By
Nowadays, running your own business can be overwhelming. Especially regarding branding. Luckily, there are thousands of tools that make branding your company an easy task. But which of those tools is best suited to your company’s needs? We did the research and chose some of the best branding tools that will help you elevate your brand to new heights!
What Is A Brand?
In a nutshell, your brand is the perception that your consumers have of your company. In other words, it’s the “gut feeling” that someone has when they think of your business. This means that your brand is the experience your customer has with your company. And creating an entire experience can be very tricky.
“Your company name, logo, color scheme, style guidelines, core values, messaging: All of this stuff matters. Each piece combines to make up your brand, and there’s no greater asset for digital marketers than a strong company brand.” (Keleher, 2022)
Creating a brand requires an immense amount of work. You must have effective engagement strategies, eye-catching marketing campaigns, a consistent visual identity, excellent customer service and customer satisfaction, and outstanding content that is fresh and original. And this is only a taste of what a good brand requires. It’s hardly surprising that corporations like Amazon and Google spend millions of dollars a year on branding initiatives. But, branding your business does not have to be a multimillion-dollar undertaking. Not if you use the right branding tools to stay ahead of the competition while spending only a few bucks at most.
Key Aspects of Branding
To understand what branding tools can do for you, first, you must understand what aspects of branding these tools can help you with. Branding is the act of establishing your brand. It includes every area of your company, from internal management to visual identity. So, how can you use branding to communicate your core identity? Let’s take a look at the vital aspects of an efficient branding strategy.
- Brand Voice
Communication plays a vital role in branding. This includes any message that a customer encounters when engaging with your brand. Great examples of voice branding elements are blog posts, newsletters, and email campaigns.
Keep in mind that your message must always go with the tone and style you chose for your brand’s voice. For example, Starbucks messages are always in sync with the instant-comfort feeling they want to instill in their clients.
Keep in mind that your message must always go with the tone and style you chose for your brand’s voice. For example, Starbucks messages are always in sync with the instant-comfort feeling they want to instill in their clients.
“That first sip feeling” is a four-word phrase with a lot of substance. If you like coffee, you know exactly how that feels. It’s almost as if you could smell that cup of coffee. That provokes an instant craving for coffee, which is what they advertise. This ad is marketing perfection. Not only because of the powerful brand voice that they infuse into all their campaigns. It also has to do with the immediately recognizable visual identity. Still not convinced that a solid branding strategy will make you a lot of money? In 2021, the value of their brand was worth 13 billion US dollars.
- Visual Identity
Visual branding encompasses everything that your customer can see. It helps your clients recognize your company. It is also what distinguishes you from your competitors. Your visual identity is the first thing a client sees when experiencing your company. And we all know the importance of a first impression. So it would be pointless to emphasize the significance of a strong visual identity. But, what makes up a successful visual brand? The elements of visual branding include imagery, color palette, typography, and logo design. Statistically, 60% of consumers avoid companies with logos that are unappealing. Make sure you create a compelling logo for your brand so users can recognize you.
Visual branding is a must for social media strategies and advertising campaigns. Creating a strong visual identity entails a lot. So, it might be a good idea to establish a style guide that goes with your brand. Keep this in mind when choosing your branding tools, as most of them have a step-by-step setup for your style guide. This can save you tons of time while spending little to no money!
Check out Spotify’s Style Guide above. Since it is a platform that anybody can use, there is a design guideline available on their website. This is to provide uniformity in their visual branding. It’s difficult to look at this green-hued icon and not think about Spotify. That is how profound their visual identity is. And all they had to do was pick the right shade of green. That shade of green is now worth 5.6 billion dollars.
For more ideas, check out the Cvent pricing page, homepage, and other pages, such as the landing pages for each feature. You will notice that the writing style and colors are very consistent.
- Brand Activation
Activating your brand is positioning it in the market. There are infinite strategies to achieve this. The sky’s the limit! Positioning your company in the market requires more than visual identity. You must also design creative ways to make your company known. Some examples of brand activation include promotional gifts, collaborations, sponsorships, or events. Through events, you could also develop an email list. For best results, you should segment that list properly and use an email verifier to ensure its deliverability.
