Color palette

A brand color palette is a carefully selected set of colors that are consistently used across all brand communications.

As an example, whose color palette is this? 

Instagram, of course!

Instagram’s color palette is vibrant and distinctive, reflecting the brand’s youthful and playful identity and evoking a sense of creativity, joy, and self-expression. Their new, dynamic color gradient adds energy to the Instagram platform experience.

Typography

Brand typography are the specific fonts and typography styles used for the brand’s written content. Nike’s “Nike Futura” custom typeface, for example, is bold, and dynamic and conveys a sense of power, energy, and forward momentum. 

It’s used in their logo:

And on their website:

Nike’s typography visually supports its brand identity of athleticism and motion.

Visual style

The brand’s visual style is the overall aesthetic and visual elements, such as imagery, graphics and design principles, that reflect the brand’s personality. Patagonia’s visual style, for example, features scenic landscapes, active lifestyles, and a focus on nature.

Patagonia’s use of earthy tones, natural textures, and rugged imagery reflects its dedication to environmental sustainability and outdoor exploration.

Brand messaging

The messaging is the core messages, slogans, taglines, and key statements that communicate the brand’s unique value proposition and resonate with its target audience. Coca-Cola’s brand messaging, for example, centers around happiness, togetherness, and refreshing experiences. 

A sampling of Coca-Cola’s taglines and ad campaigns from the past 20 years include “Life Tastes Good” (2001), “Open Happiness” (2009), “Share a Coke” (2011), and “Taste the Feeling” (2016), all with strong messaging of sharing moments of joy, spreading positivity and creating connections.

Brand values

Brand values are the fundamental principles and beliefs that guide the brand’s actions and interactions with customers, stakeholders, and the broader community. Empathy, a platform to help people who have lost a loved one with all the technical and emotional aspects of the loss, is very clear on their brand mission – “to change the way the world deals with loss” – and their associated core values – being trustworthy, empowering, unconditional and caring.

Empathy’s values manifest in all their brand actions and interactions, from client-facing offerings to external organizations they support, defining a strong, consistent brand identity.

Generate a company-wide email signature with WiseStamp

One of the most obvious changes was to Chobani’s typography:

The old font was sans-serif, uppercase and angular, giving over a very modern, even distant, feel. The new font is serif, softer and gives distinct prominence to the lowercase letters, creating an inviting, informal and intimate feel. 

Moving on to their visual identity, the Chobani creative team focused on hand-drawn, “imperfect” images and a color palette focused around browns, off-whites and other colors recalling nature.

Chobani’s tone of voice is clear on their respect for nature. It’s telling that when Chobani expanded into oat milk, they promoted their new product by holding up real milk as worthy of admiration, not by denigrating it (a common theme among brands that produce plant-based milk products).

When Chobani built a new workplace in Melbourne, Australia, the very design was an expression of their corporate identity in its:

• locally and sustainably sourced rammed earth wall that serves as the “spine” of the entire complex 
• incorporation of recycled timber in a majority of the tables and doors
• finishes and textures of the interior spaces that reflect natural elements and the down-to-earth nature of Chobani’s talent
• blurring the lines between staff and visitor spaces by intentionally linking them with a cafe in the middle
• outdoor collaboration spaces that facilitate incidental interactions, knowledge sharing and connection
• a laneway decorated by local graffiti artists who created pieces that reflected the Chobani vibe

Intel

Recognize what brand goes… err.. “inside” these circles?

There’s no doubt about it. It’s Intel. 

Founded in 1968, Intel’s brand identity was always about embracing innovation and ingenuity and powering progress through state-of-the-art technology. 

In 1991, the Intel Inside campaign took their brand identity to the next level by communicating their CI branding in a way that the layperson could appreciate. The logo was simple and easy to understand: Intel is the power behind the throne of progress and innovation. The logo’s design featured two words in informal script inside an imperfect circle, conveying a “breezy straightforwardness,” a message directed toward the non-techie. The Intel Inside circle evolved, appropriately, as computing devices become commonplace and end-users grew more savvy and discerning, taking on a more classy and streamlined appearance in 2006.

Intel’s rebrand

Intel changed its visual brand in 2020, taking on a new look and feel while clearly remaining true to their brand history and identity. Their new logo is characterized by simplicity and balance, keeping some of the best design elements of past logos. And it keeps the blue that users have come to associate with Intel, while expanding the palette to blues in different hues.

Instead of circles, the symbology focus in the new Intel visual identity is the square: the one that dots the “i.” This square, referred to as the “Spark”, symbolizes the power and potential Intel microprocessor. It is meant to convey the heart of Intel’s brand messaging: “all you need is an idea and Intel Inside to do something truly wonderful.” 

The post Brand identity deconstructed: How to build a powerful corporate identity (With Examples) appeared first on WiseStamp.

What is rebranding?

Rebranding is a catch-all term that refers to a decision to revamp a company’s brand identity, which typically includes visual aspects, such as its logo, colors, typography, website, and product images. However, rebranding often means more than an aesthetic change – it can cover a new brand voice, messaging, pain points, and other fundamentals that demonstrate a business’ value proposition for its clients and customers.

What is the purpose of rebranding?

There are a number of reasons why rebranding a business may be a necessary step. From getting a leg up on your competitors to communicating changes within your venture, rebranding is critical for making sure that your audience, competitors, and existing customers understand exactly who your company is, why they should care, and how you can bring them value.

1. Gain a competitive edge

One popular reason that businesses embrace company rebranding is to stand out from the pack in a crowded market. An eye-popping visual aesthetic, replete with clever or irreverent messaging on your site’s home page, can help you shine when reaching out to customers who are overwhelmed by multiple options in your industry.

Beyond the visual changes that come with rebranding, you can use your rebrand to more clearly and obviously communicate your company’s differentiators from competitors. A smart rebranding strategy will focus on your business’ strongest points and promote them, from both an aesthetic and messaging standpoint.

2. Your business has evolved

It’s likely that your company, its offerings, and its value for customers have changed since the initial launch. If your company has merged with or acquired a new enterprise, a rebrand can demonstrate this major change to the public. 

It’s incredibly important that your branding accurately reflects your services and company values, so it’s a good idea to periodically update your branding. Rebranding products is also a great way to better express the benefits of your offerings to your audience, as well as make them more appealing to consumers unfamiliar with your business.

3. Reposition according to new goals and markets

If you’ve switched up your core operational strategy and functions – for example, switching from a B2B to a B2C model – or made dramatic changes to your core products or services, a rebrand is a critical move. The same goes for if you’ve decided to pivot and are now focused on a new sector or industry; you need a branding that’s specifically suited to your space.

When is it time to rebrand?

The answer to this question will be different for every company, depending on that business’s unique needs and market standing. But as a general rule of thumb, if your messaging is no longer accurately expressing what you’re offering to your customers, ownership or the composition of your business has changed due to a merger or acquisition, or your branding feels irrelevant, stale, and that it doesn’t resonate with modern consumers, it’s probably time to consider rebranding your business.

8 steps to rebranding a company

These steps can help you achieve an effective, powerful rebrand that will refresh interest and raise awareness around your company.

1. Identify your audience 

Before committing to a new look or voice, it’s crucial that you figure out exactly who you’re speaking to and whose eyeballs you want on your brand. If you’re reaching out to a new geographic audience in a different country, market research is key to understanding what visuals and graphics will resonate with your target market. 

Likewise, if you’ve pivoted your business model to focus on a new sector or industry, you need to understand the market landscape and branding used by your competitors in that space. Once you know who you’re attempting to reach and what branding is more likely to interest them, you can make smarter decisions and create an effective rebranding plan.  

2. Ensure that you’re aligned on brand identity and core values

This is the time to buckle down and take stock of whether your current branding demonstrates what matters most to your company. If one of your strongest selling points is decades of experience and a classic approach towards customer service and your offerings, funky typography, eye-popping bright colors, and an ironic voice likely won’t be the right fit.

During this phase, it’s crucial that stakeholders and decision-makers sit down and hash out precisely the pain points and messages that you want to express to your existing customers and new audiences. Your whole team must be in agreement on core values and brand identity in order for your rebranding effort to be successful. 

3. Analyze what’s working and what isn’t

Before rushing into a dramatic overhaul and scrapping the branding that your company has used for years and is familiar to your customers, you should conduct extensive research. An educated decision about what changes to make is key. 

Rebranding your logo and producing something entirely new from scratch can potentially be the wrong decision, should it render your company unrecognizable to your clients and people who are already aware of the brand.

Mind the “little” details

Small changes, like capitalization, slight color tweaks, and using different shapes with your traditional wording and tagline, can have a big impact. Conversely, if you find that your current branding – perhaps created when your company was first launched and had a smaller budget for design and branding – isn’t cutting it, this is the ideal to start over and create something brilliant.

There’s a reason why startup rebranding is so common. Oftentimes, a company’s mission or target audience changes as the business grows to scale. Make sure that your business’s current value proposition is clear in your branding.

4. Get creative and have fun 

Effective corporate rebranding can mean thinking outside of the box and expressing your brand identity in an imaginative, unexpected way. While those in more traditional and regulated industries – such as finance, insurance, and law – might feel like they need to stick to more conventional branding, there’s still wiggle room to show some personality and create a distinctive voice and visuals for your business.

5. Look to the future and long-term shifts

While you definitely want your rebranding design to be relevant in terms of what’s trending in the modern landscape, you should ultimately choose a look and voice that have staying power. It’s a tough balance to strike, but you need to find a rebranding design that is fresh and up-to-date, yet isn’t overly “of the moment.” Beware of embracing visuals or a voice that will seem dated a decade from now. 

You can also identify and follow trends that have emerged in your industry in recent years, given that they’re part of a sector-wide shift in how companies brand themselves and relate to their customers  For example, the person-first brand identity of many tech companies, which includes both friendly visual design and a casual voice, shows no signs of going away anytime soon. 

6. Consider retaining rebranding experts

While you may have awesome marketing and graphic design teams within your company, a large-scale rebrand could require you to recruit external professionals who provide rebranding services. They can give you expert guidance on choosing the right rebranding design for your organization, the ideal timing for your rebranding launch, and other aspects of rolling out your new aesthetics and messaging for the best possible results. 

7. Fully commit to the launch, including a comprehensive plan

Casually unveiling your new look one day is not going to be enough to create buzz and excitement around your company. Successful rebranding requires a plan of action beforehand, which sees you engage with your existing and potential customers and hint about the rebranding before it officially launches.

That could look like social media campaigns teasing your followers that something big or new is coming, creating a video reintroducing your company to the world, or even recruiting influencers in your space to help you unveil your rebranding. 

Ensuring that the public is aware that important news about your company is on the horizon increases the likelihood that your rebranding will make a bigger impact.

8. Don’t forget about internal branding  

Rolling out a rebrand means making sure that everyone in your organization is on board with your new look. That means crossing all your T’s and dotting your I’s, down to email signatures. 

This often-overlooked aspect of branding is actually a very important one – when you’re sending emails to existing clients, vendors, or industry colleagues outside of your company, your email signature should include the most up-to-date logo and typography of your business.

Branded email signature example

To

Subject

Make it yours

This visual reminder to both staff and external contacts is critical for establishing your brand’s new identity. Don’t forget to review all your brand collateral materials, such as brochures, product descriptions, business cards, and stationery, to make sure that they’re in line with your rebranding.

