Strategy
18.8.22
14min

Why does Google care about brands? Brand marketing 2023

Building a brand ... it takes so much time, energy and requires a long haul. At a time when starting a business has never been easier, building a strong brand has simultaneously become more difficult. In this article, we will look at why a brand is important and how branding can help. You'll also learn about effective marketing tools.

Why does Google care about brands?

Google cares about brands because consumers care about brands. Because consumers care about brands, Google prioritizes them. To be a good SEO, you must not only have technical expertise, but also the holistic view of the business and a high degree of empathy plays a role in it.

Brand Marketing

If you came to SEO from a non-marketing background, but are still involved with SEO, it is important to have a broader understanding of brand marketing.

In short; Building brand awareness in an accessible, non-technical way. An effective brand strategy, also known as "brand strategy," can help a company meaningfully project an image of expertise, authority and trustworthiness. In this piece, we are going to look at some basic principles of good brand marketing that can help with this.

Why do we buy

Often it is not a conscious decision as to why someone chooses a particular product over others; in many cases it is a feeling and intuitive choice.

Clearly, "brand" can make all the difference.

You know: You keep trying, over and over, to tell them exactly what they should think of you. But they keep rejecting you every time that's traditional marketing. . . Branding is about making people feel something. It connects with your target audience, increases brand awareness and keeps your brand top-of-mind.  

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Branding - Marty Neumeier
"Aesthetics is the language of feeling, and in a society that's information rich and time-poor, people value feeling more than information." - Marty Neumeier

Marketing and branding

Marketing and branding are two different concepts, but they also have some similarities. Both are aimed at creating a positive image of an organization, product or service. They are also both aimed at increasing awareness and reaching a larger audience. Both are concerned with increasing the appreciation of a company, product or service and increasing customer loyalty.

The main difference between marketing and branding is that marketing focuses on sales and profits, while branding focuses on creating a positive image.

  1. Marketing is focused on convincing customers to buy a product
  2. Branding focuses on building a unique name and creating customer loyalty

Your brand is the beating heart of the organization. This means that it is based on the lasting feeling; the experience and emotion that consumers associate with your brand.

Distinctiveness key to success

When you think of a brand, you probably think of instantly applicable corporate identity design, packaging design, bold taglines, logos. FAIL a brand is just a perception, which in the mind of the customer becomes a FACT. These elements are only support for the brand, and not the brand itself. 

Ideas for a brand business infographic
Brands are abstract, multidimensional ideas

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It is your personality that is the differentiating factor. The first step in the process of a brand, is ALWAYS to look inside and see where the raw energy comes from. Stay close to yourself, know who you want to appeal to and what you want to achieve. 

Personality is defined by characteristics that set you apart from others. Tesla; stubborn, honest to god, passionate, gets to the point quickly, determined and goal-oriented. All these characteristics can be seen in the personality of a business. Through the choice of the color red, but also the use of humor in texts, Tesla ensures that the personality is expressed.

Photo: Chris Hunkler - Tesla logo at the charging station at Kettleman City, CA.
Photo: Chris Hunkeler

Brands are abstract, multidimensional ideas. A brand is a combination of a number of different qualities. These qualities do not always appear to be fixed.

Rather unique than thirteen in a dozen

A brand addresses a particular target audience. They are characterized by a desire, to create an emotional bond, ignoring rational product features.

cybertruck tesla groove digital
Cybertruck Tesla

Where is your 'following'

People would rather buy from a brand they trust than an unknown option. 81% say they would rather buy from someone they trust. You need to pay attention to your brand, because it is the first thing people see when they are considering partnering with you.

How do you win the difference?

Following trends and trying to outdo competitors by doing the same as them,is not enough to make your brand stand out in a crowded market. Using humor, recognizable language or intuitive design helps to create an emotional connection with the visitor. When we spend as much time on how we want people to experience our brand as we do on what we want to say about ourselves, we create real connections that bring our brand to life. A brand is built by a community, consisting of the company's employees as well as its customers, non-customers, suppliers, investors and ultimately its competitors. It is a complete ecosystem. Brand identity goes a step beyond the logo, packaging or product, a company's brand MUST permeate every communication a company has. A study by Zeno Group found that consumers are up to six times more likely to buy from companies with a strong purpose. This is a clear consumer desire.

