Your Branding Checklist: 60+ Touchpoints to Consider
In today’s digital landscape, a robust online presence is essential for businesses and individuals. A key element in achieving this is the creation of a well-designed brand with all of the most effective elements as well as both online and offline elements.
Before delving into the technical aspects of website development, it is crucial to establish a solid foundation by defining your brand and crafting your overall brand identity. This blog post will guide you through the important steps to achieving online success. We will focus on branding culture, brand voice, brand design, marketing collateral, and additional digital brand essentials.
this list can be a bit overwhelming! No matter if you have an established brand or creating a new one the best way to benefit from this is to highlight each section then copy it to a Word document and start filling in each category and bold type section with your version for your brand. Save it and you now have a valuable tool for making future marketing and promotion decisions as you grow. So let’s get started.
Branding Culture Essentials
- Brand Promise: Define the unique value proposition that distinguishes your brand from competitors and communicates what customers can expect from your products or services.
- Brand Vision: Clearly articulate the long-term goals and aspirations of your brand. What do you envision for your brand’s future?
- Brand Purpose: Identify the underlying reason for your brand’s existence. What problem does it solve, or what need does it fulfill?
- Brand Values: Determine the core principles and beliefs that guide your brand’s actions and decision-making processes.
- Brand Message: Craft a concise and compelling message that effectively communicates your brand’s value proposition to your target audience.
- Brand Story: Develop an engaging narrative that tells the story of your brand, including its origins, mission, and milestones.
- Brand Client Avatar: Create a detailed profile of your ideal customer or target audience so you will better understand their needs, preferences, and pain points.
- Brand Type: Decide whether to establish your brand, where you are the face of the brand or a corporate brand that focuses on the company as a whole.
Brand Voice Essentials
- Brand Voice: Define the tone, style, and overall personality of your brand’s communication. How do you want your brand to be perceived?
- Brand Terms (Buzzwords): Identify specific keywords while trying to avoid industry jargon that aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience.
- Brand Personality: Determine the human characteristics and traits that best represent your brand’s identity and values.
- Tone of Voice: Establish the appropriate tone for your brand’s communication, whether it is formal, casual, friendly, authoritative, or conversational.
- Writing Style: Define the preferred writing style for your brand’s content, including grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
- Brand Lexicon / Keywords: Develop a list of keywords and phrases that reflect your brand’s identity and can be used consistently across all communication channels.
Brand Design Essentials
- Font Typography: Select a set of fonts that align with your brand’s personality, ensuring consistency across all design materials.
- Letterhead: Design professional letterhead templates that incorporate your brand’s logo, colors, and typography.
- Form Templates: Create visually appealing and branded templates for invoices, proposals, and other business forms.
- Presentation Templates: Develop visually stunning presentation templates that showcase your brand’s identity during client meetings or conferences.
- Colors: Choose a color palette that reflects your brand’s personality and elicits the desired emotional response from your target audience.
- Logo: Design a memorable and visually appealing logo that encapsulates your brand’s essence. The simpler the better.
- Secondary Logo: Create variations of your logo for use in different contexts or on various marketing materials.
- Textures: Incorporate textures and patterns that complement your brand’s visual identity and add depth to your design elements.
- Backgrounds: Design consistent and visually appealing backgrounds for your website, social media profiles, and other digital platforms.
- Style Elements: Establish a set of consistent design elements, such as buttons, icons, and borders, for use throughout your website and marketing materials.
- Original Images: Having original images of the company, people and products makes your story personable and connects with your audience. While hiring a professional can be a bit pricy it pays in the long term to have original images over stock one when you can. Start with stock images and over time upgrade them.
- Stock Images: Curate a collection of high-quality stock images that align with your brand’s aesthetics and messaging.
- Social Media Icons: Create customized social media icons that match your brand’s visual identity and encourage social engagement.
- Social Media Covers: Design visually striking covers for your social media profiles that showcase your brand’s key messages and visuals.
- Watermarks: Create unique watermarks or logos to protect your brand’s visual assets on images.
- Symbol: Develop a symbol or emblem that represents your brand and can be used independently or alongside your logo.
- Photo Headshots: Arrange professional headshot photography that showcases the people behind your brand, if applicable.
