The use of colors in branding can have a profound impact on a client’s purchasing behavior. Some studies have show that people’s judgment about a product or service can be 60%-90% influenced by color alone. Colors can elicit different emotions and reactions, as well as a memorable impression. Whether you are painting your offices, designing your marketing materials, or creating a logo, here is what you need to know before choosing a color. 

Blue

Blue is a widely used color in logo design. It stands for being dependable, trustworthy, and fiscally responsible. Big brands like Facebook, AT&T as well as Walmart, all use blue. This color is also used by most police stations, to build trust with the public. Several industries use this color hue including finance, lifestyle, and tech spaces. When used by brands, consumers generally feel safe and in responsible hands. It’s no surprise that tech companies like Facebook and Twitter have chosen blue as their brand color. 

Yellow

Yellow is a very optimistic color. Since it is generally perceived as being bright, it has the ability to grab a consumer’s attention even from afar. That’s why McDonalds and Denny’s have used yellow in the design of their logos in a bid to attract hungry travelers. Yellow can also invoke feelings of happiness or excitement.

Orange

Orange is considered a friendly color. It is used by numerous brands including Nike, Nickelodeon, as well as Hermes. Bright bold orange is mainly used by stores to promote value such as Payless and Home Depot, which communicate affordability. According to branding experts, a subtle shade of orange represents an appeal to the upscale market.

Purple

If you want to portray your brand as imaginative, creative, or wise, then purple is the way to go. It can also be used as an emotional or soothing color. This is the reason why Hallmark used it when creating their primary logo, as well as branding their more than 40,000 stores worldwide.

Red

Red is used by some of the biggest brands in the world. Companies such as Coca Cola and Keller Williams use red as their primary color. It expresses passion and excitement. Red is usually used in combination with softer colors like yellow or white to add a sense of excitement. Tech companies like Netflix and YouTube, pair red with black to signal a modern-bold feel.

White

When white is used in marketing materials or logo design, it can convey a sense of transparency. White can also convey quiet and pure. Company’s such as Apple use white in their products to communicate a sense of simple and pure design.

Black

Black is often used in luxury marketing material and branding. That is why it is the preferred option for stretch limousines and glamorous evening wear. If you want to convey sophistication, drama, and a sense of status, then this is the color for the occasion. The primary brand color of Uber is black.

Everyone’s perception and preferences differ, making color selection more of an art than a science. Shades, hues and tints can also play into perceptions as well. So before finalizing your brand colors, make sure to do a bit of research and testing. The right colors can create a huge impact in the way potential clients perceive your brand. 

Social media platforms can be a powerful resource for businesses when utilized properly. As part of your social media strategy, it’s important to understand the strengths of each network and how to invest in the right networks to help grow your business. A focused social media presence ensures that you can produce great content and respond to comments on time. Every business should start with the basics – a well designed logo for your profile image, and branding for the customizable part of each profile page.

The right content for the right platform

If you want to run a successful social media campaign for your business, you first need to understand each platform, the nature of your audience, and how you can use the platform for business. Today every business is competing for the same market. Therefore, the more time you spend optimizing your content for a particular platform, the higher your chances of success. To really ensure your content will stand out, focus on headlines the are attention grabbing while using bright and unique images.

Social media strategy

Often, businesses will send traffic from their website to their social media accounts with clickable icons for each platform. But, if you are properly using your social media accounts, they should be sending traffic to your website. Not the other way around. Your website is the center of your marketing efforts, so why send traffic away? This is why it is important to know how social media fits into your overall business strategy. Grow your audience on each network and develop a flow from your social media channels to your website. This will help increase the number of qualified leads that come in from your website.

Timely sharing

In order to achieve maximum engagement, you will want to make sure that your content reaches as many people as possible. Consistency is the key. You will want to come up with a post schedule that ensures your content is posted during specifics times during the day. Different social media networks have different peak times. There is a lot of information on what post times are best, but in reality, it depends on your audience and post frequency. Test different days and times to figure out what works best for your audience. You can also make use of tools such as Facebook Insights or Twitter Analytics to get better insight. 

Sharing on the right platform

There are numerous social media platforms coming up every other day, all jostling for your attention. What you should remember is that different social media platforms cater to different audiences and purposes. Therefore, the first step is identifying and familiarizing yourself with the platform used by the target audience. Pay more attention to those platforms that are likely to give you higher levels of engagement.

Join the conversation

Posting or sharing your content on social media is one thing. However, you need to show your presence in order to engage with potential clients. You can participate in Google Hangouts or Twitter chats on issues relating to your business. Don’t just jump in trying to sell. Actively participate and contribute to conversations on each platform. As long as you belong to the community and have an understanding of the community, you will be able to reach potential clients naturally. 

Bottom line

Any of the above listed efforts will take time before you can get established on social media. If you don’t have the funds, but you have time, you can handle the work yourself. However, if time is not on your side, you can simply hire a professional, to handle the work on your behalf. 

The term “brand identity” means different things to different people. Just ask a few business owners what they think brand identity is. You will certainly get ten different answers. A brand identity and a brand image are two completely different ideas. Creating brand identity is about how your company wishes to be perceived, while your brand image is how your company is actually perceived by customers and other businesses. We all know that perception is the only reality, so if your brand image does not conform to your brand identity, you could be in a lot of hot water.