Investor readiness

Strong brand with a following makes investors fall in love at first sight. A community is one of the key points investors look at. Inspired by this overview of innovative VCs worldwide (without Dutch investors, by the way). If there is no strong brand there is not much hope in what will happen. 

A brand is made 20% by marketing communications and 80% SWAG

With a brand you build a deep connection with your target group. A brand is a collection of expressions with which a company makes itself recognizable. Branding is the creation and monitoring of this.

What is the story of your brand?

Sharing stories is a great way to connect with people. When you hear a story, you can empathize with someone else and identify with their situation.

Stories serve many purposes in marketing. In our time, building trust is perhaps the most important of all!

In your world

This is why stories can be an incredible tool for winning over cold audiences. Especially in the B2C corner, but also in the B2B sector. How do you tell your most compelling brand story? Nothing works better than stories; it's the first form of communication. It's genetically ingrained in our 2000 year old brains. Plus stories can't be contradicted it is a story after all.

Authenticity

Your authenticity is your cultural value. The moment your target audience no longer sees your original mission, they go elsewhere.

To prevent a brand from being smeared over the company like a thin layer of makeup, it is important that it is not one person who has the direction and control of the brand. Make sure you involve everyone, from upper management to lower, so no one misses what needs to be done!

When do people feel connected to your brand? Consumers don't want to connect with brands. People want brands to connect with other people. Make your brand human!

Personification

Just like a person, a brand is about outward appearance, their way of talking, walking and thinking. It is all these things together PLUS what other people think of them. A brand is not just a name or logo branded on a piece of merchandise. Your brand means much, MUCH more than that! 

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The brand identity

  • Distinctiveness - Where the brand differs from competitors (USP).
  • Relevance - The brand must appeal to the target audience and segments.
  • Reputation - Respectability, trust and expectations.

Thus, the brand identity forms the basis of everything to do with the brandING, to formulate what the company wants to project to the world.

branding iceberg infographic - groove digital

In this way, your brand and branding, are one of the most powerful (and important) communicative tools in your marketing toolbox.

In plain language and with clear examples

Simply put: a product is what you sell, a brand is the image of the product you sell, and branding the strategy used to create that image.

If you've read this far, it's clear that you believe in a strong brand that can grow and expand your connections with your community. Contact us if you'd like an informal conversation about how we can help you.

You are building a brand strategy!

Your brand strategy describes in detail how you bring the essence of your brand (bottom of the iceberg) to life in a tangible way (top of the iceberg), so that your brand is clear, coherent and consistent for your customers. Your visual identity is a tool to visually communicate your work, supporting your brand strategy. Therefore, before you dive into your brand identity, it's important to have a clearly defined brand strategy!

What's in your brand strategy:

  1. The foundation of the brand (purpose, mission, values, positioning statement).
  2. Brand messages (brand promise, personality, tagline, the most important things you want to talk about).
  3. Brand identity (visual elements: logo, color, typography, and TOV tone of voice).
video still Steve jobs long ago - Groove Digital
Rare 1997 video demonstrating Steve Jobs' marketing genius
"To me, marketing is about values," he said. "This is a very complicated world, a very noisy world and we're not going to get the chance to get people to remember us. No company is. So we have to be very clear about what we want people to know about us." - Steve Jobs

Coming up with a clever slogan or "brand promise. Answer the question, "Why do we exist?"

Examples:

HEMA makes everyday life easier and more fun, whoever and wherever you are. Simply. HEMA.

The founders of NAĂŹF want to save the oceans with baby wipes. How the baby care industry harms the environment, and babies, led to the creation of NAĂŹF. With their brand, they want to change the world of cosmetics.

Nike's brand promise goes far beyond the famous slogan: "Just do it." Nike's brand promise is: "Bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world." The asterisk in the brand promise says that if you have a body, you are an athlete.

What is the mission of your brand?

Answer the question, "What are we doing here? How are we helping to create the future?"

Examples:

Casper: We are setting a new standard in sleep innovation.

Tesla: To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.