- Photo Lifestyle: Capture lifestyle images that depict your brand’s values, products, or services in action.
- Photo Products: Take high-quality product photos that accurately represent your offerings and enhance your brand’s credibility.
- Wardrobe: Establish a consistent wardrobe style for brand representatives or employees to ensure a cohesive and professional visual presence.
Marketing Collateral Essentials
- Short Business Description: Craft a concise and compelling description of your business for use across various marketing channels.
- Long Business Description: Develop a detailed and comprehensive description of your business, including its history, mission, and unique selling points.
- Flyers: Create eye-catching flyers to promote your brand’s offerings and attract potential customers.
- Downloadable Content: Downloadable PDFs like value-added checklists and how-to items that people will receive once they provide their name and email address.
- Speaker Bio: Prepare a compelling biography for speaking engagements or events that highlights your expertise and aligns with your brand’s messaging.
- About Me: Craft a captivating “About Me” page for your website that introduces yourself and showcases your brand’s values and achievements.
- Work with Me: Clearly outline your services, packages, or products and explain how potential clients or customers can engage with you.
- Business Cards: Design professional and memorable business cards that include your brand’s logo, colors, and contact information.
- Physical Product Design: Ensure that the packaging and design of your physical products align with your brand’s visual identity and convey its values.
- Step and Repeat: Create a branded step-and-repeat backdrop for events, photo opportunities, or media appearances.
- Tradeshow Banners: Design eye-catching banners to promote your brand at trade shows or industry events.
- Product Labels: Develop visually appealing and informative labels for your products that reflect your brand’s identity.
- Return Address Labels: Customize return address labels with your brand’s logo, colors, and typography for professional correspondence.
- Media Kit: Compile a comprehensive media kit that includes your brand’s story, high-resolution images, press releases, and key contact information for media outreach.
- Speakers Kit: Prepare a speakers kit that includes your biography, headshots, presentation topics, testimonials, and other relevant information for speaking engagements.
- Badges (Certifications, As Seen In): Showcase any certifications, awards, or media features prominently on your website or marketing materials to establish credibility and trust.
Digital Brand Essentials
- Usernames: Secure consistent usernames or handles across various digital platforms to maintain brand consistency and make it easier for customers to find and connect with you.
- Webinar Presentation Templates: Create visually appealing presentation templates specifically tailored for webinars and online presentations.
- Brand Video: Produce a high-quality brand video that introduces your brand, highlights its unique features, and engages your target audience.
- Livestream Pre-show Videos: Develop captivating pre-show videos to engage your audience and build anticipation before a live event or webinar.
- Email Addresses: Set up professional email addresses that incorporate your brand’s domain name to establish credibility and reinforce your brand identity.
- Digital Business Cards: Create digital business cards that can be easily shared via email or messaging apps, making it convenient for potential contacts to save and access your information.
- Email Signature: Design a branded email signature that includes your name, title, contact information, and links to your website and social media profiles.
- Email Templates: Develop visually appealing and well-structured email templates for various purposes, such as newsletters, sales promotions, or customer service interactions.
- Social Media Graphics: Design engaging graphics and visuals for your social media posts that align with your brand’s visual identity and effectively convey your messages.
- Community: Establish an online community or forum where your audience can connect, share ideas, and engage with your brand and other like-minded individuals.
- Keywords: Research and identify relevant keywords that align with your brand’s offerings and integrate them strategically into your website’s content for better search engine optimization (SEO).
- URL: Select a memorable and SEO-friendly domain name for your website that aligns with your brand and is easy for users to remember and find.
- Newsletter Templates: Create visually appealing and informative newsletter templates that can be regularly sent to your audience, keeping them engaged and informed about your brand.
- Hashtags: Develop a list of branded and industry-specific hashtags to use in your social media posts, helping you reach a wider audience and foster engagement.
Conclusion
Developing a successful website goes beyond technical aspects and design. It requires a solid foundation in branding culture, a well-defined brand voice, and strategic marketing collateral.
By following these steps to online success, you will establish a strong and cohesive online presence that effectively communicates your brand’s values, engages your target audience, and helps you achieve your online goals.
Remember, building a brand is an ongoing process, so continuously refine and adapt your branding efforts as your business grows and evolves.
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