Oftentimes, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the term “brand” and how it means to the digital marketing industry. To eliminate the noise and keep things straight, a brand simply is the personality of a business.

Did you know that it only takes 10 seconds for people to make an impression of your brand and this is according to a report from ActionCard?

To give an insight into branding, the term “brand” first started more than half a century ago where cattle ranchers use it to identify their animals. This is just like how an audience thinks about your business when they hear your brand name.

You can consider a brand as a general image or an idea people have in mind when they think of a product, services or activities of a business both in an emotional and a practical manner.

Brand as a business personality

Now, you can think of your business as a person then ask yourself what attributes make up its personality? This personality differs between each business and they all have different answers to the questions below:

• What is its name?
• What does it wear?
• How does it communicate with others?
• What are its core values and goals?
• What does it associate with?
• Is it known to others?

Let’s define a brand into five other definitions:

1. Brand can mean different things to each people at different times

A brand can mean something unique to each people because it is dynamic. It plays a different role depending on who it is interacting with and when. There are individuals who connect with some aspects of brands, while there are others who connect meaningfully with another. Oftentimes, a relationship that is built between an individual and a brand develops trust and loyalty.

Successful brands always work on reaching and connecting with all different audiences who are essential to their business and their goal is to build a strong relationship with them.

2. Brand is infinite

You can think of a brand as infinite, it can be a sum of all brand experiences or interactions but these have infinite possibilities. Every touchpoint in a brand is important because each moment counts. Although building a brand requires structure, it is always accompanied by changes and growth. Thus, brands develop, expand, respond and it shifts with time and innovation.

3. Brands are always associated with feelings

This is the main reason why people find it difficult to explain why they love a certain brand. Yes, they might be able to provide a list of logical and rational reasons why they love a brand, but in the end, it still goes down to feelings because a brand stays with a person through feelings.

How does a brand make them feel? Yes, this is the right questions to ask and successful brands of today are always focused on infusing emotions to their audience, making them loved and respected.

4. Well-known and successful brands often give meaning to the term itself

Established brands such as Apple, Google, Nike, and Coca-Cola often define the meaning of the term “brand” — although these brands can reveal a lot about what it really is, it is important to consider all types of brand, from small to big businesses to know the difference and learn from each other. Each brand is meaningful because they always differentiate each other and therefore, make a huge impact on people.

5. Defining brand impact is easier than defining the term itself

When asked for the definition of the term “brand”, we often discuss what makes it impactful for a business such as a more engaged workplace, strong ROI (return of investment), an excellent leadership, and more. So whether it is from a campaign or brand engagement, this is where you can truly see a brand working and doing its job. You can see a brand in action, creating meaning and value tailored for innovation, productivity, loyalty, and creativity.

Conclusion

Establishing a shared understanding of the term “brand” is how you can define what it means to a business and customers. It can help your business move forward into success with the proper alignment of what makes it unique that allows your business to reach its full potential. A brand impact can do a lot of excellent things for your business.

Fore more info on how to step up your branding game, download our Brand Identity ebook:

Are you looking help in getting started in building your brand? Talk to one of our online branding specialists now!