Strengthening your brand doesn’t always mean a complete overhaul of your company’s current designs. Just a few tweaks to your current processes will create more cohesion across your visual identity. Once everything is in alignment, you—and your clients—will notice the difference! A strong brand clearly communicates who you are, resonates with your audience, and creates dedicated, repeat clients.
5 Steps to a Stronger Brand
Here are 5 simple solutions for private investors and lenders (non-designers) to embrace a stronger brand.
1. Use a branded email signature
Branded email signatures make every email you send look professional and act as your digital business card. You’ll have your logo, title, and contact information, including social media. It sends the message that you are acting on behalf of your company – not engaging in a personal conversation.
Creating a branded email signature doesn’t mean learning how to code or navigate an invisible table. Free email signature generators can do the work for you! Upload your logo or headshot, enter your name, contact information, export to your mailbox, and save your polished email signature.
2. Update your Zoom background
Even though we’ve been using Zoom for a couple of years now, many in leadership still haven’t settled into their home office and taken time to organize their shelves or fix the long awaited paint job. Yep, we’ve noticed! Update your Zoom background to make it look like you’re sitting in a clean and bright office space. There are plenty of free resources like Unsplash, Zoom, and Pexels.
While it might be tempting to set your background to look like you’re on a private island, you want your clients to know that you’re dedicated to getting the job done, not thinking about being on a beach. Set a background image that almost convinces them you are back in an office.
3. Share original blog articles
Stop sending your connections links to “great articles” from your competition and start creating your own original content! It will communicate your expertise in your field and help your website rank higher in Google search results.
You can also copy company blog posts and post them to your LinkedIn as your own. It’s completely allowed! It tells your connections that you’re genuinely interested in the work you do and that you want to educate them about the great work that’s being done.
4. Update headshots
When was the last time you updated that little icon that hangs out in the corner of your social media, Zoom, and email accounts? Your icons should have a current photo of you that is not a selfie, wedding photo, or group photo. Local professional photographers don’t need to run you thousands of dollars for headshots of your team. Commit to a photoshoot with an expert to capture your personality (and lighting that won’t white out your face).
If you don’t have a professional headshot, ask a friend to come over and take a picture of you looking right at the camera – cell phone cameras are fine. Consider the background (and what else is in that background). White walls are fine as long as you aren’t looking stagnant. Experiment with shots in the office or even outside.
Or use pfpmaker to take a great picture you already have to remove the background, adjust lighting, and make a great profile picture!
Upload the same image to every platform. Consistency is key.
5. Reduce clutter on your website
Strip your website down to the essentials. You don’t need stock photos that take up space and add zero value to your website. Cut back on the excessive, keyword-packed text and repeated text. Your audience isn’t a computer! They want to read well-crafted sentences that communicate what you can do for them.
Harford Designs for Financial Branding
When in doubt, talk to the professionals. Harford Designs is a financial branding firm that specializes in branding and website redesign. When your organization is ready to commit to a total redesign, don’t go it alone. Call in the experts! Get in touch with us today to get started. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have about the process.
