Sales, Marketing, Customer Relationship and Business Networks

The importance of branding

17.2.2022

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Kirjoittanut: Emil Makkula - tiimistä SYNTRE.

Esseen tyyppi: Yksilöessee / 2 esseepistettä.

Esseen arvioitu lukuaika on 5 minuuttia.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever thought how the social media influencers make a fortune in today’s world? How have they paved their way into the mansions of Bel Air Los Angeles? It almost seems like they are living this so-called dream life. Perhaps you have thought the silly prices of some brands? How can Apple or Louis Vuitton sell their products in way higher price compared to their competitors? The key word is branding. If you brand your product strong enough you can have a higher gross margin and, in that way, make more money.

For Apple the brand name is the most important asset that they have. People are willing to spend more money to buy Apple, because they know what they are getting. Apple does not sell just cell phones and computers. They sell trust and credibility. When you have a strong brand, the customers are tending to come back and spend more money. According to Nielson survey (Nielsen company, 2015), 59% of consumers prefer to buy new products from brands familiar to them. 21% of people who answered to the survey said that they have purchased a new product because it was from a brand they like.

2 ANDREI KOIVUMÄKI AND SELF BRANDING

Not only the companies mentioned before try to make themselves a brand. Self-branding or personal branding is one of today’s world biggest keys to make it by yourself. According to 36creatives Maciej Fita “It is a form of marketing that an individual uses to create a uniform public image that demonstrates his or her values and overall reputation.” A good example for a great self-branding here in Finland is Andrei Koivumäki. He is Finnish-Russian realtor. In his own words he came to Helsinki in 2012 with 400 euros in his bank account and is now the founder of Neliöt Liikkuu LKV, the most trending real estate company in Finland. He truly changed the way that homes are being sold. He was one of the first realtors in Finland to make videos about the property he was selling. Koivumäki also took social media and truly used it as a tool to market and crate hype.

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The way he made himself such a brand and pioneer was self-trust. He first started the branding from Facebook and from there moved to Instagram as well. The first thing he did was just telling people “I am hell of a realtor”, even though he was just a rookie (Pauli Reinikainen. 2017). So, in a way self-branding is just selling yourself as well as possible. If you believe in yourself, others will too. Like Andrei says, “It’s all about the mindset”. He is quite interesting person who is not afraid to show off and talk about money. in Finnish culture this is something that very few people do. Being controversial within the limits of good taste will make more people talk about you and in that way boost your brand. The saying “there is no such a thing as bad publicity” holds water here.

3 SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

Social media influencers are the true kings and queens of self-branding. The followers are the most valuable currency in today’s world. Having a good and active followers will give you an absurd amount of power if you know how to use it right. If you ask any influencer with 1 million followers, would they rather take 1 million dollars or 1 million followers I bet they will say the first one. Social media is the best place to brand yourself, but it is not that easy as you would think. Some people can “ride the wave” of someone else following and in that way gain a lot of followers, but if you want to become an influencer out of nowhere it really takes some grinding. You must follow all the latest trends and participate in them. Usually there is some luck included for people who suddenly gain a lot of followers out of nowhere. According to ClockworkTalents article by Digital marketing manager Emma (no last name) the six things that you need to do to become an influencer are: building a community around your niche and stay on brand. Second thing is to stand for something. Thirdly to create some goals. Fourth to network with other influencers. This is one of the most crucial ones. If you collaborate with other influencers, you will get more followers through them and boost your brand. Fifth step is to understand the difference between each social network and how they can work for you. For example, it’s not maybe best for your brand if you post same kind of stuff in LinkedIn and TikTok. According to this website the sixth step is to be constantly learning and willing to use new platforms. Innovating and creating something new is mandatory for an influencer in order to stay trending. But how can these influencers afford the luxury life? According to Tap Influence research, 40% of people have purchased an item after seeing an ad by an influencer on Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. The influencers make most of their living through paid partnerships with brands. The deals can get as huge as hundreds of thousands of dollars for even just one post. But you can stain your self-brand quite easily if the only thing that you post is just ads. The key to keep your followers happy and have their trust is to stay original and be yourself, or whatever your brand is about.

4 BRAND PROMISES

Building a brand from a scratch is difficult, it takes a lot of hard work and determination. One thing that will help you when you already have the base set is to make a brand promise. Tell your customers about your values, so they will know what kind of product from what kind of vendor are they buying. The brand promise does not even have to mention anything about your product. The promise is the feeling, not an actual product that customers are buying. In many cases the big brands do not even sell the product. They sell the feeling of having the product. For example, Nikes brand promise is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”. In this example Nike is promising that their product will bring inspiration and innovation to you, the athlete. Coca-Colas brand promise is “Refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, and inspire moments of optimism”. The way I see this is drinking Coca-Cola will be an enjoyable moment that will make you in better mood and more optimistic about life. These two are some of the worlds biggest and most recognizable brands. So apparently, they have done and are doing something in the right way. Think what they are doing, and what you can do to create the best possible, a memorable brand promise for your brand.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion today’s business is more and more about having a strong brand. It is more than a design, a logo, or what your social media profile looks like. It is all of these and more. How you treat your customers, what is your brand promise like and is it believable. How these promises are taken in action. Having a strong brand is all about standing out from your competitors.

A branding strategy that is part of your overall business strategy – is certainly a strategy for growth and success.

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