If you view your brand identity and brand image as promises that you make to your customers, then you will realize that if you fail or falter in communicating your promises and fulfilling them, you will have to take responsibility for the failure and correct it immediately. For example, if you bake cupcakes and advertise them as being the best in town but your customers cannot say the same thing about your cupcakes, then there is a huge disconnect. Additionally, there’s the threat of competition. Regardless of your views about your own product, if you don’t convey the right message to your customers, your competitors will find the road wide and narrow to snatch away your customers.

Developing and delivering a powerful brand identity can make or break your business. Creating brand identity is not just about logos and websites; it encompasses every message, every piece of communication, and each experience every customer encounters. Delivering a consistent image, message, and experience to each and every person who comes in contact with your company is key.

So how do you go about improving or creating brand identity? Start from the inside.

Assess Your Business from Within

First, you’ll want to analyze what makes your brand unique from all the others that are supply the same product or service in the industry. This is critical because by doing this you are able to separate you’re business from the rest and show the clients that you are different. Employees, systems, and procedures are the principal business structures that should also be evaluated. Ensure that at all times these structures are understood, particularly by your employees, and represent your message and guarantee to your customers. Make sure that your employees convey your message and promise through those structures.

Dominate Your Field

Stake your claim and keep your business on the up and up. Track trends and stay on top of your changing marketplace. Stay updated on all media and social networking outlets, and never feel afraid to market to new or different customers you may have skipped in the past.

Improve or Create Your Visual Image

Website, logo and business cards are marketing materials that may come in contact with your client, so ensure that these items are reliable and consistent. Your business stability is communicated by reliability and continuity. Finding the correct brand style or voice is important because it gives your company a unique sense of identity and personification that is usually quite appealing to the customers.

Put Your Target Market to Work

Identifying your target market is a must so that your business will continue to prevail in your field. If you keep your eyes on this market, you will satisfy your customers’ needs and desires through the products and services of your company. Keep your customers pleased with your products and services. Those same customers will happily say good things about your company to others.

Keep Evolving

Just like all things, businesses and markets evolve over time. It is important that you consistently stay in touch with the market trends and changes. This is because the identity of the company has got to change and grow as the markets and customers change. This ensures that you remain relevant in your field and also show the customers that you listen to them.

By pinpointing those areas in your business that need reinforcement or strengthening, you are, in effect, sharpening your ability to forge a strong brand and message about your company. Don’t just stop at dissatisfaction – do something to improve your brand identity.

Emails serve as one of the most widely used ways people communicate worldwide. As a result, companies organize email marketing campaigns to stay in touch with their clients and promote their products and services. Email campaigns, when used wisely, can boost your online reputation, website traffic, and sales. But, there are certain best practices to follow when building out your email marketing strategy.

Start with your list

Building an email list should be the first thing you do before anything else. Even with great content and no email list, it’s all in vain. You can start by using a CRM to send emails out to your list. Companies like MailChimp offer free plans to start, and paid plans as you grow. You will want to add email collection forms to your website to start growing your list. If you meet with prospects or clients in person, ask for them to add their email when you are collecting their information. The email list will help you identify clients who you can send offers to frequently and those who are interested in your products or services. When you have an email list, you are able to get people back to your website on a regular basis. Every time you publish a new post or add products, you can notify your list, increasing your repeat traffic.

Stick to a schedule

A schedule will help you stay on track and allow you to get the most out of your email marketing efforts. If your clients start to expect emails once in a month, then keep it that way. Most experts agree that one email per month is sufficient when starting out.



Personalize your emails

It’s best if you can address your email subscribers by their first name in your emails. A personalized email is more likely to be read than a general one. Personalization will help you to develop and nurture relationships with your clients. They, in turn, will feel that you are prepared to give them their due attention.

Write a compelling subject line

Your subscribers will look at your subject line and instantly decide whether they want to open and read your email. Hence, you should come up with a subject line that will compel them to open your email. Usually, a short descriptive subject lines work best.


Send relevant content

Supply relevant content to your subscribers. You can provide articles, tips, product reviews and industry related news. The key is to focus on messaging that will help you connect with your audience. The effectiveness of an email campaign also depends on how well the content is organized. The message you intend to communicate should be placed on the top as not all of your subscribers will read the entire email.

Avoid spam filters

Sending unsolicited marketing emails to users is known as spamming. Many Internet Service Providers are very strict about spam control. They will scrutinize every single commercial mail that’s sent to users. You can test your campaign for spam like terms, such as ”free”, “save”, “discount” and so on. Mailchimp has great write-up on avoiding spam filters if you are unsure. As per the CAN-SPAM Act, you need to add your contact details in your emails. This includes a registered postal address, a functioning telephone, contact information, and an unsubscribe mechanism. Not only will you keep your emails out of spam filter, but you will also boost your credibility in the eyes of your clients and those interested can get in touch with you.


Test your campaign

Testing is an important part of your email marketing efforts. You will want to test your campaign thoroughly before you send it to anyone. Send a quick email to yourself before sending it to your whole audience. In doing so, you can make sure that it looks the same on web-based email services and email clients.