Create a free branded email signature with the WiseStamp signature generator

How to avoid common rebranding mistakes

There are some common errors that can see your rebranding effort to fall flat. Here’s how to ensure that your rebrand has the best possible impact on your business.

• Generally speaking, the worst rebrands are ones without a clear, unified message and no overall sense of continuity or purpose. Sometimes this happens to organizations that are failing or stagnant, and who launch a rebrand as a last-ditch effort without properly thinking about what they’re trying to achieve or what they want to communicate.

• Rebrandings go wrong when decision-makers at the company aren’t in agreement about their vision for the updated brand identity. Understanding what messaging, pain points and personality should be front and center, as well as what aspects of the old branding should remain in place, is crucial.
  
• Impulsively rebranding without a solid, months-long plan in place for your new launch, is bound to end in disappointment. Be sure to set aside the time to prepare for your rebranding debut, including rolling out your rebranding internally, building hype ahead of the launch, and market research to confirm that your new branding will resonate with your existing and potential customers.

When is rebranding a bad idea?

The old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” definitely applies here. Think about the classic, catchy McDonald’s’ tagline: “I’m loving it.” It’s been in use for decades and evokes instant brand recognition among its customers.

Should McDonald’s abruptly decide to change their tagline, they would likely experience backlash and bewilderment from the public. If your current branding is serving your company well, change for the sake of change could be the wrong move.

Timing is extremely important when it comes to rebranding. If you’ve rebranded within the last few years, you may want to wait before once again rolling out a new look to avoid confusing and frustrating your customers. Too many rebrands in a short time period can turn off consumers and cause the public to struggle to recognize or identify your business.

6 amazing rebrand examples

Thanks to their creativity, respectful nods to the past and company legacy, and imaginative reinterpretation of their brand identities, these are the best rebrands we’ve seen in recent years.

1. Burger King

This fast food giant decided to go old school in its 2021 rebranding, reintroducing a slightly tweaked version of its pre-1999 logo. Featuring bold red letters, placed between hamburger buns, the Burger King logo is easy to understand and evokes a sense of nostalgia among customers who remember the original logo used during the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

2. Cadillac

The American car brand has stayed strong throughout its decades on the market, but its luxury factor has been overlooked in recent years by alternatives from Europe and Asia. In order to push its image as a premier-class, luxury carmaker, Cadillac rolled out a new, sleek logo that incorporated the instantly-recognizable checkered features from its original logo, in an elevated package.

3. Mastercard

Mastercard’s iconic logo features two overlapping red and orange circles, and the company wisely decided to keep this distinctive aspect of its logo when rebranding. Because the geometric shapes instantly call to mind the Mastercard brand, the company decided to drop the wording from its logo. The result is a streamlined logo which still has powerful brand recognition.

4. Burberry

British luxury fashion brand Burberry has been in business since 1856, and is known for its classic, timeless design. Burberry kept its straightforward, traditional look in its new branding, by incorporating classic shapes and a bold font, while incorporating eye-catching yet understated orange, red, and white geometric patterns featured on its website.

5. Slack

One of the most popular workplace instant messaging applications, Slack is a staple of workday operations for millions of people. After using the same logo and branding since its founding in 2013, Slack rolled out a new logo and icon that better expressed what the company actually does – enable lightning-fast communication between people. The new logo features a series of speech bubbles, an easy-to-understand demonstration of the value of the app.

6. Pizza Hut

An iconic fast food chain that’s been a major player in the American pizza market for decades, Pizza Hut’s recent rebranding came after a failed rebranding which occurred in 2009. Back then, Pizza Hut dropped the word “Pizza” from its branding, sparking backlash and confusion from consumers. 

The company learned from that mistake, and this time around, decided to reintroduce a slightly refreshed version of their well-known original logo, featuring the words “Pizza Hut” in clear script under a red roof.

How to promote your new brand

Your promotion strategy for rebranding should revolve around storytelling. Think about your rebrand as an exciting event that requires build-up before the big day when you reintroduce your company to the world. Like a “save the date” card before a wedding invitation, you should leverage teasers to intrigue your customers and target audiences before launching your rebrand.

Consider creating a video that explains your rebranding story and reasons for change. Rebrand your website, email signatures, all promotional images, and company collateral so that there’s consistency across the board. 

Ahead of your rebranding launch, you should create a press kit that can be downloaded by the media and others interested in your new look. Leverage all your social media channels for both the build-up phase and the official launch day announcement.

I’m ready to rebrand. Now what?

If you’ve decided to move forward with rebranding, congratulations! Refreshing your brand identity and reintroducing yourself to your existing customers and new audiences alike can bring a renewed sense of interest to your brand that results in stronger sales and a strengthened position in the market.

The keys to reaping the benefits of a rebrand are proper planning, a clear vision for your new brand identity, and a deep understanding of your goals and what success looks like for your business. 

Taking the time to make sure that all decision makers and stakeholders are aligned regarding your pain points, messaging, voice, and visuals is critical. With the right research, planning, and strategy, your rebrand has the potential to take your brand’s sales and reputation to new heights. 

The post Rebranding: Strategy, tips and examples appeared first on WiseStamp.

Effective branding is a cost-efficient way to allow customers an opportunity to identify with your company. The better your customers feel they know you, the more likely they are to continue to choose your business. 

When people hear “digital branding”, the initial association nowadays might be with a social media-focused aesthetic. However, email marketing should not be overlooked and is a great channel for communication and raising brand awareness. 

Email branding when utilized correctly can be used to increase engagement and revenue by setting you apart from the competition. All you need to do is find your own authentic voice and this article will get you on the path to learning the language of email branding.

What is email branding?

To begin, let’s clarify exactly what email branding is. The basic principle of branding in marketing is the same whether it is being applied to a company’s products, website, social media presence, or emails. 

The goal of branding is to make it instantly clear to your audience what you do and why. Branding at its finest will also formulate an immediate connection between the user and your company by appealing to the audience’s emotions.

This can be achieved in your emails by implementing things like unique copywriting, imagery, and design. There are endless possibilities when it comes to formulating your business’s unique personality. Keep in mind, though, that this personality should be one that people are happy to hear from and wish to interact with.

Another critical component of email branding is to be concise. In a sea of emails, you need to ensure that yours are attention-grabbing. Even at a quick glance, readers should be able to understand exactly what your message is. Remember, the subject line is your friend! 

In short, ideal email branding should be clear, authentic, and evoke a response from the reader.

Why email branding is essential for your business

Now that you know what email branding is, you may be wondering how it can benefit your business. 

For one, upping your email game is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your customers. Increasing engagement without breaking the bank is a win-win, particularly if you are a small business. 

Email is not only free but is one of the easiest ways to contact a wide range of people with the click of a button. Expanding your reach is important for both retaining existing customers as well as acquiring new ones.

Keep in mind that you want the recipients of these emails to get a good impression of you, especially if it is their first. Not only is email branding used to improve business, but when done poorly, may end up being at an expense. 

Users often make quick judgments about businesses based on branding alone and changing people’s minds is much harder once they are made up. 

While social media may be an ever-growing focal point in the digital marketing world, Forbes reported that consistent brand presentation across all platforms showed an increased revenue of 23%. This means consistent branding across email campaigns is a crucial piece of this puzzle.

In fact, in the same article, Forbes also reported that email marketing has a median ROI of 122%, which is over four times higher than social media, direct mail, and paid search, which is nothing to scoff at! 

Compelling email branding will not only generate sales but also build a sense of credibility around the company, and 67% of consumers say that they need to trust the brand that they are purchasing from.

Trust is created between customers and businesses, not only based on the quality of the product but when a connection is formed based on an authentic and relatable narrative surrounding a company. Bridging the gap between consumers and the brands that they choose begins with relatability and personalization, for which email branding is perfect. 

Consumers that identify with your brand will be loyal ones. You want your customers to look forward to hearing from you. One survey found that 60% of customers wanted to receive email updates and promotions from brands they love. 

Top 5 elements of email branding

The many elements that contribute to developing your email branding strategy may seem overwhelming at first. But not to worry, we have compiled some of the top things to consider, especially when getting started.

1. Subject line 

Remember, the subject line is the first component of your email that will reach readers. This is your first chance to sway users one way or another and could be the reason for either opening your email, or passing it by.

People receive countless spam emails on a daily basis, which is why your subject line is so important. You need to attract attention while giving the reader the first taste of your overall tone.

Try to find a happy medium of simplicity and creativity. Also, make sure that the subject line and email content are connected by using the same tone throughout. You do not want to confuse your readers with inconsistencies right off the bat.

2. Color palette and logo

This part should be simple. The color palette in your emails should reflect colors that are already present in either your logo or on your website. Make sure that your logo placement is clearly visible by placing it at the top of the email, so users know exactly who is contacting them.

Color may seem like a minor detail, but it is important to customers. Emotions are directly linked to certain colors, to the point that as much as 85% of consumers base their purchasing decisions on colors associated with the product. 

Starbucks’ forest green is recognizable to consumers without them even realizing it, which is why they use it for their email branding.

3. Establish consistency

In addition to the color palette and logo placement, you should establish visual and content consistency throughout your emails. It is very important to remember brand identity when considering the tone and imagery you will use in your emails. 

Remember once again, simplicity and consistency are the most important ingredients when it comes to making decisions about something like font choice. If you already have a specific font on your website, it would be preferable to use this same font as a baseline for your email branding.

You can also play with different fonts for drawing attention to things like calls to action or special events. While it might be tempting to get extra funky with the fonts, remember that too many fonts can make an email confusing and hard to read.

The use of images in your emails is also a good way to break up the text. Large blocks of text can be daunting for readers so try to keep your emails image-heavy. The most important copy in your emails will be CTA (call to action) and perhaps a catchy phrase depending on the tone.

Email Signature 

The lasting impression that readers will get from your emails is with your email signature, which is why using one is so important. This is your chance to add any details that you wish to leave your readers with. 

Depending on the tone of your email your signature could include contact details, social media links, or promotions to name just a few. Wisestamp has endless email signature templates to choose from, ensuring you will find exactly what suits your specific needs. 

How to create a branded email template

1. Determine your audience and tone

While your tone should remain largely the same throughout your emails, each specific email should have a clear goal in mind. Are you targeting first-time buyers or current customers? Personalization is the first step in email branding.

2. Write your content

Once you decide on the goal of your email, you will need to write a clear, direct copy to explain the purpose of the email. Generally, your tone should be friendly, and don’t forget your CTA!

3. Design 

This is where the visuals come in. Choose fonts, banners, images, and logo placement. Doing this from scratch can be difficult and many marketing platforms have built-in templates that you can use.

4. Test

You will learn as you go! Trial and error is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to branded emails.

To end things

No matter what business you’re in, email branding can be used as an effective method of communicating with users. These tips will help you build an email branding strategy to fully utilize this email branding.

Good luck, and happy emailing!

The post 5 steps to complete email branding appeared first on WiseStamp.

How to do email signature branding?

This article covers email signature branding guidelines, paired with real-life branded email signature examples. Read on to get the hang of email signature branding, and start doing it for your company right away.

We wrote this guide with branding managers, marketing managers, and business owners in mind, but it can benefit personal branding as well.

