One of the main things that attracted me to join Moonshot Pirates was the fact that I would become a space pirate by doing so. I loved that idea and I instantly connected with their vision combined with the look and feel of their website.
Of course, now that I’m part of the Moonshot Pirates Crew, this all sounds a little biased. The point is not to praise our brand, but to show how important branding is for everything you do and hope to achieve. It has more power than you might think.
Essentially, your brand is what:
- makes you stand out from the competition
- connects your audience with your products or services
- directs and guides all your business choices
- constitutes the company’s identity
It’s the connector of everything you stand for, everything you do, and everything you hope to achieve. It’s the bridge between your business, your marketing, your internal and external communication, your work culture, your design – basically every element of your business or project.
So how do you go about creating a powerful brand? Read on, pirate, read on!
How to Create Your Brand
Step 1
Your identity needs a core – a clearly defined WHY that functions as the foundation of everything else. So begin with Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle and figure out the WHY, the HOW, and the WHAT of your company or organization (in that order!).
- What’s your mission?
- What’s your vision?
- What are your guiding principles?
To be guided through a process of how to work with the Golden Circle, click 👉 here.
Step 2
Next, it’s time to add some flesh to your brand identity. Clearly define what you stand for and then stick to that standpoint. You don’t want to represent everyone. Being the go-to for the common denominator is not a sign of quality. The more edge and focus you have, the stronger your brand will be.
- Who is your target audience?
- What are your values?
- What are absolute no-gos and what would you stand up for?
Step 3
Once you know your company’s mission, vision, and values, it’s time to find a suitable name. It should be something that aligns with your Golden Circle and at the same time is unique. Here is a check-list to keep in mind when you find a name:
- Is the domain name available? You’ll need a website in this digital day and age, so don’t pick a name that will guide your future customers to other companies’ websites or is too long.
- Is it easy to remember and pronounce your name? The best kind of promotion you can get is word-of-mouth, but if no one can remember or pronounce your brand name, you won’t have access to this kind of free and powerful marketing.
- Is it international? Unless it’s your goal to stay local, you should go for a name that works on a global scale, meaning not using weird letters nor words with problematic meanings in English.
After you have found a name, create a logo, find suitable colors, and design some visuals and a style you can use for all your materials.
Step 4
Make sure that every single part of your marketing is aligned: Your website’s design, your logo, your communication on your channels, your user experience – everything needs to match, otherwise your branding is weak and you lose credibility. Consistency is key!
For this part, it might be good to create a mood board and develop a tagline – something that gives you and everyone else a clear sense of your core identity.
What makes Branding so Powerful?
Users don’t identify with a product; they identify with everything the product stands for. A thousand different companies produce the same products with the same quality, but what makes some successful and others not is the quality of their brand.
If a brand works really well, whole communities and followings develop around it. Once that happens, people will queue up in front of shops days in advance to get the latest product as soon as possible regardless of the price. They will create a collection of your products and a hype around them you’d otherwise never get. A strong brand turns your users into your ambassadors.
So before you move too far ahead with your projects and ideas, reflect on the brand of what you’re building. It can have a decisive effect on your chances of success.
Remember:
Branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room.
– Jeff Bezos
So create something epic!
