There are many elements of a brand. Therefore, developing your brand identity can be complex. However, understanding how brand pillars hone your brand identity will help lay the framework and differentiate yourself in the marketplace. These elements also assist in creating a compelling narrative that will help you gain and retain customers.
What are brand pillars?
These are the points of your business that set it apart from competitors. The pillars are not limited and can be anything important to your customers. Others describe them as the deeper truths that exist throughout every aspect of your brand. Overall, these pillars are vital elements of your brand that support its core ideas.
Key Brand Pillars
Three pillars are necessary to create a compelling and successful brand. Let’s take a closer look at how these elements of a brand play a role in your overall strategy.
1. Personality
People no longer buy brands. They invest in them. It is no longer just about the products and services you offer but the core values and promises behind them that truly matters. One element of brand personality is its essence. Brand essence is the one or two words that describe what it is. These words are meant to differentiate your brand from its competitors.
Another component of brand personality is vision. The brand vision is what it aspires to be. This goes back to the core values and promises behind your products and services. When a brand stands firm in its core mission, it can leverage that to elevate the brand to new levels. At this stage, you have a complete understanding of what the brand believes in and where you want it to go.
Alongside brand essence and vision, storytelling is also an integral part of branding because it adds an emotional component. This is what connects your brand to its audience. People want to invest in something they can identify with and will be interested in sharing with others. Creating a compelling story around your brand sets the framework for your customers to put themselves in the shoes of your brand and develop their unique narratives.
2. Behavior
The second pillar is behavior, which is how the brand interacts with its customers. Creating a user experience that puts the customers’ needs first when interacting with your brand’s various mediums is critical. It’s essential to always keep your customer front of mind. Brands should inform every business decision from this.
By doing so, they can build habitual experiences for their customers. This is when they have become so accustomed to your products and services that they become ingrained in their daily routine. These regular interactions give brands a competitive advantage because it becomes harder for other brands to grab the customer’s attention.
Another critical element of a brand’s behavior is integration. Being open will allow you to integrate other brand platforms into the user experience, and the interconnectivity will help your brand grow much quicker.
3. Communication
Communication plays a central role in the creation of any successful brand. However, in a multi-channel world, communication is no longer linear. Brands are now leveraging multiple channels, social media, and the likes of shareable content. Establishing the proper channels or combining them to showcase your products and services can make a massive difference in creating success for your brand.
Social media has become many brands’ primary source of connectivity. Social platforms offer customers a consistent user experience with optimized touchpoints at every stage. Additionally, brands are developing an increased presence across various channels finding unique ways to link to their customers.
The likes of shareable content have made a significant impact on brands as they have been able to exponentially expand their growth without the support of substantial advertising budgets. This is partly due to having the opportunity to tap into a wider network when customers share their content across various social channels.
The Takeaway
With so much competition in the marketplace, it can be difficult to set your brand apart. Understanding how brand pillars lay the foundation will help you create a unique, compelling story that resonates with your audience. These brand elements will also assist in honing your brand identity to help differentiate yourself from competitors.