Here are some fantastic brand activation campaign ideas:
- Design promotional apparel or accessories
- Set up an interview in a podcast or newscast
- Set up promotional stalls at fairs and college events
- Host food drives and charitable activities
- Sponsor festivals or concerts
- Create conferences or seminars for your industry
- Endorse artists or artistic events
- Hold celebrations and reunions
There are many benefits to having a good brand activation strategy. The main one is that it strengthens the relationship you have with your customers. Brands that have strong activation campaigns are always in the minds of consumers. People prefer them to less-known alternatives, don’t delete such apps on Mac or other devices, and look forward to updates. That translates into an enormous return on investment. Which means more value for your brand and strong financial growth. Check out the design tools we’ve selected for you. Some companies allow you to create promotional items or event flyers. Which might be a fantastic place to start.
- Brand Management
You must have realized by now that managing a brand entails a significant amount of work. Effective management is no doubt the difference between success and failure. Brand management is the aspect of branding that organizes and guarantees consistency. Some of the most important aspects of brand management are:
- Creating new concepts for your brand
- Conducting extensive marketing research with the help of analytics
- Protecting the quality of your products and services
- Managing and keeping track of your sales
- Developing advertising campaigns
- And maintaining control over the financial aspects of your company
All these considerations may seem overwhelming, and they are. Fortune 500 companies have entire teams dedicated to each aspect of branding. It can be tough to keep track of all the challenges that come with creating a brand. This is where branding tools come in. Simply put, branding tools can help your company do a lot in no time. And as we all know, time equals money.
Best Branding Tools On The Market
No one thinks about spending hours performing tedious tasks when deciding to start their business. The truth is, you don’t have to. You can have a fantastic brand in no time if you use these top-notch branding tools. They will make tiny but significant activities like design or analytics easy. These systems can help you in many ways. And keep in mind that picking the proper tools to help you improve your company, can offer a massive ROI. So, here is our hand-picked list of the greatest branding tools available on the market.
- Brand Management Tools
Frontify is the epitome of a brand manager. It offers skilled teams that will help develop strong style guidelines. This will help you establish a unique brand voice and visual identity. It’s also web-based, which means it has a proven formula for success. Ask for a demo to see what pricing plan works for your company and check it out. It was also considered one of the best brand management platforms by Capterra, as seen in the image below.
Brand yourself is a software that tracks your internet reputation and detects unwanted publicity. If you do have negative exposure, they can help you deal with it. How? With their award-winning SEO strategies. With over a decade of expertise, we recommend you visit this website and get a free profile on your company. It never hurts to get positive criticism.
Monday is an organizational platform. This color-coded wonder will make dealing with large teams a delight. It provides fantastic features like team management tools and step-by-step project templates. Although this is only a summary of what is available on the platform. With costs starting at $10 per month, this is a must-have for brand management. If you’re seeking a Monday alternative, it offers an affordable and feature-rich option.
- Analytics Tools
After you’ve organized your team, you might want to start researching for your company. Nowadays, it is impossible to have a solid branding strategy without using SEO. This can help you rank your website and reach out to new clients. Yet, if you are not well-versed in the subject, it can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are hundreds of tools available that build great SEO for your website. Here are a few of the greatest.
SEMRush has to be one of the best performing SEO platforms available. It not only aids in search engine optimization. It helps you create keyword-rich content and research your competition, among other things. It’s no surprise that Semrush is the go-to website for marketing experts. With this website, you can look into a variety of strategies to improve your business. Although the cost for this page is pricier, we urge you to consider investing in this platform. It is the key to maximizing traffic to your website.
Mention is a monitoring program that allows you to track your competitors. It also tracks your brand performance. Simply put, it is a less expensive version of SemRush. If you’re getting started, we encourage you to check out this page. Another advantage of Mention is that it generates reports that you can share with investors and clients.
Google Analytics is another SEO platform. What makes it unique is that it gives you specialized feedback and tips on how to grow your following. It is also a must-have for marketing professionals. Given that Google is the top search engine out there. All the top-performing brands in the industry use it. Find out why.
TapInfluence This is the last analytic tool on this list. We decided to include it because of its specific purpose. TapInfluencer helps you navigate the influencer market to find the best-performing influencers. If you have ever worked with an influencer before, you know it can be a huge risk to go this route. It isn’t the cheapest marketing strategy. But with this software, you can rest assured that your influencer will deliver. They hand-pick the best suited to meet your company’s needs.
- Communication Branding Tools
Hubspot’s Email Signature Generator is a very simple way to take your email marketing game to a whole new level. The best part is that it’s free! They have hundreds of templates you can personalize. So make sure your design best fits your company’s visual identity. It can make a lasting impression on your clients and investors. So keep this in mind when designing your email signature.