Click to create the perfect branded email signature

What is a branded signature?

A branded email signature is an email signature that’s consistent with your company’s branding guidelines. A branded signature should include your brand logo, use your brand colors, and strive to tell your brand story. To have a positive impact on your business, a brand signature should be added to all employee emails.

What is email signature branding?

Email signature branding is the art of using branded email signatures to build brand awareness. Signature branding campaigns can be pointed inside your organization to reinforce brand identification or pointed outside to make your brand more recognizable. Signature branding is done by using Email Signature Management software to centrally control all company email signatures and give them a consistent unified design.

Why is a branded email signature important?

Email signature branding is important because it makes your brand, and by extension, your company more memorable. It makes people perceive you as more professional, and it keeps your company top of mind. Repeated email signature impressions help people remember you, and understand what you stand for. This will ultimately make them trust you more.

Email signature branding guidelines & examples

Email signature branding guidelines are a subset of email signature design principles. We cover the principles for email signature design elsewhere, so this section will focus on those aspects specifically relevant for signature branding.

To

Subject

Make it yours

Branded signature example (our very own)

1. Include the essential elements of a professional company email signature

What a branded signature includes:

1. Employee name
2. Employee title
3. Company name
4. Company logo
5. Company website address
6. Employee email address
7. Social media icons (linking to company social media pages)
8. CTA

2. Make your signature visually pleasing

A professional brand email signature is first and foremost visually pleasing. That “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is broadly accepted. But despite that, designers have known for quite a while that beauty can be achieved universally by following basic design rules.

To

Subject

Make it yours

I) Use your brand colors

Using your brand colors is the natural choice for your brand signature. Brand colors are those that appear in your brand logo. Over time these colors are associated with the brand. Think of Coca-Cola, what colors come up?

Use 1 or 2 colors (or shades) from your logo and no more

Too many colors in one email signature will make it look like a circus (which makes you a clown). If you don’t know the exact Hex or RGB color codes for your brand colors, you can use this color picker tool to upload your logo and fish them out.

Most companies only have 1 or 2 colors in their logo, so having to select 1 or 2 may not even be a problem for you. But If you have more than that, like Google, for example, limit yourself accordingly.

Use colors sparingly

Use them for separator lines, backgrounds, or social icons.

Limit the use of color in text

Only use colors for your name and job title. Some colors may be too light and have low contrast against the white email background. Stick to dark and high contrast color shades, or better yet, use black letters, which usually look most professional.

II) Use information hierarchy

Information hierarchy is a fancy word for describing the way information is organized and presented. There are clear rules for email signature information architecture.

Information organization:

The most important information should be at the top of your signature. The less important stuff should be at the bottom.

Information presentation:

The most important text should be in large letters. You can give text added visual prominence by using bolding, text color, or background color.
Most brand signatures follow a similar information structure and presentation.

Most brand signatures follow a similar information structure and presentation:

The employee’s name is in large bolded letters. The job title and company name are slightly smaller (same size but not in bold). The rest of the signature text is smaller still, with the information labels, like Phone, Email, etc set in bold.

We end up with 4 levels of hierarchy, achieved by 2 distinct text sizes and 2 and by using bolding.

See the example for good use of font size and bolding:

III) Use a high-quality image

Low-quality images take away from your perceived professionalism as a company and as an individual. A low-quality image implies that you have limited access to resources. It also implies that you invested little time and effort in your brand signature.

The way you carry yourself reflects your ability and credibility. So a low-quality signature reflects a low-quality brand. This opinion is formed in most people’s minds in under a second. Yet it’s so so sticky. Do what you can to avoid leaving this impression.

You should be able to discern that your signature image is high quality just by eye-balling it. If you’re not sure – ask your graphic designer or other co-workers. As a rule of thumb, if your image looks pixelated or fuzzy around the edges then it’s low quality.

Take a look and the example below and see if you can spot the difference:

Good example

Bad example

IV) Use white space

White space is a basic principle of design. Visual elements rely on the white space between them to be clearly discerned, understood, and appreciated. White space is also called negative space, and it’s not necessarily white.

Take a look at the 2 examples below, which do you find more visually appealing?

Most people will prefer the one with white space. If you use WiseStamp to create your brand signature, the tool will take care of this issue for you. You’ll also have a few options to increase or decrease the signature white space, to make your signature more spacious or more compact.

Branded signature the uses white space

Branded signature without white space

V) Remove clutter

Clutter can be defined as any and all elements within your brand signature that are not strictly required.

That old truism, “less is more”, is especially true for small but complex creatures like an email signature. Any additional element included in your signature must contribute to your business goals. Otherwise, it will compete over the reader’s attention with those elements that do contribute.

• You may not need to add an email address if you are already communicating by email.
• You may not need a brick-and-mortar address or office hours if you’re strictly an online business.
• You may not need 3 different CTAs for HR, Sales, and Marketing. Instead, you can assign a signature to each department with its own email signature campaign.
• You may not need the employee’s image. Your brand logo can have all the attention for itself.

Click to create the perfect branded email signature

2. Tell a story

Every brand should have its own uniquely valuable story. If your brand does not have one then this is a deeper problem than making a great branded signature. Your brand’s story tells people the qualities you represent and the values you stand for. Your story is what sets you apart. It’s what makes you stand out.

For example, Apple’s story is one of going with your truth against the current, and persevering through creativity, impeccable performance, and beautiful design. The brand’s story is bound to the story of its co-founder Steve Jobs.

Apple’s slogan “Think different” embodies the brand’s story and invites Apple’s customers to be part of it – to see themselves as creative, and bold.

Whatever your story is, you can hint at it with as little as 2 words. In the context of your branded signature, you have different means at your disposal to tell your story and stand out.

I) Add subtle animation

A little motion can go a long way in telling your brand story. You can create an email signature animation that encompasses the essence of your story. If you put the time to think it through, you can say a lot with very little – like Apple’s 2-word slogan “Think different”.

Animation is also a good way to bring attention to your brand signature. But, in the context of “textual information blocks” like an email signature, the use of animation is something that should not be overdone.

The motion should be enough to get people’s attention but not too much so it holds it indefinitely. An animation that’s too fast, or has too many moving parts, will make it hard to focus on the signature text (which is your ultimate goal). It will also drive people nuts.

This is a good example of using animation:

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Make it yours

In this branded signature example, vcita animated its logo to express inclusivity, friendliness, and an invitation to join. The company’s brand story is about guiding you through the digital path so you can get back to being human.

vcita is a company that provides small businesses with all the digital tools they need to run their business efficiently. During Covid, vcita helped many thousands of US businesses go through their digital transformation.

vcita helps business owners automate and streamline the technical aspects of running a business. With that out of the way, business owners are free to spend more time doing what they love. With their newfound time and tools, they can connect with their customers on a deeper human level.

II) Add a video

Adding a video thumbnail to your brand email signature will let you tell your story in full. A video is highly engaging and if you get people to click the thumbnail, they are likely to view your video to the end. 

A video can tell your brand story from many different angles:

• A demo of your product
• A talk about your website redesign
• A video about your awesome (real) company culture
• A popular webinar you’ve made
• A new product launch
• And many more

You don’t have to commit to one video forever. You can change the video to fit your seasonal campaign. Like your Christmas campaign, Halloween, Black Friday, or any other sale.

Whatever you do, only use video materials that your target audience will connect with. Too many brand videos I’ve seen do a horrible job at telling a compelling story. Many videos just chew and spit out generic messaging by “enthusiastic” employees, or worse still fake faces with fake smiles. An ingenuine story is no story at all.

Fiverr even made fun of this trend to position themselves as a counter corporate, young and nonconformist company (which I assume to be their brand story).

Video: Fiverr satirical recruitment video

III) Add an image gallery

An image gallery can be used in many different ways to paint a picture of what you do, the values you represent, or the experience you offer. We’ve seen a lot of our users use our image gallery app to tell a story. 

• We see companies use credentials or certification badges to tell a story that readers can trust in the company’s expertise.
• We see companies use images of happy clients with a quote about a positive experience
• We see eCommerce companies showcasing their best selling products with links to discounts
• We see and we see companies listing their partnerships with known brands

Video: How companies use an image gallery in their email signature to tell their brand story:

(for the examples jump to 3:12)

IV) Add a quote – personal brand

Adding a quote to your brand signature is only a good idea if you’re using it for your personal brand. Companies have slogans, they don’t use quotes by others.

But if you, as a professional, identify deeply with a certain famous quote, adding such a quote can help you tell your personal brand story. Just keep in mind that quotes are charged with cultural meaning, so make sure your quote is understood the way you intend it to.

3) Ensure email signature consistency throughout the entire organization

People give email content high attention. Email signature branding makes use of this high attention in order to build brand awareness. By showing consistent branding in all company email signatures, you build brand recognition over time.

But why is this important?

In a survey done by Lucidpress, 68% of businesses reported that brand consistency has contributed 10-20% to their growth in revenue or more. We know from our own user surveys that branded company email signatures can increase email link clicks by up to 22%, and email leads by up to 15%. With these statistics in mind, unifying your email signature across your entire company should be a priority for you.

Source

Brand awareness email signature campaigns

In the previous section, we’ve covered email signature branding best practices. Once you apply those guidelines you are practically running a brand awareness campaign with every email your company sends.

If you already have an email signature brand awareness campaign in mind, you may like to try out the WiseStamp Signature Manager, to quickly and easily set it up.

WiseStamp Signature Manager – Branded signature views

If this is the first time you’ve heard of brand awareness email signature campaigns, then read on to find more about it.

2 main types of branding campaigns:

• External – strengthens your brand presence in your niche
• Internal – strengthens the degree to which your employees self-identify with your brand

I) External branding campaigns

Most email signature branding efforts are pointed outwards. Becoming a recognized brand is the holy grail for most marketers. Recognized brands are more likely to be recommended even by people that have no experience with that brand. Recognized industry brands are carried far and wide on the wings of fame. This effect is called the Recognition heuristic, but getting there is very hard.

Email signature branding is one of the most effective ways to build brand recognition. It capitulates on the personal relationship prospects have with your employees. Their personal relationship with a person is extended to their relationship with your brand.

II) Internal branding campaigns

The goal of internal branding campaigns is to create an emotional connection to your brand. Strong emotional identification with your brand is highly valuable. It strengthens employees’ commitment to advancing business goals and helps the business retain valuable team members.

Most modern jobs involve intensive daily use of email. Having your brand logo in your workers’ email signature will make sure they constantly see it. This makes it an important touch-point to include in your internal branding campaign.

This is especially powerful for businesses with a large number of employees working out of the office. These employees typically have weak brand identification, having spent most of their work hours on their own.

4) Technically validate your signature

It may not seem that way but an email signature is complicated to get right. Its complicatedness comes from the versatility a signature is required to have for it to show perfectly on every email client. The signature code may be simple, but it has to be tested and validated against all email clients, browsers, and screen sizes.

I) Mobile-friendliness

For your email signature to be mobile friendly it needs to be built in responsive HTML. This just means that the signature layout knows to automatically adapt to the screen size in which it is presented. A signature that is not built this way will break, or distort.

But creating responsive code is not enough. Not all branded signature designs will look good on mobile, even if they don’t break. To create a truly mobile-friendly signature you should design your brand signature for mobile presentation, to begin with.

