785?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brand-management-essentials-startups