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The significance of branding in blogging: Common mistakes businesses make

Making money blogging is simple, but it’s not easy.

Let’s face it; some businesses oversee the value of branding. When marketing, it is not all about the logo and graphic elements. The brand is what defines the company to its customers. On the other hand, most small businesses spend little time contemplating their brand. This prevents them from getting the bigger picture. Sequentially, it impacts individual companies negatively.

If you consider branding in your organization, think of your entire customer experience, which means putting everything into perspective. These include your company logo, business website, and the interaction between your staff and your customers. The definition of branding is quite broad. Hence, it can become overwhelming for most businesses. In other words, your brand is how your customers perceive your business.

It is imperative to be heedful of your brand and develop a plan that offers unique customer experiences. A perfect brand doesn’t merely happen. It is well-strategized and thought out. However, branding demands a lot of resources for a successful process. But once invented in a business, your brand will generate colossal benefits.

This guide provides common mistakes that affect brands – and how to avoid them. But first, let’s look at how branding your business is essential.

Importance of a brand

Branding a business comes with an endless list of benefits. Also, it directly reflects what customers should expect from the company.

Because branding gives the audience what they need from your business, you tend to stand out from your competitors.

A brand is generally your voice, mission, packaging, website, logo, and marketing materials. This is the prime reason people will choose you.

That said, here are some benefits of branding your business.

• Promotes recognition
• Sets the business apart from the competition
• A brand talks more about your business
• Maximizes staff productivity
• Leads to credibility and customer loyalty
• Generates returning customers and referrals
• Creates clarity and makes your stay focused

Branding your business has more benefits. The list is long besides those mentioned above. You can always invest in this and thrive in your industry.

With that, you need to market yourself and let customers know about your brand. However, most businesses make mistakes that kill their brands.

So, what are common mistakes businesses make?

Content marketing mistakes that can kill your brand

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We all have that moment when we mess up big. Businesses also experience the same problem. Primarily, this occurs due to the changing landscape of marketing.

One area where most businesses make slipups is content marketing.

You may mistype an email subject line. Or perhaps forget to build a custom URL for your latest blog. These are among the mistakes businesses make every day.

Maybe these may not have a long-term negative impact on your business. But some mega-mistakes can damage your brand’s reputation.

These are mistakes likely to drive your business from being liked to being despised. You have probably seen these cases and don’t want to be among them.

Sometimes, these mistakes don’t need to be public. Some affect your business internally. For instance, you spend hundreds or even thousands but without results.

Here are content marketing mistakes prone to kill your brand.

Targeting the wrong audience

Let’s state the facts; the idea of the more people you reach, the better at times doesn’t apply. This is concerning content marketing. Yes, you need to get as many people as you can.

Yet, you may be focusing on the wrong people. Most of them will get the idea, but they’re unlikely to convert into customers.

For instance, you operate a decorating business. You decide to try a new style with your content. However, most of the customers don’t love it and instead consider its options.

This the same fate that befell Coca-cola back in the 1970s. The company decided to go against its rival, Pepsi, with a new Coke product.

The company claimed to have a fresh taste in its new Coke product. However, most people turned it down because it contained more sugar. The New Coke campaign was later dropped.

Creating thin content

People have varying degrees of grasping contents. When you create a complex and longer piece, most people are likely to scorn it.

Still, creating easy-to-digest content without length can be harmful to the business. Hence, it is essential to optimize your content. This ensures you deliver the message correctly and generate leads.

For instance, content with about 1000 words will generate more leads than a 300-word piece. Despite the length, people will get to know about your brand. It is because they have something substantial to relate to.

Avoid going too thin. Always break the content into different parts to make it easy to read. Again, it becomes easy to understand.

The 2006 Sony campaign to celebrate its new white PSP device release collapsed almost immediately. The giant billboard erected contained lesser information.

The billboard showed a white woman subduing a black woman. These were used as metaphors to represent their new product. However, it led people to misinterpret the content and later cursed the company for racism.

Using content to collect customer info

Third-party tracking has become common nowadays. Businesses use these strategies to create personalized ads for customers. However, it has become a concern for many customers.

Most device users have opted for secure brands to avoid being tracked. Others use programs such as VPNs to prevent such events. With this, it affects marketing.

For example, most users have raised concerns about how Facebook collects their data. Most people have even begun opting for other social platforms. Other mobile providers are launching a push notification to prevent the company from tracking users.

