When talking about branding it is important to understand what a brand is and what its functions are. One definition of a brand is: “Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value. Furthermore, by knowing the definition of a brand it is essential to look at a brands functions and what the concept incorporates. The functions of the brand have shifted during time adapting to the evolution of media and adapting to the needs of the consumer. It has evolved from being a mere communication strategy to becoming a central point in every company, impersonating a lifestyle through the image that they communicate to their audience. Today, everything that surrounds us has transformed into a brand switching from not only corporations but to “politics, countries, artists, celebrities and educational establishments”
Although functions of the brand may have evolved, the main function still remains to build a relationship with the customer. A relationship based on an exchange of offering and buying. A brand does not merely offer a product it offers a service, an experience in which the customer is involved, for example brands nowadays have turned the purchase of a product in to an experience of its own.
As a digital agency in London, we represent brands on social media channels and have seen the growth of the importance that this new medium has brought to the world of brands. It has offered first of all the opportunity for smaller brands to gain exposure at smaller prices that going in to a big agency that would charge them a lot. It has also redefined how people perceive visual content it has educated people in to curating content, which is a good thing and social media platforms such as Instagram, have become a form of expression.
So putting your brand on social media can be a great game changer it can boost traffic on your website and even boost sales for your company. It has become a core medium for brands ranging from small to big, everyone understands the importance of social media. Also, branding on Instagram for example plays a key role, in attracting people to become customers of the brand.