Mailchimp is one of the most complete marketing hacks on the market. It offers a wide array of strategies to help promote your business. It focuses on email marketing strategies, but you can do a lot more. For example, you can create landing pages or up your social media game. The best part is that you can use tons of features starting at only $12 a month. Premium plans are pricier. It is definitely worth it to check out this page and see what they have to offer.
Write is the ultimate AI-operated writing assistant. It does more than your typical grammar checker. The main function of a writer is to curate all text to fit your brand’s voice. You can upload verbs, adjectives, or buzzwords that don’t go with your brand’s voice and they will be banned. So, anytime that someone creates content for your brand, they will know what language to use. This is a great time-saving solution to guarantee that all your content is cohesive. And starting at only $11 dollars a month, it is a must-have for content creation.
- Design Branding Tools
Adobe Color Wheel If you know anything about color psychology, then you know how important color is to your brand. Understanding which colors are ideal for your visual identity can be tricky. But, with this amazing tool, you won’t have to worry. You can mix and match colors on the Adobe Color Wheel to see which works best for you. The best part is that it’s free! They even have preselected groups of colors so you can get inspired. You can also surf the color trends of the year. Check it out!
Coolors is also a great color palette creator. A big difference to note is that this platform allows you to draw inspiration from images. Be sure to check it out.
Font Pair is another great free tool for visual branding. It not only offers you thousands of fonts to choose from, but it also helps you pair your fonts. Explore this page and get great aesthetic results.
Lightroom allows you to have defined presets that maintain your imagery’s consistency. It is also a fairly simple photo editing tool. It is, without a doubt, one of the best photo editing apps out there. We recommend you give it a chance. Quality images can equal massive engagement on your social media.
- Video Branding Tools
“After the invention of the camera and then the internet, video branding is the most used tool of branding because it allows the brand to express its objectives most subtly.” (Inkdot Design, 2020)
Wistia takes the A/B testing out of video content creation. It also offers you tons of customizable video editing options. It is one of the most complete video branding tools on the market. Why? Because it also allows you to see minute-to-minute recaps of how consumers are interacting with your content. Is that not enough? To cap it off, you can embed your videos anywhere. For marketers, Wistia has become a quick favorite. We urge you to try it out and take your video branding to a whole new level.
Hippo Video is a specialized platform that helps you create winning videos for brands. They have tons of categories to choose from ranging from teaching tutorials to marketing videos. Their team of experts will definitely help you curate purposeful content. So be sure to glance at their website and ask about pricing options.
- Social Media Branding Tools
According to Sprout Social, 84% of consumers will buy from a brand they follow on social media platforms rather than go with a competitor. So, social media strategies are crucial. Here are some of the best tools to help you accomplish a huge following.
Instagram’s Branded Content tools are a hack gold mine. They have limitless tips, and tricks on how to make your business thrive on their platform. Their main aim is to connect businesses with influencers. And, as we know this helps boost companies’ traffic. They also have step-by-step guidelines for posting content. So be sure to read up on their content. It can save you a lot of trouble in the future.
Hootsuite’s main function is to schedule social media posts. It can also help with engagement by allowing you to send pre-written responses to your clients. The options for social media optimization are endless with Hootsuite. Their plans start at $49 per month and this can save you thousands of dollars in paid advertising. This is because it has an AI-operated performance rating system. You can see where your money is going and how effective your ad campaigns are on any social media platform. Another must-have from our list.
Buzzsumo is a great way to connect with influencers that are specific to your niche. It also helps you find great content ideas with its sophisticated analytics software. The greatest thing about Buzzsumo is that it has a wide variety of free features. You can see how keywords are performing and get great ideas for blog posts. As an example, we used the keyword “coffee” and this is what came up.
You can even personalize the search engine by location, publisher, or interaction. We are fascinated with what this app has to offer. You need to try it out.
Start Branding Your Social Media
These are a few of the branding tools that are out there. However, with these tools, you should be able to bring your brand to a whole new standard. We hope you find some useful information in this article. Remember, the first thing you must do when choosing a branding tool is to know exactly what your brand represents. Feel free to leave your favorite branding tool down below in the comments.
About Alejandra Huerta
Alejandra Huerta is a cultural manager that has vast experience in teaching and a wide profile in writing, from content creation to ghostwriting. She studied fine arts and has since become a writer, debuting her first publication in 2017. She has worked for multiple marketing companies, like Placeit.