In more practical terms this means creating a signature that is less than 350px in width (the low end of mobile device screen size). A good mobile-friendly signature uses a stacked design – with each item of information occupying a separate row.

Left – mobile-friendly branded signature | Right – broken, partially hidden non-mobile-friendly brand signature

II) Email-safe fonts

You’d be surprised how restricted fonts are in emails. Most email providers, including the major ones, like Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, and Yahoo, will only show a limited number of fonts.

To make things worse, even the limited few fonts each email provider offers are different for each provider. In the end, you are left with those few fonts that work on all emails. These are email-safe fonts.

This means that your special brand font or the fancy font you bought for your website will not be supported. An unsupported font will not be seen by your recipients.

An unsupported font may also break your signature. The reason it may break is that different fonts have different letter sizes and different spaces between letters.

When a font is not supported the email client will swap it for their default font. This font may well be different in letter size and space. If this happens the signature text will expand or contract, causing your signature to break. To make sure your signature always looks the way you designed it, use email-safe fonts.

Email-safe fonts:

1. Arial
2. Times New Roman
3. Tahoma
4. Georgia
5. Lucida Sans Unicode
6. Courier New
7. Trebuchet MS
8. Verdana

Read more about the best fonts for email signatures >>

III) Broken links

Broken links are everywhere on the internet and they find their way into emails all the time. I regularly find broken links in our GetWiser newsletter, which is sent out to about 2 million subscribers each month (luckily I find them before it’s sent out). Links get broken because of little typo mistakes or a copy-paste that was done hastily, and sometimes a page’s URL is changed or the page is deleted.

Clicking on a broken link can be very frustrating for your email readers and can create a bad unprofessional impression. The negative impact this can have is huge when deploying a branded company signature for hundreds or thousands of employees. So, it’s important to do what you can to avoid this.

What to do:

• Verify each link before deploying your email signature.
• Verify your links periodically once a week or once every 2 weeks, to make sure no URL was changed and no page was deleted.

IV) Valid images

This is usually not a problem. But just in case you can make sure your images are showing in your signature 100% of the time by following the guidelines below.

Avoid using very large images

Avoid using PDFs as image format

Avoid image size HTML styling that exceeds mobile device screen sizes (350px to be on the safe side)

V) Signature character limit

Email providers have a set character limit for an email signature of around 9000 characters. This limit is large enough to accommodate any text signature you’d fancy making (most emails don’t come close to that many characters).

But this limit becomes more troublesome when you want to use customized HTML email signatures. See, the character count also applies to the HTML. And this means that the styling, links, and advanced features you add to your signatures, like a video thumbnail or a button, all add up.

When this happens the email client will not present your email signature, and instead, give an error notice (“Email signature too long”). WiseStamp validates your signatures against these character limits to save you the inconvenience.

Character limit for Outlook and Gmail signatures:

• Gmail – 10,000 (10kb)
• Outlook – 8096 (8kb)

How do I create a branded email signature?

In case you still don’t have a company signature, let’s see a few ways you can create one for your company.

If you’ve read this article to this point then you already have a pretty good idea of the benefits you can extract from a branded signature. If you take this thought one step further you’ll see why failing to create a branded signature will set you back compared to those of your competitors that do brand their signatures.

There are a few ways to go about creating your branded email signature:

1. Create it manually
2. Use an email signature manager
3. Use free email signature generator

I) Create your signature manually

The process of creating a signature manually requires employing a graphic designer to make your signature design and having a developer code the signature in HTML.

Pros:

• This approach is that you can make any customization as you’d like

Cons:

• Costly to do by outsourcing
• Requires going through the entire process each time you want to update your signature
• Requires employees to manually set up and update the signature in their own email.
• Does not solve the problem of having to deploy the signature (and updates) in every single employee email. This will have to be done

II) Use an email signature manager

Email signature management software is the most cost-effective way for creating your branded signature. Signature managers always come with a signature generator that makes designing your signature quick and easy.

But signature managers’ main contribution is their ability to integrate with business email platforms like G Suite and Office 365. This allows centralized deployment of your branded signature to all employee emails with a few clicks.

WiseStamp is consistently voted easiest email signature manager to use in G2 and Capterra. It’s also considered to be the most secure signature manager since it does not route your email traffic through a 3rd party server, like all other managers. Rather it only makes changes to your signature block. WiseStamp is also the most customizable in terms of signature design and features. You can learn more about WiseStamp here.

Pros:

• Fairly easy to create a signature using the tools signature generator
• Centralized control of all company email signatures
• Quick deployment of any little update made to the signature
• Email segmentation by department
• Cheaper than manually creating your signature
• Dedicated customer support

Cons:

• Some limitations in the signature design
• Some signature managers inject the signature into your company emails by routing your email traffic through their own servers. This makes them the defacto owner of your data and makes you reliant on their cyber security measures

III) Use a free email signature generator

There are quite a few free email signature generators available. These tools make it very easy to create an email signature. 99% of them provide more or less the same result. Some are more limited than others. Our own free email signature generator has the most extensive capabilities in the market, feel free to give it a try.

Pros:

• Fairly easy to create your email signature
• Free to use any time you need it

Cons:

• Limited in features and design
• Little to no customer support
• Does not provide centralized email signature management

branded signature examples (gallery)

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The post Branded signature for business – what it is & how it’s done appeared first on WiseStamp.

If you try to be on all the leading platforms, you’ll wear yourself out in a day, so be selective. The most important rule is to follow your audience (another reason why you need to know who they are).

5. Complete your social media profiles (or you’ll scare people off)

Fill in all the information for each of your social media accounts. People check your bio/profile to verify your identity, and if you’ve only partially completed it, you’ll harm your authenticity and discourage people from trusting you. 

Include your real full name and good quality photo that shows your face clearly, not an arty shot of you standing in a misty field of sunflowers. If you have a personal brand logo, use that too. 

Take a tip from Vanessa Lau, whose LinkedIn profile includes a full statement about herself, the reasons why you should trust her, and links to all her channels. 

7. Be consistent

Deliver a consistent look and experience across all your profiles. Authenticity is most important when it comes to choosing who to trust on social media, and if your profiles, language, or style aren’t consistent, it undermines your authenticity.

Use the same profile and cover photos

That means using the same profile and cover photos, personal brand logo, and theme colors for each account. On Instagram, you might use the same filter for all your images, or post the same style of an image on Pinterest.

Maintain a consistent voice

You also need to hit on a single consistent “voice.” Of course, you should be yourself, but you might want to keep your wacky sense of humor for your private accounts and be a bit more serious about your personal brand. 

For example, inspirational speaker and consultant Lolly Daskal has a consistent life coach branding voice on every channel. 

Be consistent with your post types

You should also try to stick to the same kind of posts, like text posts, videos, inspirational quotes, candid photos, long thought leadership pieces, etc. People will learn what to expect from you, and they’ll be disappointed if you don’t deliver. Marie Forleo’s life coach branding is very visual on social media, even on Twitter, with lots of inspirational quotes and videos. 

You can set up email or SMS notifications for most channels, to let you know when someone tags you, or use social media listening tools like Mention so that you can respond promptly. Ideally, you should reply to every message or tag within 24 hours. 

The post Kick-ass personal branding on social media (creative guide) appeared first on WiseStamp.

Powerful personal branding strategies for women

If you’re a branding coach for female entrepreneurs or simply seeking strategies to define and brand yourself, below are 8 tactics to help you build your personal branding strategy followed by inspiring examples of uber-successful branding for women, so you can DO rather than READ.

1. Story and differentiation 

Sharing personal anecdotes or your origin story is a form of differentiation that establishes your brand and distinguishes you from the competition. You have a unique life story. Your background and quirks provide context, drama, and a channel for audience engagement and connection.

Branding is storytelling

In 2009, Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn conducted an as Significant Objects. They hired well-known fiction writers to create stories about thrift store objects. Then paired the fictional stories with the objects and sold them on eBay. Potential buyers understood that these stories were fictional, but it didn’t matter. The stories sold.

The financial value of these objects increased significantly when attached to a story, demonstrating how narrative undeniably affects an object’s value (both emotionally and financially) — even when the story is not factual.

How much more do we value people when we know and connect to their true stories?

Where did you come from? What’s important to you? What are your values, your belief systems, and your style? Reveal who you are.

2. What is your “core value?”

Your story must transcend its plot.

For example, Simon Sinek speaks at length about inspired leadership and knowing your “why.”  Why are you driven to get out of bed every morning? It’s not for the paycheck; you can do that by working hourly at the grocery store. For your potential audience to connect, you have to dig deeper.  Your why must answer an emotional human need.  

3. What’s your one singular message?

Distill your core value into a message. When your name comes up in conversation, what do people think? Your personal branding message should be simple and easy to recall. 

Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, conjured a message that resonated with her and all of her potential customers — stand out and be brave. 

“I pledge to invest in women because I believe it offers one of the greatest returns on investment.” Her entire brand is driven by this statement, and we feel it. Even when we’re wearing Spanx and can’t breathe.

4. Find your audience 

Before you can share your brand message, you need to deeply understand the audience you’re talking to. Where do they hang out (Instagram? LinkedIn? The local Gymboree?) What are their pain points? (Do they feel inadequate? Uninspired? Unhealthy?) And the critical question: how can you solve their problem?

When you have a clearly defined buyer persona, you will know what to say, how to dress, and how to reach your prospects in their language. 

5. Build trust and authority through thought leadership 

You should be your prospect’s number one resource. Write articles, create videos, provide valuable information. And do it better than your competition. Just be consistent about the channels you communicate in and always respond to your customers and anyone else interacting with you. 

Most importantly, your thought leadership should be based on research and facts when applicable. Fluff will not win you long-term followers.

6. Radiate passion and confidence 

Don’t be afraid to express with passion what you believe in and what you have to offer. It’s okay if your approach and your belief system do not appeal to every crowd. As marketing guru,  Seth Godin says, based on Kevin Kelly’s 2008 essay — start with 1000 true fans. These are people with whom your message resonates.

7. Use design to represent your brand 

Repeated exposure to colors, images, and different online design elements like a personal brand logo, email signature as well as your personal visual style, will build a sensory connection for your audience. Memory recall is strengthened by consistent and ongoing exposure to visual elements. But remember, symbols and fashion are meaningless without a personal brand story (for context and meaning).

8. Networking 

Digital marketer Neil Patel encourages entrepreneurs to build strategic partnerships with influencers. Network with other female founders and business associations. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how eager successful women are to help others join the ranks.

Start with the first seven steps. Then, add #8. 

4 inspiring examples of personal branding for female entrepreneurs

The following women represent just a small sampling of the many female entrepreneurs who have used the techniques above to brand themselves and build a substantial (and profitable) following.

1. Oprah Winfrey

How she became famous 

Oprah is a self-made billionaire. With her rags to riches story and her outstanding extemporaneous language skills, she was able to connect to many different types of people during her 25-years as a talk show host. Now as a businesswoman and media giant, she continues to share her message and grow her empire. 

Tactics and strategies that helped her brand become effective

Her emotion-centered approach to communicating with her guests and her audience made her relatable. She repeatedly shared personal stories not only to connect to her audience but to help them as well. She expressed vulnerability and covered sensitive topics like weight loss, spousal abuse, divorce, and death.

