As with most creative agencies, Ubuntu Productions’ service offering has evolved over time. Today, we cover most of our clients’ needs for a complete online presence, but four years ago we started out focusing on designing and building websites.
It didn’t take us long to realise that our offering was lacking, as most of the companies that needed our services were just starting out and didn’t have any sort of branding guidelines in place. They may have had a rough idea for a logo and intuitively knew the colours they wanted to use, but they lacked a study of their core values and the fonts and other branding elements needed to effectively communicate their message and convey the desired mood of their company.
As our intention has always been to provide the most comprehensive service possible to simplify the entrepreneurial journey of our clients, we decided to offer them small branding packages. These included the creation of a simple but effective logo, research into their core values, research into the colours and typography to reinforce those values, and a very simple style guide on how to use all these elements.
Needless to say, these packaged helped them a lot in their early days, and we think that by putting together some information about why branding is essential for small businesses, we can help you too. So, let’s dive a bit deeper into the power of branding 😊.
Why is branding important for small businesses?
When you start a business there are a million things to think about, we know 🙃 Most new entrepreneurs understand the need for a website, but they may not have thought about the need to build a brand strategy. So why focus on it?
Branding helps you create a unique and recognisable identity for your business. In today’s competitive marketplace, small businesses like yours face many challenges when it comes to standing out from the crowd. One effective way to differentiate your services and make a lasting impression is to build a strong brand identity from the beginning.
We are not saying that this will make designing your materials easier from the very beginning, but over time, as you use the same assets repeatedly, you will be able to streamline your process, gain a huge boost in efficiency, and have a cohesive and recognisable branding. Sounds great, right?
There are many more reasons why branding is important for all types of businesses, whatever stage they are at. However, we believe the reasons stated above are especially significant for small businesses.
But as important as having a strong branding, is to have your assets organized and accessible, and that’s what we are going to look at in the following section.
How to keep your branding assets organized.
Keeping your branding assets organised is essential if you want to unlock the potential of branding for consistency and efficiency. The approach you use depends on a few factors.
a. Having them in your own computer
Are you a solopreneur and you are creating all the marketing elements for your company? Then having the assets on your own computer organized in folders is all you need. But remember to always have two backups of all the folders that are critical to your company 🙌🏽
b. Storing them on the Cloud
Whether you hired someone for your graphic design and marketing or need to access your assets from wherever you are, having your assets in the cloud is the best option. But which services are best?
b.1 Google Drive, Dropbox or similar
A simple solution that we can’t recommend is uploading them to services like Google Drive, One Drive, iCloud or similar. Chances are that you already have access to one of those services, and if you don’t need anything specific, they can be a practical solution to have your assets storage on the cloud. But, why do we say that we don’t recommend this option?
These services are great as a general storage option but they are not ideal for organizing your branding materials visually. To understand what I mean, take a look at this examples.
b.2 Using a solution tailored for storage branding assets.
As you can see in the images above, this is a visually appealing and super organized way to storage and have access to your assets. If this is something you are interested in having access to, please write us, we offer the service for 60€/year + a setup fee.
b.3 Using Canva’s brand kit.
If you are starting a business, or are a solopreneur or freelancer or entrepreneur, chances are that at some point you are making the graphics for your company by yourself using Canva to create your marketing materials, at least in the beginning. Canva is a simple-to-use tool for design that enables anyone to produce attractive graphic designs.
However, if designing is not your forte and you consistently face frustration when trying to create something appealing, it’s much better to get someone to create the materials for you than not creating them at all. So if you struggle with designing, we are here to assist you. Simply send us in**@up**.fi“>a message.
The branding kit feature on Canva has developed over time and is now a very powerful tool. We have a whole video about how to create your Brand Kit in Canva, so if this is something you are interested in, have a look.
Do you need branding services? Contact us!
At this point, we hope you understand the power that good branding can have on your journey as an entrepreneur. Establishing a good brand from the start will help you communicate your message better, build trust and credibility when it’s most crucial, and ensure consistency and efficiency in your marketing strategies.
So whether you are just starting out or need to rebrand your company, we provide these services with simplicity, creativity and exquisite attention to detail and organisation. Check out our branding section on the “websites” page and in our graphic design portfolio, and schedule a chat to discuss your needs.
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Sending love from a small island in the Finnish archipelago 💚