The modern world is full of brand imagery and seeing multiple images of brands every day is unavoidable. In fact, a 2008 article in the magazine, Psychology Today, stated that:
“Each of us is subjected to 3,000 to 10,1000 brand exposures every day — not just in television commercials and on freeway billboards but also via the decals on people’s t-shirts and the logos on our coworkers’ coffee mugs.”
Business and Product Identity
Establishing a strong brand is the essential foundation for the success of your business. You need affiliates who embrace your brand and product identity, and who are willing to share their passion for your brand with their audience. If you are in a niche market, this means seeking out niche and mainstream affiliates who know which of their audience will appreciate your merchandise or services.
Once you have a defined image and purpose, you can look to start building an identity for the business that you can then spread across your affiliate network. A logo design should be next, something clear and straightforward, and something your demographic groups will easily recognize. Colors used in the logo can be as equally important as the design. For example, an eco-friendly company using a green logo, or a combination of different greens, is an obvious choice.
A consistent brand image gives you a clear identity and lets your customer base easily recognize your purpose. However, image isn’t everything: Your products need to also have a strong, recognizable identity such as reliable, stylish, or strong. This recognizable product identity can boost positive brand perceptions and draw the right affiliate marketers to you.
Be Aware of Perceptions
How you perceive your business is important, but how customers and potential customers perceive it is even more critical. If you’re building an affiliate network, you want people to recognize your brand identity across different affiliates’ social media accounts. This sense of continuity and familiarity can help them choose you over any competitors.
Be very clear about your values as a company. Promote a consistent image. Your products and business logos aren’t the only part of your business perception; your language and your values also drive public awareness of your brand.
This means you need to build a set of values and a marketing language that can stand out enough to be distinct from the sea of social media posts, but that can also harmonize with the voices of your affiliate marketing network. If you stand out as a business, affiliates may seek you out as a partner. Successful partnerships between the various players in a network can increase the brand’s identity.
Your Brand as a Personality
Think of the brand image you create for your affiliate marketing network as a personality. You don’t just want people to buy from your brand; you want them to like it. As you spread your marketing endeavors across multiple platforms, you want these customers to almost think of you as a friend or at least a trusted advisor on the best products in their field of interest. You want them to follow your Facebook page, follow you on Instagram, sign up for email newsletters, and subscribe to any blogs you write.
With that relationship established, they trust your brand, and, as you expand the products you send to affiliate marketers, your brand — and your revenue stream — grows. You are representing the interests of affiliates and consumers even as they support you, and a good personality means a good relationship between all parties. A good relationship means a smooth business process and profits.
To build this trustworthy personality, take customer and affiliate feedback seriously. Respond to questions and concerns on social media. Talk about the improvements you are making to your products and services to show your consumers and your affiliates that it isn’t just about product identity: Your business is about personality, character, and integrity.
The Bottom Line
In many ways, how you brand your business and products for affiliate marketing success is no different from how you would brand any company. You want customers and potential affiliates to know that you are reliable, trustworthy, personable, and recognizable. This brand image is what will set you apart from the competition and build important consumer trust in your products.
