What is branding?
Branding, as a noun, refers to the way people perceive a brand. It is the sum total of everything that a brand is and does.
As a verb, on the other hand, the term ‘branding’ refers to all the deliberate actions a brand takes—from deciding on an overall look and feel to running marketing and advertising campaigns—to shape people’s perception of it.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: How important is branding?
Branding can spell the difference between closing a sale and losing it to a competitor—especially in highly saturated markets. It does not matter which brand actually offers the best value. The market will naturally gravitate towards brands that they like or a lot of the people they look up to like.
This is exactly why people are willing to spend significantly more on, say, the latest iPhone or top-spec Samsung phone when any other mid-range smartphone can do virtually everything the average user needs a phone for just as well.
Also, speaking of smartphones, people are also willing to spend more on brands that would make them look good. Take Apple products, for example. They may not be the best option for all applications, but they make the people who use them appear upscale, smart, and just cool, so people keep buying them.
Another example of the power of branding would be luxury bags that people pay tens of thousands of dollars for when there are perfectly good alternatives that cost under a hundred. At the end of the day, it is not actually about the product or service. It is the branding that people buy.
But branding does not only apply to products and services. It can also help individuals attract the right audience and get the right opportunities.
For example, if you want to land high-paying copywriting clients, the worst thing you can do is start selling your services for cheap on freelancer sites or job market platforms. Sure, you may get clients more quickly this way, but they will all be cheap. Clients with money would not waste time looking for copywriters on platforms called home by freelancers who are not good enough to sell their services for more elsewhere.
Question #2: What does it consist of?
As we have seen earlier, branding consists of everything a brand is and does, including:
- What the brand believes in
- Who the brand wants to serve
- What problems the brand wants to solve
- What language the brand uses
- How the brand does business
- How the brand looks (i.e., the colors, fonts, and visuals it uses)
As a general rule, as long as it helps shape the public’s perception of a brand, it can be considered part of that brand’s branding.
Question #3: What are the benefits of good branding?
Good branding can help elevate a brand from being just another option to top-of-mind choice. It does this by promoting:
- Brand differentiation
- Brand recognition
- Positive brand perception
- Brand trust
- Employee pride
Let us go over each one:
First, brand differentiation means people can tell your brand apart from your competitors. This is especially important in highly saturated markets.
Second, brand recognition means people can easily identify your brand across different channels. It does not matter if they encounter it on social media or a billboard, they should be able to immediately tell that it is your brand—just like how you can immediately identify McDonald’s even if you only see half of the iconic golden arches.
Third, positive brand perception means the public wants to be associated with your brand—kind of how people like using Apple products.
Fourth, brand trust means customers feel at ease doing business with you because you are known for either your fair business practices or exceptional products and services.
Finally, employee pride means your team is not only proud of being a part of your company, but also happy to properly represent your brand in front of your customers.