Attract the Right Job or Clientele:  Branding Strategies That Anyone Can Use

Big marketing efforts require big marketing budgets, right? Professional marketing is a service that you purchase, yes. But business owners can elevate their own branding strategies with no outside help and an investment of little more than time. It will take some effort and some research, but literally anyone can improve their brand, which can help marketing efforts while increasing your customer base. Here are a few tips anyone can use.

You don't need to have a big budget – basic brand maintenance can go a long way for free.

Establish Continuity Across All Channels

Every single item that represents your business – from your website to your social pages to your business cards – should project your brand. Your fonts, color scheme, images and general look and feel should be consistent across all your channels. As discussed in the article "These 8 Simple Things Will Reinforce Your Small Business' Brand Online," you should use no more than three main fonts across all your channels. When a buyer clicks one of your ads, the landing page it leads to should leave no doubt in the visitor's mind the they have ended up in the right place.

Visual Dominates Social: Pay Attention to Images

Image-based social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram are the fastest growing networks in the world. Each year, image-based content gobbles up a bigger chunk of the online marketing pie. It is critical, then, to understand how the requirements of image size and how dimensions differ from network to network.

Pinterest, for example, is dominated by vertical images. Instagram photos are square. Horizontal is the mainstay for most other sites, but with varying dimensions. Social sites littered with bad images look amateurish and don't exude credibility, which, of course, is bad for your brand. This image dimension cheat sheet is a great guide, but keep in mind, design standards evolve and change all the time!

There is no Power Greater Than Video – Use it!

Video is arguably the single most powerful and compelling medium in existence. Research shows that one-third of all online activity is spent watching videos. 80 percent of Internet users remember the ads they view online. On average, users are exposed to more than one video every day.

But this is not all casual viewing – business branding is directly tied to online video consumption. Half of all users watch business videos on YouTube once a week and an amazing 75 percent of users visit the business's website after watching their video.

Every branding strategy should incorporate video.

You should incorporate video on your website, in your content, on your landing pages and in your social posts. But the fundamentals should come first. Coordinate fonts, colors, themes, images and functionality across all your channels. Keep an eye on image selection and photo dimensions. Before you spend a single dollar on branding, make sure you've done what you can to tidy up your brand on your own for free.

Andrew Lisa is a freelance business writer. He covers digital marketing and advertising.

Following Lisa's guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

Read Additional Sales Strategies:

Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks

HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews, Career Press