How To Successfully DIY Your Pet Brand Part 4: Brand Elements & Social Media
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We’re wrapping up the How To Successfully DIY Your Pet Brand Blog Series Today with two VERY important pieces of your brand. In fact, if you implement both of these into your brand and business, you’re well on your way to stepping it up, wait for it….above and beyond MOST pet brands out there in the world.
Yea, it’s that important!
[And in case you missed it, this post is part 4 of Dox Design’s branding series on how to successfully DIY your pet brand! Be sure to read Part 1: Colors & Fonts, Part 2: Hierarchy & White Space, and Part 3: Photography & Copy, first].
Brand Elements: What Are They?
Simply put, brand elements are your icons, textures, or patterns you use with your brand.
It is what we at Dox Design like to call, ‘the special sauce’ to a brand that a professional brand designer brings to the table. It’s the extra layer that makes your brand realllllllyy stand out beyond picking a great color palette and utilizing professional fonts. Of course, this is not to negate the importance of brand colors and typeface, which we talked about in Part 1. However, when you start to add these special brand elements to your website, materials, and graphics, your brand can easily become more elevated and allows you to compete with the big boys.
It’s something that most DIY’ers and newbie designers may miss, which is why we’re telling you about it today! We want to make sure you don’t forget to implement key brand elements that can truly set you apart from other pet brands.
These elements can be anything from a concrete texture to a repeating paw shape. The most important thing to realize when it comes to brand elements is that they should make sense for your brand. For example, a bold brand might use geometric patterns whereas a natural brand might use softer floral elements. Make sense?
Here are some real-life examples of some of Dox Design’s brand elements at work:
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For East Paws Pet Service shown above, we created custom illustrations that we could use both as a pattern and design element throughout each piece of their business (website, social, packaging, etc.).
Can you begin to see the difference in the above example compared to the simple color choices in the background? Their brand becomes instantly recognizable across any platform they touch. Not only that, but you can also feel their personality in the patterns and elements: fun, warm, trustworthy, inviting, and professional.
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Above is another example of elements and patterns that significantly add another dimension to their brand - going from a simple red, black, and white palette to a more modern, stylish, and fun pet store!
How To Get Started With Brand Elements:
Most professional designers, including us at Dox Design, make custom patterns or icons as part of their branding packages, as again, it’is what elevates your brand to a professional level
If you are DIY’ing your brand, you can try to find pre-made brand elements and incorporate them on your website, social media, packaging, etc. You can find these on websites like Creative Market or IStock.
To get started, we suggest just picking one brand element that you can begin to integrate into all of your branding. Even that can make a big difference.
Social Media: What Does It Have To Do With My Brand?
One of the biggest mistakes we see businesses make, especially when they have quality branding, is forgetting to bring their branding guidelines into their social media.
Keep in mind, your brand encapsulates every single touchpoint of your business. This includes the way you interact with customers, your website, your print materials, your customer experience, your copy, and of course, your social media content.
Here is an example of the different ways you can implement your current branding and brand elements into your social media graphics:
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See how the colors, typeface, tone, and message stay clear and consistent?
So, why is it that so many brands aren’t making more strategic use of their brand on social media?
We guess is that it has something to do with the fact that many pet businesses still believe that marketing, no matter the platform, primarily serves as a place to make a sale. However, in today’s time and on social media, that’s the furthest from the truth!
A recent article on Buffer went so far as to say, “Social media is no longer a megaphone. It is now becoming a one-to-few — and often one-to-one — channel.” Essentially, social media isn’t the focus when it comes to gaining more traffic and conversions. It’s there to foster engagement, community, and relationships with your potential and current customers, which is why your branding is key.
How To Get Started With Branded Social Media Graphics:
Step 1: Research
Begin to look at other social media accounts and notice their branding, whether it’s great or is lacking some key features! These do not have to be pet businesses, by the way. If you want to see some examples of strategic brands that are consistent across platforms (including social media) in a way that we at Dox Design call #droolworthy, head on over to our #droolworthy design features on our blog. We also have a blog post that specifically features pet brands that are KILLING it on Instagram that you can find here.
Step 2 (Option 1): Create, create, create!
The next step is to simply get started! You can use a free graphic design tool like Canva to create graphics for your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and more. Be sure to integrate your fonts and colors into the graphics in order to keep things consistent. Remember, it also extends past the colors and typeface. When you start to think about captions and messages to post, think back to what your branding represents. How do you want to come across to your audience? What feelings do you want them to feel?
Step 2 (Option 2): Outsource & Get It Off Your Plate!
Dox Design knows how time-consuming it can be to perfect your social media graphics, which is why we go beyond just branding and web design. We create digital graphics that increase customer engagement and help you grow all of your social media channels so that you don’t have to worry about it! Check out the details of our social media graphics program here.
As we wrap up the challenge, just remember: Keep it consistent across ALL platforms, channels, and touchpoints. Make your brand MORE than just pretty colors and fonts. Make your audience FEEL something. The power of branding is exponential. It can make or break your business, which is why we’ve dedicated our work to helping pet people like YOU master it in your business!
If you’re ready to invest in changing the game, up-leveling your business, and ultimately increasing your profits, Dox Design has your back! All you have to do is schedule a free call with us now and we can see if we’re the right fit for you and your pet business.
Oh, and congratulations, Fur Friend! You’ve made it through the WHOLE series on How To Successfully DIY Your Brand! But, it doesn’t stop there. Now comes ALL of the implementation as well as staying up to date on trends and changes in the industry. If you want feedback, support, or community, head on over to the Dox Design Facebook Group, where we will be there waiting to help get you on your way to a #droolworthy brand.
Want to keep the blog series somewhere easily accessible? We recommend bookmarking the following pages, so you can use each part of the series as a reference when you go to up-level your brand!
Part 2: Hierarchy & White Space
Part 4: Brand Elements & Social Media
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