What makes Oprah so beloved is her authenticity (read about it in her own words):

“ I actively work to make sure everything I do, say, promote or involve myself from a place of resonance and appreciation. All my personal and business endeavors have to be in alignment with what’s authentically me.”

Her investment in Weight Watchers is one example of how her work is an authentic extension of herself. 

“Using food to improve your life through Weight Watchers … feel[s] like an extension of me. As is everything I do.”

Oprah’s personal branding message

Oprah’s message has always been clear: “To be authentically you and to help others through the power of stories, inspiration, and giving.

How to Oprah-icize your own personal branding 

Remain true to your brand message in all walks of life: Being authentic means that your “on stage” presentation is no different from your “backstage” behavior.  By being consistent in both areas of your life, you enable your audience to trust you and your value system and you become a beloved role model.

Being authentic just means being truthful, and sometimes even being vulnerable in the public eye. Real people experience pain and moments of fragility. When your prospects see you as real, they are more willing to engage with you and your brand.

2. Michelle Obama

How she became famous

While Michelle Obama only became famous as the wife of the 44th American President, her education and accomplishments were already exceptional.

Her intelligence, advocacy on behalf of others,  and powerful speeches made her stand out as a woman of substance. She quickly became an international role model for women of all ages.

Michelle Obama is not new to the limelight and has been publicly active since Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2007.  Around that time she began building her personal brand around womanhood, motherhood, and family. 

Her successful self-branding made her a highly influential personality with an immense following around the world. It put her in a position to initiate social change initiatives, help charities and spur political issues.  

Her outrageous popularity is exemplified by her autobiographical book Becoming, which had instant success. It sold 2 million copies within 2 weeks of publication, and has, by now, sold over 14 million copies worldwide.

Tactics and strategies that helped her brand become effective

During Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign Michelle Obama was labeled by fox news as being an “angry black woman” and unpatriotic. Surprisingly, what seemed to be her strong suits were used against her.  

Her impressive resume as a highly educated woman of color, as well as her assertive and opinionated nature (having written her senior year thesis at Princeton University on racial divide) was used to make her look unrelatable. An Obama family friend advised that she “must stop sounding like a lawyer trying to win an argument” and focus on relating to people instead. 

After the criticism, Michelle Obama started focusing more on media outlets for women. She gave interviews to Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, and Ellen DeGeneres; all of them talk shows that cater to a female audience. 

She also changed her dressing style from formal “Lawyer like” attire to more casual and stylish clothes. This gradually built her brand as a family woman with a great fashion sense, earning her the nickname “Mom in Chief” and positioning her as a fashion trendsetter.

Let’s break down what she did to brand herself.

Michelle Obama used 3 personal branding tactics that you can learn from:

1. Find your audience

Michelle Obama may have naturally based her initial personal brand on her academic achievements and strong personality. This set her target audience as strong-minded, ambitious, and individualistic women. 

But it turns out that this audience was unresponsive. She then changed her target audience to “working family-women”, and used other aspects of her personality to connect with the concerns and values of her new audience. This change worked and turned her into one of the most popular women in America. She had found her audience.

You can do the same if you recognize that your audience is not what you initially think it is. We are all complicated, and multi-layered personalities. The biggest thing you have to offer to others may be an aspect of your personality you yourself may not think is exceptional, but others do.

2. Express your core values

What allowed Michelle Obama to become popular with her new found audience was her change in message. Her new message centered on the values of family life and livelihood. Instead of talking about race or ideology she began talking about family life, personal hardships, and her humble beginnings. 

You may think that she changed big values for small ones, but in actuality, this earned her a following and the ability to make a much greater positive impact on people’s lives.

For example, in 2012, to advocate for healthier eating, she published a book. The book, American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,  shared her experience creating a vegetable garden as well as the work of community gardens around the country. To educate young children about health, she made a guest appearance on Sesame Street. To promote exercise, she shared a video of herself exercise on YouTube. She reached her audiences where they already were.

You can do the same if you find your values that are also the most important to your target audience and build your message around them.

3. Pivot

The adjustment in personal branding Michelle Obama made from the “Brutally honest Harvard lawyer” to “Mom in Chief” is called a “Pivot” in business terms. 

This Pivot worked out gloriously for Michelle Obama’s brand and earned her a place in lucrative lists like Gallup’s “most admired woman” in America, and Time magazine’s “Person of the Year”. All this allowed her to voice her message and values to millions of women thirsty to hear her opinion.

You can do the same if you stay open-minded, keep your ear to the ground, and take the opportunity to pivot your brand to the direction it’s most appreciated and least vulnerable to criticism. You don’t need to commit all at once. Instead, test your new message on your target audience, listen to criticism, and correct.

Michelle’s personal branding message

Michelle Obama stated: “Never view your challenges as obstacles.” 

As a Black woman raised on the south side of Chicago, she proved just how her own personal story exemplifies her message. She uses this message as a foundation for all the different campaigns she advocates for like health, education, and women’s issues.

How to Michelle-icize your own personal branding 

Like Michelle Obama, don’t be afraid to relate to people wherever they’re at (their channels, their emotional state) in order to connect with them on important topics. She knows where her audience is and meets them there, including social media, television, YouTube, in schools, at forums, in books, and at conferences. 

3. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

How she became famous 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shot to fame by becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. While beloved by some on the left, she is often villainized by the right. Given her potentially extreme views, she has engaged a whole new generation of those seeking to make changes.

Tactics and strategies that helped her brand become effective

Ocasio-Cortez’s origin story is very much a part of her branding narrative. She is often described as a former bartender who lived paycheck to paycheck before launching her career as a politician. Her mother was a house cleaner and her father ran a small architectural firm. 

When they moved to a more prosperous neighborhood, Ocasio-Cortez learned about opportunity. But her earlier narrative serves her well as she fights for more progressive policies. 

Ocasio-Cortez has also used visual branding techniques to stand out from other politicians. Her original campaign graphics made a break from the typical political brand approaches. She used purple and yellow rather than the usual red and blue, employed all-caps, and featured a profile shot of herself.  So distinct was her style that others quickly copied her.

Her personal branding message

Technically, Ms. Ocasio-Ortez is a Democratic socialist. With her stronger, more progressive views, she does not have mass appeal, but has built a strong, loyal tribe, nevertheless, and has risen to fame as a result.

How to Alexandria-icize your own personal branding 

Tell your story: Speaking passionately about what you stand for, and how it connects to your personal life experience is what will make you stand apart from the rest. Using visual branding, especially for entrepreneurs on social media, can also help you differentiate yourself from others (as long as you have a strong message behind the visuals). 

4. Greta Thunberg

How she became famous

Greta is an environmental activist. As a Swedish teenager, she rose to fame with her slogans, “School Strike for Climate” and “#Fridaysforfuture.” She encouraged her followers to go on strike every Friday outside their local town hall to protest on behalf of the environment.

Tactics and strategies that helped her brand become effective

Greta’s single-minded passion for the environment and her one focused message about the dangers of climate change make her memorable. 

She was very clear about her audience (teenagers) and targeted them through her campaigns. Ultimately, her audience has grown beyond teenagers and she has spoken before the United States Congress and other international forums.

Her personal branding message

Greta is all about the WHY. She taps into the human survival instinct. Save the planet from the ill effects of climate change to preserve future generations. 

Her lifestyle is consistent with her message. She doesn’t fly on airplanes, due to their carbon footprint, and follows a vegan diet. Her youthful idealism appeals to teenagers and proves that age does not have to determine your ability to impact the world.

How to Greta-icize your own personal branding 

Be confident, passionate, and consistent in communicating your core value. Act in accordance with that belief system, and your audience will trust you as a result. Her unwavering ability to stick to her core message makes her a memorable and influential activist even at such a young age.

Branding for women: takeaways

Use personal branding verticals like social media, blog posts, podcasts, video content, and online education to share your core message and value system with your audience. By focusing on authentic storytelling both “on and offstage,” you’ll increase your personal brand value and win the hearts of your 1000 true fans (and maybe even more).

The post Branding for women: 4 inspiring examples by successful female entrepreneurs appeared first on WiseStamp.

Today’s art of branding has grown into a whole new ballroom that includes so much more. Your brand is more than how consumers tell you apart from your competitors by name or by image (i.e. Coke vs. Pepsi).

What is a brand?

A brand is a logo that is used to identify an organization. Commercial companies, NGOs, Government agencies, and even individuals have a brand. But brand goes way beyond a simple simble. A brand encompasses the way consumers perceive the essence and character of your organization. Brands evoke emotions, values, lifestyles, and much more. The attributes determine who are your proponents and the degree of influence your brand has in their lives.

Let’s take a look at an iconic brand example

Video: Dove – Real Beauty commercial

If you are familiar with this ad campaign, try and forget everything you know about it. Imagine you are looking at it for the first time. Now, answer the same questions:

• What do you see in this picture?
• What do you think this image is about?
• What does it make you feel?
• What are some words you would use to describe this image?
• What is image selling?

This 2004 ad campaign was launched by Dove, a beauty and personal care brand. We don’t see any Dove products in the ad. Instead, we see a diverse group of women who look confident and happy with their bodies.

This ad does 2 things:

1. They address a more diverse audience. More women can identify with this ad and feel represented by it.
2. They challenge society’s traditional form of beauty and associate themselves with social change.

Takeways from the Dove Real Beauty branding example

Dove is a huge, global company with a lot of resources devoted to branding. The lesson that any business owner can take from them is that your company should represent more than just your product or service. You can use your company to communicate more messages such as values, emotions, and experience.

This will have a huge impact on how people perceive your business, and that is what branding is all about: Perception. Remember you’re USP, which we discussed in the “Research & Strategy” chapter? Your identity must also represent your USP.

How to create your brand

Now that we’ve covered the meaning and purpose, let’s dive into the process of creating your business.

A good brand is built on 3 components:

1. Brand name
2. Brand story
3. Brand values
4. Brand looks
5. Brand personality
6. Brand persona

With these three, you’ll make your business more relatable and personable to customers and clients.  You will be able to refer it to any business decision you will do in the future.

1. Choosing your brand name

Choosing a name for your brand can be intimidating. A good place to start is always, ALWAYS to look at what your competitors are named. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but you do want to make sure that your name is distinct enough from your local competitors so that you don’t confuse customers.

Start with a keyword Google search of your market to see which competitor appears in the results.

For example, if you run a yoga studio in Seattle, do a search for “yoga studios Seattle.” Write down your competitors’ names and make sure that you don’t create anything too similar to your progress in your naming process.

How brand names are most commonly determined:

• Use your own name/the founders’ name (example: “McDonalds”,)
• Describe what your business does (example: “Pizza Hut” “Snap Chat”, “Airbnb”)
• Describe an image or experience (example: “Nike,” “Facebook”)
•  Choose a random word(s) (example: “Amazon,” “Apple”, “Uber”)
•  Make up a word (“Google,” “Sony,” “Ikea”)

There is a lot that goes into choosing the perfect brand name. But to keep things simple, just remember that your name should be appropriate for your product, service, and the audience you’re trying to reach. If you are a realtor or lawyer, it’s more convenient to use your own name for your practice or firm. On the other hand, if your field and target audience are more creative, young, or advanced, then it makes more sense to have an unconventional name.

