As we continue into the New Year, it’s a time of reinvention. If you’re looking to further your business impact and build a better brand, you’ll need to incorporate a multifaceted approach. From design to company integrity, social media trends to video usage, bolstering your brand can mean amazing results for your bottom line.

1.   Design

If you want to lure in customers, you need the visual imagery to entice. While the design of your logo doesn’t make success a surety, it does put a face to your brand. As such, it’s essential that you spend time creating a logo that translates to the story behind your brand. Retention is key; you need a design which is quickly and easily recognized—if a customer is faced with similar companies, the symbol they remember will greatly sway their buying decisions. The easier your logo can be identified, the better your consumer retention will be. Design schemes change, and the longer you’re in business, the more you’ll need to switch up your logo design to maintain modern appeal.

2.  Integral Integrity

Remain authentic and stay true to your brand and business promises—this is how a brand culture is developed. If you’re looking to revamp your brand strategy, you have to think long-term. This means building an integrity that your audience recognizes as being integral to your brand. How do you achieve this? By incorporating feedback in your service, improving your product, and listening to consumer needs. While you attract customers with your logo, you retain them with your company’s character and responsive service.

3.  Social Media Channels

Stay faithful to the trends of your varied social media channels. While cross-promotion is essential, make sure you’re not posting the same content across the board—quality trumps quantity. Different channels cater to different audiences, and content variety will help your brand stick out from the crowd. On outlets like Facebook and Instagram you should focus on encouraging engagement, while other outlets may require an appeal for quickly branded content that can be viewed and digested in a moment’s time. While your brand should remain consistent across these channels, altering how you get your brand goals across on each will do you more favors.

4.  Videos Take Priority

Video content is becoming more and more integral to brand success. As training seminars and live workshops become desired learning tools, brands must keep up with shifting technology offerings to compete. Videos are essential for telling your brand’s story, serve as the perfect platform for product showcasing, and grab attention in highly-saturated social media channels. Whether it’s how-to’s, training guides, inspirational shorts, or your product in action, if you’re not doing all you can to utilize video technology, you’re hurting your brand.

5. Become an Expert

With personal brands on par with those of major corporations, it helps to have an edge, and you can’t have edge if you become stagnant with your processes and education. Utilize the tools at your disposal to become well-versed on your product and its overall industry—business and marketing constantly evolve, and you should too.Learning is a priority for every member of your company. Empower your employees with access to seminars, skill training, technology education, and anything else that may apply to your company goals.

6. Optimize for Mobile

Both Gen Y and Gen Z are attached at the hip to their smartphones, with an overwhelming 87% claiming they are never without their phones on a daily basis. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile phones, you’re missing out on a trove of customers. Need more encouragement? Fourteen percent of these say they wouldn’t do business with a company who doesn’t have a mobile website. Increase your conversion rates by revamping your user interface—make it easy for customers to peruse and purchase your service or product. Catering to this large population of digital natives is essential to building your brand, and in today’s world, you simply can’t do so without optimizing your information for mobile use.

Building a better brand should be at the top of your priority list. Making a name for yourself in an ever competitive world can be done through a variety of means, including visual redesign, technology optimization, consistent education, and company integrity. Utilize these tips when planning your brand strategy as we kick off 2016 and watch the benefits come at you in leaps and bounds.

 About the Author:
Sacha Ferrandi is a founding partner of Source Capital Funding, Inc., a direct lender specializing in hard money loans.  As the owner of a small business, Sacha is well versed in a multitude of marketing channels and branding initiatives.