HOW SHOULD I USE MY BRAND?

=> Create a Logo for Your Brand

Your logo is NOT your brand but your logo should allow your
brand to be instantly recognized by those familiar with it. To
this extent, your logo helps create and reinforce brand
awareness.

The logo you create should be able to be used consistently in a
variety of different media. It should be suitable for corporate
letterhead and business cards, as well as for your website and
corporate signage (if any). You do NOT want a confusing mishmash
of logos and banners and heaven knows what else. Everything you
produce needs to use the same, consistent style of logo so that,
over time, your logo becomes synonymous with your brand. Instant
recognition is what you're going for here, so don't dilute it by
using several different logos for different purposes.

=> Consistent Usage of Company Name, Logo and Tag Line

Going back to our webhosting example, putting the brand name and
tagline together, the physical manifestation of your brand will
be:

RELIABLE WEBHOSTING Outstanding reliability and technical
support at a price your small business can afford.

To establish brand awareness, this branding needs to be used
consistently and frequently in everything your produce, whether
that be letters to clients, business cards, brochures,
quotations, invoices, advertising, promotion, on your website,
on the front door of your principal place of business and on
your products. And don't forget to be consistent in your use of
color schemes. These can be powerful brand reinforcers.

=> Marketing and Promotion of Your Brand

Once you've created your brand, you need to market and promote
it, in addition to your products and services. This is how you
establish your credibility and relevance to your target market.
You can hopefully see why your brand needs to be suggestive of
your mission statement. If, at the same time as you're selling
your products and services you also push your brand, your brand
becomes synonymous with your products and services. And vice
versa.

A properly descriptive brand and high brand awareness amongst
your target market will allow you to more easily introduce a
wider range of products and services when they're developed
without having to start by again selling who you are, what you
do and how you do it first. Your brand has already presold YOU.
Your job then is to sell your products and services.