2. Write your brand story

This is the journey of how your business came to be. Your story should tell the unique events that shaped you and your business including all the challenges and triumphs along the way. Your story is not just a set of facts (i.e. your professional qualifications, business location, and years of experience).

Instead, focus on creating a narrative of how and why you started your business. Later on, you’ll be able to use your brand’s story in the “About Us” section of your website. 

To begin writing your brand’s story, ask yourself the following questions:

• What was your inspiration?
• What challenges did you face?
• What were your life circumstances at the time?
• What and who helped you succeed?
• What kept you motivated?

3. Define your brand values

Your values are the north star of your business on which you will navigate your and business activity. 

If for example, you are a yoga teacher who values sustainability and preserving the environment, you can incorporate that value by offering eco-friendly, recyclable yoga mats in your studio. [expand – brand value defenition]

These values will also allow yourself to set you apart from other similar businesses, yoga teachers, and will help you connect to any clients who share your value of protecting the environment.

Your values are also a nice tipping factor: If your price and service are comparable to your competitors, but you offer the extra value of being “environmentally friendly,” this could motivate new customers to choose you over others.

Keep in mind: Businesses in very different industries often aim to communicate the same core values. For example, a financial advisor and a childcare provider offer very different services and very different skills, but they both may still represent the following values:

• Trust
• Caring
• Reliability
• Responsibility

Obviously, the financial advisor and childcare provider must communicate these values in very different ways, which we will discuss in the following section, “Brand Identity.”

Identify your values by answering these questions:

• A good product is a product…
• A good should be…
• When I create my product/service, I want it to be…
• The one thing that makes my product better than other’s is that it is…

4. How to design your brand looks

As we can see, visual design elements have a great influence on our emotions, reactions, and perceptions. This is why your brand’s logo, color scheme, and font must align with the emotions you wish to evoke, and with the values, and story you created.

Your brand style is the look, feel, and tone of your brand, which consists of carefully defined visual design elements and language that represent specific emotions. Your brand identity must always adhere to the guidelines you defined.  

It’s important to state that in the end, the logo takes on the attributes of your business as people perceive it. Your business does not rely on your logo. Rather the logo relies on your brand’s touchpoints with customers (so get that right if you want a strong brand in the long term).

What this means is that you don’t have to invest heavily in a design studio for your logo, and start with a simple logo maker instead. This will be much cheaper, and if needed you can later rebrand.

Here is what to consider when defining your guidelines (Brand Guidelines Checklist):  

• Logo
• Color palette (including colors code)
• Font type(s)
• Font weight(s)
• Images guidelines

There are countless places (or “assets”) where you can place your brand: ads, social media accounts, your website, and even a coffee mug. No matter where your brand appears—online or offline—it absolutely needs to be consistent.

The look, feel and tone of your brand should not change from asset to asset. Everything from your color scheme to your font type and weight should match, and this is why it’s crucial to develop brand guidelines. You’ll also hear it referred to as “brand standards,” a “style guide” or “brand book.”

Think of your brand guidelines as an army uniform. Your brand might have a few variations of its “uniform” (just as the U.S. Army has three), but there is still continuity between them and each remains consistent in and of itself.

How design works for different businesses:

Insurance company with light, modern design – https://www.lemonade.com/

Bank with modern young language – http://www.pepper.co.il/en/

5. Build personality with Tone of Voice

Just like design, language also plays a huge role in your brand’s identity. It’s not just what you say but how you say it.

Think about how you would tell a funny story to your best friend versus how you would tell it to your mother. The story doesn’t change but the way you tell it does. Why? Because the audience is so different;

Try to imagine if your brand would have been a real person, how would he talk? Would it be a “he” at all? Or maybe a “she?” How old is he/she? Where from? What accent does he/she might have? Is it very official or maybe friendly and easy-going? Is it directive and didactic or maybe requesting and wishful?

The voice and tone are not just the stories, but also the small gestures – the microcopies. Microcopy is all the mini texts and gestures that our brand might use in the communication with its audience. Just like the marketing messages, the microcopy should be an outcome of the brand identity.

The Microcopy is the continue button text next to it or the legal comment below the leave details form. The way it is addressed by the audience is as relevant as the main message.  

At this point in the lesson, you’ve already identified your target customer (or have begun to). This target customer is your audience, and your tone of voice must appeal to them as well as reflect the emotions you want to convey

What kind of tone will you take in the email? Take the following email and rephrase it to match your brand voice and tone, make sure you also match the micro-copy in the email.

Whatever you decide to go with, the tone of voice you choose must always stay consistent (unless you decide to rebrand years from now). Brands rebrand themselves when their values, goals, or type of business change.

They need to match their brand identity and appearance to their new values and goals, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves!).

6. Create your brand persona

Answer the following questions and create your brand persona (note that the persona you create should always be similar to your target client characteristics, but usually it helps to make it similar to ease the messaging process later on.

Questions commonly used to create a brand persona:

• How old is that person?
• Is it a male or female? Where is he/she from?
• What does she like?
• Is she sarcastic /humorous/ funny/serious any other emotional features?
• What does it like to do?
• Hobbies?
• Does it have kids?
• Married?
• What kind of relationship she has with her family members?

Now identify the repeating words you have – like caring, Funny, serious etc. Use them to create the voice and tone for your brand.

All done. What’s next?

Once you’ve compiled your guidelines, use them to create your brand assets such as your website, business cards, social media, merchandise, advertising, and more.

The post What is branding and how to get it right (updated 2024) appeared first on WiseStamp.

This article will show you how.

Signature vs autographs

Many people seem to get mixed up between autographs and signatures. An autograph is generally used by a celebrity or famous person in a public setting, such as on an image or in a book. Usually, a celebrity’s autograph is not the same. The reason is that if their signature was in the public sphere, it could become subject to fraud.

Unlike celebrities, the average person does not need more than one style of signature. When you choose how to sign your name and what your signature will look like, it should look the same regardless of the type of contract or document you’re signing. 

Of course, there’s no legal requirement for keeping your signature identical. Technically, you can sign your rental contract, car lease, and employment contract with entirely different signatures. Each one would be legal. However, you risk running into issues down the line if your signature ever gets called into question and needs to be compared with signatures on other legal documents.

How to create a hand signature?

Signatures have been used to prove the identity of someone, and have been used to certify important documents. Who can forget John Hancock’s infamously theatrical signature on the Declaration of Independence?

But besides the style, everyone will have their own preferences for how to write their name.

Examples of the name variations you can use as your signature:

• First and last name: Albus Dumbledore
• Full name, including middle names: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
• Initial of your first name and full last name: A. Dumbledore
• Initials of your first and middle names and full last name: A. P. W. B. Dumbledore
• Initials only: A.D.

There is some debate on whether initials should be a signature. It’s more acceptable to use any of the other variations. However, as it was mentioned earlier, as long as your signature is uniform across any document you sign. A signature consisting of just initials is completely fine.

The basic style properties of handwritten signatures

First, let’s look at what your signature says about your personality before looking at famous signatures. These will indicate how someone conducts themselves, along with showing how they want to be identified.

We’ll cover these properties and what they signify:

1. Angle
2. Size
3. Legibility
4. Completeness
5. Embellishments

Take a moment to write down your signature so we can break it down

Before getting started, grab a black piece of paper and sign it with your original signature. Put the paper aside and come back later to analyze it. You can do it on paper or use our free signature generator.

1. Angle

There are three different angles that a signature will be: ascending, descending, and straight. Each one will inform others a little bit about your personality.

• Ascending – Ambition, optimism, and creativity
• Descending – Pessimistic
• Straight – Balance, organized, and self-sufficient

2. Size

The size of your signature will provide further insights into how you carry yourself. A CFO study by Dr. Charles Ham looked at hundreds of signatures of CFOs and came to the following conclusions.

• Large Signature – Confident, while also more likely to be narcissistic and bend the truth.
• Small Signature – Need to claim more space and not place yourself in a small box.

3. Legibility

The legibility of your signature will say a little something about how your mind works.

• Illegible Signature – Reflects a quick mind that doesn’t get bogged down by details.
• Legible Signature – Displays openness and straightforwardness.

4. Completeness

Differences in completeness, when it comes to either signing your full name or using initials, will also make a difference.

• Initials or First Name – Independent, efficient, and private.
• Full Name – More open.

5. Embellishments

Embellishments are special touches added to your signature. These say something about your personality. The more embellishments, the more complicated the person, while a more simple signature suggests a more straightforward person.

• Long Lines – Determination, drive, and perseverance
• Hard Stop – Strong sense of self and seriousness

How to choose the best signature

There are many different types of signatures out there, but ultimately, the one you choose should reflect your own identity. A hand signature is by nature something personal and is used for this reason to indicate your personal authentication. While it can evolve slightly over a person’s lifetime, it generally stays the same. This allows a significant degree of confidence when authenticating your documents over time.

Top 15 famous handwritten signatures you can take inspiration from

It can certainly be a good idea to take inspiration from famous CEOs and founders of large businesses when recreating your hand signature. Signatures of famous personalities can manifest their social standing over time. You may be able to mimic those and their properties, so some of what it says about them will be attributed to you. So, let’s explore some famous signatures so you can become familiar with the little details.

Here are the top 15 famous handwritten signatures of entrepreneurs you are probably familiar with. You will see Some of the nuances we covered in the “basic properties of handwritten signatures” within these examples, so pay attention and think about how you can incorporate any of these in your own signature.

Steve Jobs

Co-founder of Apple, the late Steve Jobs went unconventional in his signature and wrote it in all lowercase script. He would write his name in an ascending angle, telling us that he had ambition and was forward-thinking.

Steve Wozniak

Another co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, signs his name by using his nickname, Woz. What this shows is his independent-mindedness, as well as high self-confidence. By making the ‘W’ in his name quite large and slanted, it demonstrates his high self-esteem.

Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard for a long time. She demonstrates her drive and determination in the long line going straight out after the last letter in her signature. The fact that she signs her first name very legibly, while scribbling her last name, indicates she is proud of her accomplishments.

David Packard

One of the co-founders of Hewlett-Packard, David Packard, used to sign his signature upwards, which shows that he was an ambitious and optimistic person. He pronounces and emphasizes the first letter of both his first and last name, which shows his confidence. He also doesn’t leave a space between his first and last name, showing off his rich character. 

Satya Nadella

As the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella doesn’t spell out his last name besides his first initial. This shows off his easygoing nature. However, the period after that initial tells people that he is also a strong business leader.

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos is the founder of the massive Amazon. He signs his first name legibly but makes it difficult to read his last name. This shows he is proud of his personal accomplishments. His last name ends with an ascending streak, showing us that he has an energetic character.

Michael Dell

The founder and CEO of Dell, Michael Dell, signs his name perfectly straight. He stays meticulous by precisely lining up the dot for the ‘i’ in his first name where it needs to go. This shows he pays great attention to detail and stays precise in all he does.

Brian Krzanich

As the former CEO of Intel, Brian Krzanich is someone who would scribble his signature. This showcases his sharp intelligence. It also shows that he is a busy person who has little time for things like signing his name. The only letters in his signature that are legible are the first letters of his first and last name. They are also much more substantial than all the other letters. Both of these features display the immense confidence this businessman has.