Inconsistency in tone, voice, and visual branding elements

The choice of words to use for your marketing campaign is crucial. When creating your content, you should check your tone and voice.

Humor is an excellent tool in marketing, yet it must be used correctly.

Look at the case of Old Spice. The company created a bizarre but hilarious ad. It became a talk and attracted most customers to the platform.

Like the case of Sony, the visual presentation led to many customers finding the ad racist. Though it passed the message, the visual branding elements painted an entirely different picture.

Always choose correct words with the right tone. Never forget the seductive voice – especially when coupled with visual branding presentations.

Failing to engage your audience

No business likes to see bad reviews all over the place. This is what brings the fear of seeking customer feedback. Yet, it is the best tool for content marketing.

For example, GAP changed its logo without collecting views from their clients. Most people reacted to this change. It is a mistake that could be avoided, but there’s was nothing to salvage.

Most businesses are reluctant to generate positive reviews.

Hence, it is essential to consider customer feedback whenever you are creating a new ad. Ask your fans for honest reviews. That helps you to learn areas you need to improve.

Read comments, create social media pages and use various internet platforms. Collect as much information as you can.

Providing inaccurate advice

Most content marketing mistakes are laughable. But some hurt your target audience.

The same case is that of Sony. The ad affected black people, more specifically women. It led to increased criticism from the black community at the time.

The same cases occurred at American Express in 1981. The airline promised a one-time free unlimited air travel for first-class flyers. Well, the company learned the hard way when it ran into losses.

Most travelers were turned down after the airline realized it is losing revenue.

When making decisions, always focus on the future to avoid similar events. Notably, create marketing campaigns with little or no impact on your audience.

Being a jerk

When creating content marketing campaigns, always have a plan. Creating ads without considerations can lead to mistakes – which can kill your brand.

Consider the right keywords to make your ad sound more natural. Think on a larger scale and avoid shortcuts. With this, you can create an ideal campaign and stand out from the rest.

A PR stunt in 2007 proved to be among ads that were never thought of. The contest ‘Hold Your Wee for a Wii’ was an ad that left one of the contestants dead. Whoever drunk more water without going to the bathroom would have won a Nintendo Wii.

Tips to avoid killing your brand

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Up to this point, we have seen the benefits of branding your business. We have also highlighted some of the common mistakes that can ruin your brand. So, how can you avoid such blunders?

Below are some ways to avoid killing your brand.

Create a unique brand voice

When defining your brand, use a unique and recognizable voice. The voice should be consistent and translates the message well.

You may adopt metaphors to define who you are to your audience. Make the voice natural, humorous and deliver the intended message.

Adopt a content marketing strategy

For an effective and mistake-free content ad, you need to have a marketing strategy.

This helps to avoid shoddy and impractical techniques likely to ruin your brand. As a business, you need a clean record. And a marketing strategy comes in useful.

Several marketing strategies are available today. You may reflect on one or more of these strategies and spice up your marketing campaign.

Partner with professionals

Businesses work almost the same as your days in high school. You needed to create good relationships and associations with others. Hence, you get a place in the social hierarchy.

Associating with other stronger brands makes yours even stronger. That is, it enables you to learn and build a better brand.

Partnering with professionals should also be mutual. Provide your ideas and learn from them.

Put your website security in place

Businesses are becoming more digital today than ever. Digital marketing is now widespread. And the best you can do to stay on the top is to make your customers feel safe with your brand.

On top of making your employees follow the best internet security and privacy practices to make sure your workforce doesn’t harm the brand’s trustworthiness unintentionally, integrate secure online services across all your internet platforms. This includes your business website, email, and social media pages.

Customers are likely to shy away from your business if your platforms are unsafe. Always ensure you have above-standard securities.

Devote yourself to the customers at your level best

Customers are the backbone of every industry. With still competition today, engaging with your audience is crucial.

Or else, you will lose your customers. Ensure your business is friendly and treats your customers well. Demonstrate your worth in engaging your customers.

Share your knowledge with them. Make your customer service experience unmatched. This is one way to build a brand that stands out.

Bottom line

Having a reputable brand can upscale your business to higher limits. However, most companies make mistakes that impact their brand growth in the long run. Being cautious of such slips and adopting corrective measures helps in building a stronger brand that does not burn out in the long run.