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People will constantly search for the answers to questions like, how do you market a business? Or, how can you get better at marketing? Trying to nail down the secrets to successful marketing is a huge quest for many people, particularly business professionals.
The thing is, a lot of people struggle to get to grips with marketing. Anyone that’s studied marketing will tell you that it’s a strange combination of something really simple yet incredibly complex. The whole idea of marketing is simple; you want to promote a product/business/web page/anything to an audience. However, there are so many different layers to marketing including all the different techniques and ideas that are used to help promote things.
Today, we’re going to dive into the world of marketing and take a look at how you can master it. Many people don’t think of it this way, but marketing is an art. By definition, art is the application of creative skills, and marketing certainly involves getting creative and applying different skills to create something. With that being said, there is one main thing we’re going to talk about throughout this piece that will help you master this art.
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The Subtleties Of Marketing
The main topic of discussion will revolve around all of the little things you can do throughout a marketing campaign that contributes to creating a big impact. We’re looking at the subtleties of marketing, the smaller things that you might think go unnoticed, but really make a difference to an overall campaign.
It all starts with one of the key elements of a marketing strategy; the brand image. If you can create a good brand image, then half of your job is done for you in every campaign. Take a look at a company like Apple. They’ve worked so hard to stamp their brand image on the market and make them a recognizable brand that people look at in a certain way. Consumers view the Apple brand as very high-class, and a brand that oozes quality. So, whenever they release a new product, they know there will be a lot of immediate positivity simply because of their brand. People see the Apple logo and go crazy. Some people even buy things just because they have that Apple logo on them.
Building this brand image obviously took a lot of hard work. They had to focus on creating an image that they wanted, and figuring out how to present themselves that way to others. They also had to focus on ensuring everyone knew about their brand and recognizes their logo – they wanted to become a household name.
This is the same sort of thing any business needs to do when devising their own marketing campaign. Focus on your brand image, and get your business into the public eye until you’re recognizable and start to gain a positive reputation. Then, you’ll find everything else becomes a lot easier.
Building A Brand
So, how can you go about building a brand that will form a core part of every marketing campaign you run? As mentioned, it all comes down to the little things. Small choices you make will have big consequences. For example, the colors you use on your brand logo are a huge deal. Let’s think about another huge company for a second, McDonalds. As soon as you read that word you probably pictured the McDonald’s logo in your head, with its red background and trademark yellow M. That color scheme is synonymous with the brand now. If you ever see the two together, your mind subconsciously drifts towards McDonald’s. This is because you’ve been subtly fed pictures of the brand logo over and over again through adverts or on social media, etc. You’ve seen it so much it just becomes ingrained in your head that yellow letter on red background equals McDonald’s.
What you need to do is spend a lot of time pouring over the minute details when designing your logo. Consider all the color options available, pick one that stands out and will leave a lasting memory in people’s minds. Also, think about the actual look of the logo, try and include something that stands out and people start to recognize. Apple’s logo is an Apple, McDonald’s have that classic M, figure out what your thing is going to be, and people will start to cling to it.
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Attacking The Subconscious
When you’ve got your logo sorted, and you have an idea of how you want your brand to be represented, you need to think about getting your brand out there. To do this, you want to attack people’s subconscious with your brand. Make them see your brand without them really knowing it. There are loads of ways you can do this, and lots of subtle marketing ideas you can do. Things like business cards work well, as do sneaky things like the luggage straps seen here. A luggage strap is so subtle but people will see your brand colors and your logo, and it gets ingrained in their subconscious even more.
Then, you have things like coasters, bags, clothing, accessories, pens; and so much more. Basically, you want to slap your brand on as much as possible, and just give it out for free or place it somewhere where a lot of people will see. People become accustomed to your brand, and this has an impact on your marketing strategy. The next time you produce a poster or an online ad, more people will see your brand name and logo, and realize who you are. Immediately, they pay the adverts more attention as they’re from a brand they know and recognize. It can make them stop and double back to take a long look at a poster. It’s the difference between them ignoring a video advert and watching it the whole way through.
The bottom line is, if no one knows you, then you’re fighting an uphill battle. So, work on building your brand first, and focus on all the little things that go a long way to making your brand recognizable. Once this is achieved, then you can proceed with more typical marketing ideas like advert creation, etc.