Larry Page

Larry Page is one of the co-founders of Google, who interestingly keeps the first ‘a’ in his name open at the top. This tells people he likes to share his thoughts with others. Again, as with others, the significantly larger first letters of his first and last names indicate he has high self-worth. Keeping his name straight throughout demonstrates he has a balanced approach when it comes to working.

Sergey Brin

Being the other co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin is a “big picture” guy. He lets others deal with the specifics and details of things. Also, he signs his first name more legibly than his last, suggesting he can be easily approachable. It also shows he speaks in a straightforward and direct way.

Kevin Systrom

Kevin Systrom is the co-founder of Instagram, who signs his signature by making the first letters in both first and last names huge. In fact, they are slightly outrageous, indicating he may be a bit arrogant. Nixing the dot for the ‘i’ in his first name demonstrates he is also a ‘big picture’ guy.

Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn, who signs his name in a very ascended manner. This shows how ambitious of a person he is. Also, it indicates that he plans for the future. The dot over the ‘i’ in his first name is almost an afterthought, demonstrating that he is always on the move.

Jack Dorsey

As the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey incorporates this into his signature. Instead of the traditional first and last name, he makes it @jack. This incorporates the method of identifying someone on Twitter, and shows he is open and straightforward with how he communicates. Also, by not adding his last name, he shows people that he is a relaxed and easygoing person.

Kevin J. Kennedy

Once the CEO of Avaya, Kevin J. Kennedy takes quite a journey with the line he draws stemming out of the ‘y’ in his last name. This suggests he sees himself as a very important person and wants to lead a commanding presence. Also, the fact that the line travels all the way to before his first name indicates he is someone who frequently looks to the past.

Mark Zuckerberg

As the CEO of Facebook, you would expect Mark Zuckerberg to be an open person. However, signing barely more than his initials tells us he is actually very private. Every letter is capitalized though, which indicates he has high confidence in himself, as well as high self-esteem.

How to use your hand signature to get ahead in life and in business

When comparing what the studies related to “signature science” have found to the famous people’s signatures we looked at, the science overall checks out.

Of course, these don’t take into account whether someone is ‘faking’ their signature to appear a certain way, or attempting to mask something like narcissism. However, it’s quite accurate overall. When you look at the signature of famous personalities, you can see that the studies done on signatures are relatively accurate.

Now it’s time to get to know how you can properly use your hand signature to get ahead in life and business

Types of signatures and their uses

The personal signature has gone through several transformations in its long history. Before arriving where we are today with electronic and digital versions. However, the signature’s meaning and purpose have largely remained. The same throughout the years: it’s a personal depiction of someone’s name that proves identity and is often affixed to documents to represent certification.

Digital signatures these days have become the norm for a lot of different scenarios, such as signing a contract. It’s become relatively commonplace to add your digital signature to documents, however, it wasn’t always such a simple affair.

Electronic signature vs digital signatures

It’s important to know that there’s a difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature.

An electronic signature or an e-signature is generally accepted as being an acknowledgment of an electronic message. According to the E-Sign Act of 2000, an electronic signature is defined as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”

A few examples of an electronic signature are:

• A name typed in a document in electronic form
• Adding a typed name at the end of an email
• In banking, your PIN (Personal Identification Number) is considered an electronic signature
• A digitally captured image of your handwritten signature, such as on a touch-screen device

Digital signatures, on the other hand, involve a lot more security features compared to an electronic signature and are generally considered to be a lot more secure. A digital signature will include a certificate of authenticity that ensures the signature on a document is valid.

When using a digital signature, all parties can see when a document was changed in a way that would render it invalid. The sign-off includes a private decryption key, which makes it a lot more secure and verifiable by anyone involved.

Wet Signatures

If someone asks you for a wet sign-off, don’t be too confused.

A wet signature is simply a handwritten signature that is done in person on an original copy of a contract or document. Today this type of signing can be encountered when opening a bank account or signing any legally binding documents.

The term “wet signature” evokes the idea of a done-in ink that takes time to dry. Of course, these days you won’t be signing any documents with a quill and parchment, so wet signatures mainly refer to a contract signed in person, not digitally or electronically.

Email Signatures

These days, most business and personal correspondence is done using email. This has virtually wiped out the use of the classic signature. However, you can get a media-rich signature added to your emails that can provide a wealth of information for others. Simply typing your name will be something you will never want to go back to again, once you start using Wisestamp’s signature features.

When it comes to picking a signature for your email, there are plenty of options here too. Aside from including your name. You also need to choose an appropriate email sign off. Any relevant links, and other contact information.

To

Subject

Make it yours

Made with WiseStamp

Generals tips and guidelines when making your email signature:

• Keep it simple: you don’t always need an elaborate signature. Make sure to include your name, job title, company, and phone number, and you’ll be good to go. No need to add all your phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, or multiple emails if it’s not relevant.
  
• Include an image: it’s become more popular to add a small profile image aligned with the text of your signature. This adds a personal touch and can help new clients or partners get to know you better through an email.
  
• Add your logo: if you don’t want to add an image of yourself, you can add your company’s logo.
  
• Use social icons: it’s a good idea to add icons or links to your business’s social platforms. Your clients can easily find you online and so you drive traffic to your different channels.
  
• Share other business information: Aside from adding social icons or links. You can also use your signature to share a link to your business’s latest blog post. Your company’s recent awards, or even a CTA for newsletter sign-ups.
  
• Make sure it’s mobile-friendly: since most people nowadays check their emails on their phone. It’s important to ensure that your signature looks good on multiple devices.

Try using the WiseStamp free email signature maker to create a custom email signature where you can design the look exactly how you want it. It also has tons of different social media icons to choose from. So, you can add all your different channels to your email signature, as well as links to your blog posts, promotional banners, and even legal disclaimers.

Whether you are a freelancer, entrepreneur, or small business, Wisestamp can provide you with a signature solution that is simply unmatched anywhere else. We enable you to add a rich and professional signature to every email you send.

These unique signatures can promote your business with every correspondence, strengthening your brand, getting more leads, and engaging people with your social media accounts. Help your business grow and enjoy a more dynamic signature by going with Wisestamp.

Signature history & evolution: a brief timeline

The meaning of a signature has stayed the same over the years, but it has taken on many forms. Today, we may primarily think of a signature as a way to close an email. When you look back throughout history. A signature has meant so many different things.

In order to understand and appreciate the signature as we know it, we should learn about its origins. Read on to discover the signature’s history throughout different eras until its modern adaptations today.

Different time periods saw different versions of a signature. Its medium has changed over time, taking on different forms and contexts. 

The only constant is that man has been using a signature. In one form or another, for over a thousand years to denote a personal identification, confirmation, or witness.

Let’s take a brief look at the signature’s history and its evolution over time.

3000 BC: The Earliest Known Signature

Some of the first identifiable signatures date all the way back to 3000 BC. In ancient societies such as the Egyptians and Sumerians. These societies began etching pictographs, such as hieroglyphics, consisting of images that convey an event, story, or historical moment. 

A Sumerian tablet dating back to 3100 BC is thought to be the earliest example of a signature. This clay tablet has markings of a scribe, Gar Ama, and is considered an ancient example. Someone uses a combination of words and symbols to indicate their identity.

1200 BC – 1069 AD: Ancient Greeks and The Alphabet

Many things happened with the way language was conveyed and written over this long period of time. The ancient Greeks and Romans placed a great deal of importance on language. 

Around 1200 BC, the Greeks began using the Phoenician alphabet. Over the next few centuries. It evolved into the more modern Latin alphabet that we use today. 

It wasn’t until 1069 that we got the first documented use of a signature using the Latin alphabet from a well-known historical figure. El Cid, a Medieval military leader from Spain, left a signature of his name in a document demonstrating a donation he made to the Cathedral of Valencia. El Cid’s signature would become closer to what we know today as the modern.

13th Century: The Rise of Wax Seals

Though not a classic signature involving a name scribbled on a document, wax seals served a similar purpose as signatures.

The wax seal became more popularized in the Middle Ages. It was typically used by nobility or clergy members, such as monarchs, royal representatives, and bishops. A wax seal often provided a level of authentication to a document, such as a contract or an official letter.

Like signatures, each seal was completely unique to its owner. Though the Latin alphabet was already invented, a lot of people remained illiterate. The wax seal gained more popularity and became more frequently used. Among common people, it was a good alternative for those who didn’t know how to read or write.

One of the most famous documents signed with a wax seal is the Magna Carta. In 1215, the King of England stamped the document with his seal. The Magna Carta went on to be one of England’s most important documents.

1677 and 1776: The Modern Signature is Born

In 1677, the English Parliament passed The Statute of Frauds Act, which allowed signatures to become what they are today.

The act was instated to curb the rise of fraud. The law stated that contracts need to be signed and that a signature implies a binding contract.

John Hancock’s famous signature on the American Declaration. Independence in 1776 would go on to become one of the most recognizable signatures in history. More importantly, his signature denotes a binding contract.

The 1980s – 2000s: The Signature Gets an Update

Like everything else that got updated with the rise of technology, the signature was no exception.

In the 1980s when fax machines became more commonly used in business and daily life, contracts were often scanned electronically. Therefore, laws had to be changed in many countries in order to adapt to this new technology. In order to ensure the legality and authenticity of these electronically sent documents.

Indeed, they saw a huge shift with more advanced technologies, such as digital and electronic signatures.

The post Best signatures by famous businessmen (breakdown & tips) appeared first on WiseStamp.

Now what most people don’t realize is that you don’t have to be ‘everywhere’ on social media. My philosophy is that fewer accounts used well are far better than many accounts that aren’t used well.

That old saying, ‘Jack of all trades, Master of none’ is true with social media. Find what works for you and stick to it. And, if you are struggling to find out which are the most used platforms, you can check out this social media dictionary.

Here are my top tips to kick-start your social media activity to create a strong brand identity.

1. Explore your options and find the platform that suits you

Every social media platform has a different type of audience. For example, LinkedIn is very business-like, Facebook is more social and Twitter can be a good mix of both. You need to do some research to determine where your target market is ‘hanging out’. Once you know that, you know exactly where you should be.

For example, if your client base is made up of lawyers then Linkedin is probably a good place for you to become active. There you can create relationships with lawyers and attorneys by connecting with them through their profiles and participating in discussions in law-related groups like Corporate Lawyer Network or National Bar Association Network.

On the other hand, if you want to offer your services to small businesses with shop-fronts then Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest could be good platforms for you to develop those relationships.

You also need to bear in mind which platforms YOU enjoy using. You will have far better results using the platforms you enjoy rather than the ones you don’t enjoy.

2. Your profile set up is extremely important

Once you’ve found your prime social media platform(s), you need to set them up to ensure they are 100% optimized.

It’s essential to keep your branding consistent and where appropriate, use a professional headshot, complete your Bio/About Us sections, and so on. LinkedIn will actually offer prompts to encourage full optimization.

3. Determine your social media branding strategy?

The following five elements will assist you to determine a strategy:

• Voice – choose the voice and tone which best reflects your business and culture, and which you will be using for all your marketing and social media sharing. Will your tone be serious, playful or informational? Whatever you choose, make sure that you’re consistent
• Frequency – stay relevant and be seen! Posting frequently is the key to creating community and building relationships. Letting your online followers know when they can expect to hear from you is a good way to ensure that they keep coming back.
• Timing – choose specific times that you will be active online, providing marketing updates, engaging with followers and sharing content. You will likely want to choose times that your target audience is active online as well.
• Message – your message must be consistent with other marketing efforts.
• Engagement – never forget that social media needs to be social. Work on ‘less push and more pull.’  

