How To Create a Brand: A step-by-step guide for a successful launch

Creating a brand is an important step for any business, regardless of its size or industry. This article will serve as your guide to the world of branding, revealing the first steps you need to take to create a strong and recognizable brand. We’ll talk about where to start build a brand, how to define its uniqueness, and how to make it competitive in the market.

Who needs their own brand?

Before we dive into the technical details, let’s define who needs to create their own brand. If you recognize yourself in one of these points, then this article is for you:

• Entrepreneurs who already have a business and want to strengthen its position in the market.
• Startups who are planning to start a new business and want to make a name for themselves right away.
• Freelancers looking for ways to stand out from the competition and increase their value.
• Experts who realize the importance of a personal brand to achieve their goals.

If you are just planning to start your business, you will need deeper market analytics and a detailed business plan.

How to start creating a brand: An express approach

My methodology is based on many years of experience in brand development and visual communication. This approach will allow you to create a high-quality brand in a short time that has the potential for development. I call it “Express Brandbook” because it is a kind of initial stage before creating a full-fledged brand book. What is a brand? It’s not just a logo or a name, it’s a set of impressions, feelings, and associations that people have when they think about your company or product. That’s why it’s important to start with the basics – by defining your identity.

It is important to note that even traditional industries are now actively developing online. Therefore, when creating a brand, consider the potential of the digital world.

The key element: the word base

In my opinion, the first thing you need to do, even before choosing a name, is to collect a database of words that will match your brand. Words are the main element of branding. This base will become the basis for further stages of brand development.

This base can be divided into two parts:

1. Key trending words (SEO keywords): Words that your potential customers will use to search for you on the Internet.
2. Property words: Words that best describe your brand’s character, personality, and values.

With such a word base, you can use it to create a name, slogan, advertising banners, and other content.

The first group: Key trending words (SEO keywords)

SEO keywords are phrases that your potential customers use to search for the products or services you offer. Often, business owners use words in their communications that are less commonly used by their customers. For example, instead of “water filtration,” they use “water purification.” Therefore, it is important to use tools to select such words and follow trends.

Tools for selecting SEO keywords

Although it is best to use the services of a keyword research specialist, you can use free tools for quick analysis at the initial stage:

• serpstat.com: Professional keyword analysis tool.
• senuto.com: A tool for analyzing words and creating text. (Recommended for advanced users)
• semrush.com: Another professional tool for SEO.
• seo.com: Convenient and free service. (recommended for beginners)
• keywordtool.io: A tool for finding long-tail keyword phrases.
• keywordtooldominator.com: Allows you to search for keywords by various parameters.
• answerthepublic.com: Visualizes questions asked by users.
• trends.google.com: Helps you track the growth or decline of trends.

Using these tools will help you identify which keywords your customers are using and tailor your brand strategy accordingly.

The second group: Property words

This group of words describes the character of your brand, its unique features, and brand values. If it’s a large company, the character may come from the founders or key employees. For example, if you are an active and sociable person, these words should be written out.

At this stage, it’s better to limit yourself to 3-5 positive qualities and 2-3 negative ones, which we’ll talk about later.

How to choose the words-properties

• Brainstorming: Write down all the possible characteristics of your brand.
• Grouping: Divide the properties into categories.
• Selection: Choose the most appropriate ones.

This set of words will help you choose a color scheme to visually identify your brand according to color theory.

Tools for selecting characteristic words

• wiktionary.org: Dictionary of synonyms and antonyms.
• Mind maps (miro.com, xmind.app): For organizing words.
• Chat GPT (or other LLMs): For working out ideas and grouping words.

Minus words: Avoid negativity

In addition to the two previous groups of words, it’s important to add another one – negative words. These are words you want to avoid because they can negatively affect the perception of your brand.

For example, for handmade products, these can be words related to mass production or automation. In addition to characteristic words, negative words will help to avoid misperception of the brand. If a brand is active and energetic, then negative words can be “slow” or “passive”.

Why do you need such a detailed word database?

This approach is useful not only for creating a name, slogan, or content. It can also help designers, copywriters, and even AI assistants better understand your needs. A word database will help you create a coherent visual communication and brand identity that accurately reflects your brand‘s essence.

This method is also useful for designers and copywriters working on projects without detailed brand descriptions. With these characteristics, they will be able to create designs and texts that will exactly meet your expectations.

Here’s where to start: Summary

Creating your own brand is a complex task that requires attention to detail. The right approach will allow you to create a strong brand that will successfully compete in the market. The first steps in creating a brand are crucial, so it’s important to choose your keywords and characteristics carefully.

Applying this express approach to brand development will help you create a solid foundation for your brand and avoid mistakes at the beginning of the journey. Don’t forget that brand uniqueness is the key to its success.

FAQ: Questions and Answers.

This article will help you take the first steps in creating a brand and lay a solid foundation for its development. Good luck in this important endeavor!