SEM for SMB: Creating a Memorable Business Identity
This session was presented by Tina Schweiger, the President of Spoonbend, Inc. last Wednesday at SEM for SMB, a SEM conference in Austin for small-to-medium businesses.
As Tina and her assistants handed out several fun things including sheets of company logos, legal size paper, safety scissors and glue sticks, I knew that this was going to be a different kind of session. Our assignment was to cut out the logos we liked and paste them onto our sheet of blank paper. She later used examples of attendees’ logo sheets as a tool to help the attendee talk out what they want out of their brand’s identity.
Tina’s goal for this session was to show the small-to-medium business owners how their identity is at the core of your brand, especially online. When evaluating your company’s online identity, creative decisions should be made in relation to website design & increasing conversions.
This notion struck a chord with me as a search engine marketer. In SEO, we focus on optimizing websites, evaluating keywords and attracting qualified leads for our clients. However, while a site may have the best, optimal SEO campaign ever, it’s not going to provide the value it should when qualified leads come to a website with an archaic site design and an unattractive color scheme, causing the traffic to hit the back button while shielding their eyes.
What encompasses a brand identity?
• Logo – Tina called it the “visual nugget” that delivers your brand’s promise.
• Color Palette – The colors chosen to represent your brand can influence and sway your potential customers. Monochromatic color schemes are often viewed as more sophisticated, while colorful palettes can signify excitement and youthfulness. Tina also noted that some businesses need to be aware of cultural responses to color, as correlations do differ around the world.
• Typography – Font style can also visually indicate a level of sophistication.
• Voice/Tone – How content is written sets expectations with your audience.
• Design – The layout of your site needs to help your audience get to the information they need quickly.
Tina suggested re-branding about once every 10 years, which is when design trends seem to turn over. This also allows a business to utilize new technology while re-branding, such as using improved software and web design techniques to help develop an updated identity. Companies should also consider refreshing the brand’s color palette more often. This can be done by keeping the same core colors (if desired) and altering the hues or bringing in a new secondary set of color. Be aware of “micro-trends” when choosing a color palette – just because the patriotic red-white-blue scheme has been popular does not mean it’s the best choice for your brand.
Overall, I was glad I attended a session a little outside the realm of SEM from the others offered because it focused more on branding design, which is a key part of online business success along with SEM. Tina presented her creative process in an accessible, common sense style and left everyone thinking about how their online brand identity influences their site’s visitors.