4. Use all the available tools for greater effectiveness                  

You’ve probably seen the range of scheduling platforms in use: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, Co-schedule, Sendible, etc. These all allow you to schedule your posts in advance to free up your time to be social and engage with your audience. And to go one step further, Hootsuite and Buffer also have browser apps where you can share something you’ve seen but at a time you choose, so it slots in with your other scheduled content.

I mainly use Hootsuite for gentle scheduling, retweeting, and replying to others but also Buffer in an ad-hoc fashion. I use Hootsuite on my desktop and also have the App installed on my phone and tablet. 

Even when you’ve done all of your research to learn where your audience is ‘hanging out’, it can be time-consuming to remain consistent with your posting frequency. You need to involve your audience, stay relevant, and keep your brand at the forefront of customers’ and prospective customers’ minds. Consistency is the key!

Social media for freelancers—does it work? How?

This seems to be a question many freelancers ask themselves. Does social media even work? Is it worth the time and effort? Should I even bother?

My answer is yes. Definitely.

I am by no means an expert in social media or marketing, so I can’t tell you all the hard and fast rules on social media and how to make crazy sales. But I do know the basics, and when I look at my list of clients I realize almost half have come from some social media outlet.  A few more have ended up deciding to go with me as their editor ultimately because I’m there—I’m available—I’m in front of them.

The main benefit of social media is exposure.

Using social media actively puts you in front of your audience—it shows you exist—and by posting helpful content you establish yourself as a go-to expert in the industry. You don’t have to be “the best” or even the most knowledgeable, but if your focus is helping authors/clients, then you will be seen as an expert in your field.

Most of my work comes from individuals. I like this because I get to know my clients and build relationships with them. And there are thousands of authors and writers on social media.

It’s the same for publishers, news companies, magazines, organizations. Connecting with potential clients and businesses on social media establishes a connection and shows you’re involved in the industry and topic.

Have you heard the saying that it takes 7 separate times of seeing something before a person decides to buy it? Apply that to clients. If they constantly see you around, you may soon become familiar, trustworthy, and exactly the editor or freelancer they want to work with.

A little example from my own experience:

Twitter is the most active social media platform. I’ve found that Twitter is loaded with writers and publishing industry folks. I love it. In order to keep up my presence, I schedule tweets for the entire week in advance. I post interesting and helpful content geared toward writers because those are my ideal clients.

I write to almost everyone that follows me on Twitter and thank them for following. If they are a writer (I can tell by their profile bio) I’ll let them know they can come to me with any editing questions and I’ll be happy to help. Sometimes I’ll even give myself a shameless plug: “and if you are in need of an editor…” Guess what? It’s worked.

Share content from other blogs/people that are related to your topic and audience and link back to those folks. Almost any blogger in the publishing industry is on Twitter. When I link to those bloggers as I share an article they wrote, that’s a great connection tool. Because it connects me to other experts and those folks will also be grateful I’m helping them out. Which in turn helps me out.

The main social media sites I use for business are Facebook (company page, not personal), Twitter, and LinkedIn. There are MANY, more, and you may find others work better for you. I’ve discovered these are the sites I enjoy updating and connecting with others on, so that’s where I’ve placed my focus.

The Basic “Musts” of Social Media:

1. You must be active and consistent. If you share five tweets in 10 minutes and then don’t share anything for the rest of the day, it’s unlikely your content will be seen. Post a lot and often. *I use Hootsuite to schedule my social media in advance.
2. Share useful content. What would your ideal audience want to read or learn about?  
3. Don’t over-promote . . . heard of the 80/20 rule? The idea is you promote others 80% of the time and 20% of your own.
4. Engage with your audience. Say hello to new followers, have conversations, answer questions, share opinions. Basically—be a real person.
5. Having a newsletter or blog will only help. If you have a blog, you can share those articles across social media and others may pick up the links and share them on their social media and it just goes from there. This all links back to your site. Win-win.
6. Stick with the platforms you actually enjoy. There are TONS for social media sites, but I suggest picking 2-5 platforms that you really like using. Spreading yourself too thin will drop your credibility and presence. You still need to complete current projects after all.

Conclusion

So I believe YES, social media works.

It may not be right for you, and that’s fine—not worth forcing something. But if you’re a freelancer that’s been debating starting up for a while now—my suggestion is to go for it. Focus on 2-3 sites, be sure to engage, share, and be consistent.

Then, after some time, ask new clients how they’ve found you. You might be surprised.

The post How to do killer branding on social media (2024) appeared first on WiseStamp.

When someone is looking for a product or service they are most likely to search online than to open a phone book. Do those even exist anymore?

That’s why it’s important for you to make it as easy as possible for potential clients to find you. In order to make that happen, you need to actively promote your SMB online.

1. Develop Your Personal Brand

According to a study by LexisNexis and Martindale-Hubbell. 85% of law firms find that the majority of traffic to their website is directed at their lawyers’ bio pages.

That’s because your potential clients are looking to hire a lawyer, not a firm. They want to see who these lawyers are as individuals. Only then they will actually pick up the phone to give you a call.

This means that each lawyer in your firm should take steps to actively promote their personal brand online. This will help them come across as more than just a generic picture on a company website.

Improved bio’s:

Since the bio pages are generally where visitors to your website head to first you want to make sure that they are as informative and engaging as possible. Have each employee fill out their own bio’s that include all of the following information:

• Past work experience, licenses, and other credentials.
• Relevant keywords, for SEO rankings.
• A professional photo.
• Links to publications and social channels.
• A clear call-to-action that lets visitors know what you want them to do.

To

Subject

Make it yours

Linkedin profiles:

Linkedin is a business-oriented social platform for networking with other industry professionals and each employee at your company should have an account here.

To ensure that your employees get the full benefit from their Linkedin accounts, they should do the following:

• Complete all details of their Linkedin Profile, including work history.
• Write an engaging description of themselves and the services they provide.
• Upload a professional profile picture.
• Join groups related to the industry and participate in discussions with other group members.

2. Generate Content

One way to get prospective clients to visit your website is by offering them valuable content.

This will help draw people to your website and keep them engaged. It will establish your business as an expert that will increase brand awareness.

You can use a tool like BuzzSumo to find out topics that are popular online. Then create a post on legal aspects of the subject.

Creating a publishing schedule is a good idea. This will help you plan posts in advance. Select topics to write about that are relevant for particular times of the year.

3. Get Social With It

In addition, to encouraging your workers to become active on social media. It’s a good idea for the company as a whole to have accounts. On the most popular social media platforms: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Social media is a great way to connect online with potential clients and other industry professionals. It’s a very effective way of sharing articles on your website.

Linkedin:

Create a company page, fill out the profile, and add an attractive banner and logo. Encourage all of your employees to follow the page. Make sure to update your page regularly with articles from your website. It should be interesting news and current company updates.

Twitter:

Create an account and begin following clients, other alliances, and professional influencers. Twitter is a great place for networking in real-time and for learning about your competitors.

Facebook:

Create a Facebook business page for your company. Send a one-time email to your business contacts and friends inviting them to like it. Here you can share links to articles on your website and introduce topics for discussion to engage visitors to your page.

4. Set up Email Signature Marketing

With email signature marketing every email that you send is an opportunity to market your services, which is why it’s crucial to optimize all aspects of your email. One way of doing this is by including a signature that has your contact information, but you should consider going beyond that. Try adding a call to action and social icons linking to your social accounts.

Use email signature management to design a professional and attractive email signature that includes all of the information that you need to promote yourself and your business.

With the WiseStamp Signature Manager, you also get full control over all of your employees’ email signatures so that you can ensure that they are all in line with your brand, and even update them all at the same time with your newest blog post or promotional material.

5. Advertise Online:

• Adword campaigns: Google AdWords are a great way to get your small business prominently listed in Google search results.
  
• Facebook ads: Since many of your prospects are probably spending some part of their day on Facebook. Facebook ads are a great way to reach them. There are several different types of ads, so take a look at the options and decide which you think would be meet your needs.

6. Create Videos

Youtube is the second large search engine and it’s owned by Google, which means videos receive attention from Google searches. That’s why it’s a good idea to invest in creating a few videos that can be posted on your website and shared on Youtube.

Have your content creator create a series of videos addressing different topics within their specialty.
Videos can feature your company discussing various situations in which have assisted clients or they may answer some of the commonly asked questions that you receive. Videos will help potential clients feel more connected to your firm.

7. Optimize Your Website for lead conversion

If visitors to your website are coming by to browse and then leaving, you need to make some changes. to your site that will convert these visitors to leads.

Call to Action

Add a clear call to action to each page of your website, all of your ads, articles, and marketing material. This lets visitors to your site know exactly what it is that you want them to do, which probably involves clicking a Contact Us button that will open up a form where the visitor can fill in their contact information.

Live Chat

Many law firms have found that adding a Live Chat feature to their website encouraged visitors to contact the firm with questions. More so than providing an email address or contact form. This is probably because a live chat feels more casual than sending an email or making a phone call and also offers instant gratification.

Mobile-friendliness

Make sure that your website can be accessed on all mobile devices. Since a large number of your visitors will probably be using their phones or tablets to access your site.

8. Get listed in local directories

Make sure that your SMB is listed in all of the local business and industry directories. It’s important to find the most common directories on the web and list your business.

For example, if you are a law firm, below are some of the most popular industry directories that you should be listed in.

Popular industry directories:

• HG.Org legal directory
• FindLaw
• Lawyers.com
• LawInfo
• Yahoo Directory

9. Participate In Local Events.

Getting involved in local events can be a great way to promote yourself both on and offline. If you host a seminar or sponsor the local softball team, there are sure to be participants taking pictures and posting them to Facebook and Instagram.

When this happens make sure that your company’s page is tagged in the pictures. You can request from the poster to include a link to your website as well.

10. Monitor Your Online Reputation

Sign up for a service that alerts you whenever your company is mentioned online. You can set up alerts for your company name when your name comes up in an online discussion or in a review, you will be notified.

Then decide if you would like to respond to the comment. Offering an appreciative “thank you” to a client who’s praising your services, or defending yourself if you come under criticism. Try Talkwalker, which is a free social media monitoring tool that will let you know when your company name is mentioned online.

11. Track the results of your online marketing activities

Now, you have gone to all of this effort to bring more traffic to your website, it’s time to see if any of your marketing activities have worked. One of the best ways to do this is by using Google Analytics to track your website’s visitors to see where they are coming from, how they found you, and what are they doing on your website.

Once you have this information you can see if your online marketing activities are working and which areas might need some tweaking. Each social network offers its own set of analytic tools that will allow you to measure the results of your activities on those specific platforms.

By following these 11 guidelines you can stay ahead of your competitors and stay on track. By Promoting your law firm online you will soon see a definitive rise in your website’s traffic.

Stayed tuned for next week’s blog post, we will continue to share our latest updates on how to promote your business in the marketing world.

The post 11 ways to promote your law firm online appeared first on WiseStamp.