It goes without saying that your brand’s logo, color scheme, and all the other graphic elements are an essential part of your brand’s visual identity. It is also true that there is so much more to branding trends than the stuff that is on the surface. Sure, it makes your business recognizable.
But so does the experience your customers get when they interact with your brand, your products, and the trust that exists between you and your customers. This keeps them loyal to your brand.
Technology has made marketing and branding a bit easier, but it will only take you so far. Even if you think you have it all figured out, you cannot afford to rest on your laurels, because branding is something that you should work on constantly.
Why? Well, trends are always coming and going, and you have to follow them because you need to keep up with your competition. To do that, check out seven branding trends you should look out for.
Branding trends … making your brand more human
These days, it is no longer enough just to send out mass emails or push notifications to your leads or customers. Everyone does that, and people can choose from a huge variety of brands.
Since they know they are going to get a quality product from most reputable brands, they will choose one which has been able to provide them with a more personal experience.
Branding is a two-way street, especially in the age of social media, so give your customers a chance to interact with your brand and have their voice heard, as well.
A great example of this is The Honest Company, which sells baby, beauty, and home products.
Their social media presence shows that they have a true understanding of what it is like to be a parent, and they do it in a way that is relatable and peppered with humor.
And all of this is not just a speculation, because according to a study done by Label Insight, 94% of the people are more likely to choose a brand that is more transparent.
And as much as 73% would be willing to buy a more expensive product if the company that makes offers transparency.
Branding tips … tapping into the experience economy
Simply advertising your brand is no longer enough. Customers, and especially those who are millennials, are looking for experiences even when purchasing a product.
This is exactly what the Brazilian bank Itaú did in 2015, as one of the main sponsors for Rock in Rio 2015. They put an ATM on one of the beaches in Rio de Janeiro, which was also a karaoke machine.
Since the “ATM” was equipped with a microphone and speakers, people who were withdrawing money were encouraged to sing a tune. Those that did were awarded tickets to Rock in Rio!
Offering immersive technologies
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer something we can see only in sci-fi movies. It is very present in our lives, but in ways which are subtler, such as Google’s use of AI to provide more relevant search results. As far as branding is concerned, chatbots are probably the thing to look out for.
Of course, they are still not on the same level as human beings, but they do have a few things going for them.
First of all, they are based on AI, which means they will get smarter. They also have access to a vast amount of data, including those on your customers. Finally, they respond immediately.
An even better option would be to provide your customers with live chat, which is exactly what Best Essays AU have done, according to their head of marketing, Stephen Harper:
“24/7 live chat has not only improved the quality of our services, but we have also seen an increase in profit, as well as in the number of repeat customers by 12%.”
Focusing on mobile marketing
According to data by Smart Insights, 80% of people online own a smartphone. Also, mobile marketing will make up 72% of all marketing spending in the U.S. by 2019 (Marketing Land), which shows there is no going back.
This is because mobile searches have become dominant. Even if most of your commerce and brand presence is focused on desktop users, your website still needs to feature responsive design.
Otherwise, Google will rank it lower inside the search engine queries, regardless of how good your content is.
Investing more in influencer marketing
Thanks to social media, anyone can reach an audience of millions, which is not something that is lost on brands. Most of them are targeting a pretty wide audience, which means some of their marketing dollars go to waste.
However, if you can manage to win over an influencer in your niche, it can open the door to the exact kind of audience you are looking for.
Since influencers are just customers and not some faceless corporate entities, people are more inclined to trust them. This means they can help you win over people who are skeptical about your brand, especially if you are new on the market.
Connecting different departments to improve your brand
Great user experience is no longer the sole responsibility of your brand’s marketing department. This is because customers interact with your brand not just through ads and marketing, but also through customer support, sales department, and others.
These teams used to work separately, but in the future, they will have to work in synergy as opposed to following traditional organizational structures to come up with innovations.
Providing educational values
In the age of fake news, people are savviest when it comes to ads and claims by brands and their marketing departments. Customers are looking for brands which aren’t just looking to make a profit. You can address the issue by supporting a good cause, and provide content that has real educational value.
For example, instead of providing stock images to go along with your product or those lame unboxing videos, show video or live stream of your product being used. Your brand will come off as more genuine and authentic that way.
The bottom line
These branding trends will help you improve your brand, as well as provide better customer experience and products for your customer.
All the tools and methods are shown here have one thing in common: they are used in a meaningful way, and as a result, your customers end up receiving more than just a product. In the end, everybody wins.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your branding design strategies? Such as creative branding ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Do you have a lesson about making your brand marketing better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on brands and branding from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
New York Yankees … 11 Awesome Lessons From Yankees Brand
6 Favorite Brands and Why I Like Them So Much
Brand Management … 12 Ways to Humanize the Brand to Build Trust
Walmart E-commerce Strategy … 6 Reasons Why It Won’t Beat Amazon
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.