Branding is what people remember and repeat about you and your company. A corporate identity is about creating the desired branded message. What do you want that message to be?
A Corporation’s Identity
As we mentioned in our post “Corporate Identity For Small Businesses,” every company needs a corporate identity.Your company or brand’s identity includes
• Name of company and key employees
• Story behind the brand
• Tagline, slogan, or catchy jingle
• Logo
• Corporate images
• Company colors, font styles, and chosen placement of images and text
• Packaging
• Proprietary products, services, or designs
• Mission
• Personality
• Strengths
• Values
• Anything unique to your business that sets it apart from the competition
Create Your Corporate Identity
To begin creating your corporate identity, claim your name
• Do a search to make sure you are not infringing on someone else’s copyrighted name then register your company name with the IRS and with your state and municipal taxing authorities
• Register for a website and/or blog posting site domain name
• Select and claim usernames that reflect your professional self on social media sites including Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter
• Authorize company pages in your corporate name on the same social media sites
Tate Design can
• Design a website or blog site for you
• Set up social media profiles and company pages for you
Next, use your words—or the Tate Design copywriting services—to
• Share your story
• Define what else (beside your story) sets you apart from your competition—include product and service benefits
• Craft an easy-to-read mission statement that describes your purpose for doing what you do as a company
• Draft a one-sentence vision statement that describes your hopes and dreams for your company
• Choose a keyword for your brand that will evoke emotion and attract your ideal customers
• Pick a company persona—flirty, fun, scholarly, serious—that matches that keyword
• Create a profile of your ideal audience member
• Tell “what’s in it for me?” in a way that appeals to that ideal audience member
Add graphic design elements prepared by the Tate Design team including
• The selection of specific colors and fonts to match your company persona
• A corporate logo using those same colors and font(s)
• A tagline or slogan that “fits” with the colors, style, and size of your logo
• Corporate images that have been dressed up with your company colors and/or protected with copyright information in your selected font
• Properly-sized images for social media profiles and company pages
Finally, let Tate Design help you create the following collateral material so you consistently present a polished, professional image
• A written document detailing when, where, and how all branded materials (logos, images, taglines, etc.) will be used by everyone representing your company
• Branded templates for posting images on social media sites and for blogging and publishing e-mail newsletters
Call Tate Design at 610.725.0702 or e-mail [email protected] to get started with brand development and building your corporate identity.