Zoom: Make communication frictionless.

What are your brand values?

Answer the question, "How will we conduct ourselves to support and pursue our mission, vision and purpose?" (up to 5 to start with)

Example: Patagonia

Build the best product: Our criteria for the best product rests on function, repairability, and, most importantly, durability. One of the most direct ways we can reduce our environmental impact is with goods that last for generations or can be 0recycled so that the materials in them, remain in use. Making the best product possible is important for saving the planet. Don't cause unnecessary harm: We know that our business activities-from lighting stores to dyeing shirts-are part of the problem. We're working hard to change our business practices and sharing what we've learned. We're not just trying to do less harm, but more good. Use business to protect nature: The challenges we face as a society require leadership. As soon as we feel a problem coming, we deal with it. We embrace risk and act, to protect and restore the stability, integrity and beauty of the web of life. Not bound by conventions: Our success - and much of the fun - is in developing new ways of doing things.

What does your positioning look like?

Building a great product/service is not enough to stand out in the market. What you need is a compelling message, one that speaks to your audience and is unique to your brand. Marketing and sales teams use this statement to guide their messaging and ensure that all communications are consistent.

What is a positioning statement

A positioning statement describes your product and target groups and explains how it fulfills market needs. This is how you position a brand uniquely and distinctively.

Drafting a positioning statement

Complete this sample sentence for yourself to write a brand positioning statement if you are not sure if you have one. For [target audience], Brand is the only [category or frame of reference] that provides [points of differentiation/benefits] because [reasons to believe].

With a sharp and personal positioning, you can occupy a preferred position in the mind of your ideal target group.

For example:

Kappa: the ultimate sports brand for trendy athletes. The Italian manufacturer Kappa makes sportswear and everyday wear for him and her, young and old.

Do this long enough, et voilĂ :You have a powerful personal brand.

Strengths → Opportunities: Without positioning, you will never become a strong brand 

An excellent example of a positioning statement is that of Avis, a car rental company: "Avis is only number 2. We try harder." Attracting attention is one of the main goals of any marketer. It had succeeded! In the 1960s, when this ad campaign was developed, admitting that you were less than number one was contrary to most marketing efforts. But this very fact caught the attention of consumers. Read more about Avis' campaign here.

The process of identifying, understanding and putting into words each of these elements can be complicated. But essential in putting together the foundation of your brand.

FAQ

What is a brand?
A
brand is considered one of the most valuable and important assets a company can have. In fact, many companies are often described by their brand, meaning they are inextricably linked and become one and the same.

What is the role of branding?

Branding is a form of marketing in which a company is created a name, symbol or logo and an overall design that can be easily recognized as the company itself. It is an essential part of B2C and B2B marketing.

Why is a clear target audience important for your Brand?
Brands with a clear target audience know what their chosen audience wants and desires and know how to respond to it.

What are 5 key elements of a brand?

Brand Position
Brand Promise
Brand Personality
Brand Story
Brand Associations

What is the brand strategy?

It is basically the process of building and creating a strong profile of your brand. It is usually divided into 3 stages:

1. Align brand with objectives.
2. Develop brand presence and tools.
3. Be consistent and visually solid.

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Summary

Brands/Brands are just imaginations, but in the mind of the customer they become facts. Having a strong brand offers many benefits.A brand is a relationship, without an emotional connection, the relationship will not last. Distinctiveness is the key to success.

It's now up to you to think about how to set up your own brand and how to use it to connect with your target audience in a consistent way.

If you'd rather not design your own logo, but have a limited marketing budget, you're not alone.

The good news is that there are several ways to help you do this.

Just send us an email: hello@groove-digital.nl.

Useful links

Brands as a mean of consumer self-expression and desired personal
lifestyle ScienceDirect

We develop powerful retail formulas

5 Brands Successfully Using Information to Engage

Generate your next company name with Namelix

What will digital marketing look like in 20 years? Forbes

Overview innovative VCs worldwide

Strong position statement Avis No2 campaign

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Ps. Want to learn more about branding and marketing? Then follow us on Instagram for daily tips and inspiration on branding, mindset and entrepreneurship.

Mo Sahardid

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