Viral referral marketing is a powerful strategy to grow your business by leveraging the word-of-mouth of your existing and potential customers. It involves encouraging them to share your brand, product, or service with their friends and contacts, typically in exchange for some kind of reward or incentive.
But how do you make sure that your viral referral marketing campaign stands out from the crowd and attracts the right audience? How do you create a strong brand identity that resonates with your target market and inspires them to spread the word about you?
What Is Brand Identity and Why Is It Important for Viral Referral Marketing?
Brand identity is the way you present yourself to the world. It includes your name, logo, colors, fonts, tone of voice, values, mission, vision, and personality. It also encompasses how you communicate with your customers, how you deliver your products or services, and how you handle feedback and complaints.
Brand identity is important for any business, but especially for viral referral marketing. Why? Because it helps you to:
- Create a memorable impression. A strong brand identity makes you stand out from the competition and helps people remember you. It also creates a positive association between your brand and your products or services.
- Build trust and credibility. A strong brand identity shows that you are professional, reliable, and consistent. It also conveys your values and purpose, which can help you connect with your customers on an emotional level.
- Increase loyalty and retention. A strong brand identity fosters a sense of belonging and community among your customers. It also encourages them to stay loyal to your brand and repeat their purchases.
- Boost referrals and virality. A strong brand identity makes your customers proud to be associated with you and eager to share your brand with others. It also makes it easier for them to refer you to their friends and contacts, as they can easily explain what you do and why you are different.
How to Create a Strong Brand Identity for Viral Referral Marketing: 7 Tips
Now that you know what brand identity is and why it matters for viral referral marketing, let’s look at some practical tips on how to create one.
1. Define Your Target Audience
The first step to creating a strong brand identity is to know who you are talking to. You need to define your target audience clearly and understand their needs, wants, pain points, goals, preferences, behaviors, and motivations.
This will help you to tailor your brand identity to suit their expectations and desires. It will also help you to craft a compelling value proposition that highlights how you can solve their problems or fulfill their needs better than anyone else.
To define your target audience, you can use various methods such as:
- Market research. Conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online polls to gather data about your potential customers. You can use tools like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Google Forms to create and distribute your surveys.
- Customer feedback. Collect feedback from your existing customers through reviews, testimonials, ratings, comments, or social media posts. You can use tools like Trustpilot, Yelp, or Facebook Reviews to collect and display your customer feedback.
- Competitor analysis. Analyze your competitors’ websites, social media profiles, blogs, newsletters, ads, or reviews to see who they are targeting and how they are positioning themselves. You can use tools like SimilarWeb, SEMrush, or BuzzSumo to conduct your competitor analysis.
- Persona creation. Create detailed profiles of your ideal customers based on the data you collected from the previous methods. You can use tools like HubSpot Persona Generator, Xtensio, or Userforge to create and visualize your personas.
2. Choose Your Brand Name
The next step is to choose a name for your brand that reflects your value proposition and appeals to your target audience. Your brand name should be:
- Unique. Your brand name should be distinctive and original, not generic or confusing. It should also be easy to spell and pronounce.
- Relevant. Your brand name should be related to what you do and why you do it. It should also convey some benefit or emotion that resonates with your customers.
- Memorable. Your brand name should be catchy and memorable, not boring or forgettable. It should also be short and simple enough to fit in a domain name, a logo, or a hashtag.
To choose a brand name, you can use various methods such as:
- Brainstorming. Generate as many ideas as possible without judging them at first. You can use tools like NameMesh, Namelix, or Shopify Business Name Generator to get some inspiration.
- Testing. Test your ideas with your target audience using surveys, polls, or social media posts. You can use tools like PickFu, UsabilityHub, or Google Ads to run your tests.
- Trademarking. Check if your chosen name is available as a domain name and a trademark in your country or region. You can use tools like GoDaddy, Trademarkia, or USPTO to check the availability of your name.
3. Design Your Logo
The third step is to design a logo for your brand that represents your value proposition and appeals to your target audience. Your logo should be:
- Simple. Your logo should be easy to recognize and understand at a glance. It should also be scalable and adaptable to different sizes and formats.
- Relevant. Your logo should be related to what you do and why you do it. It should also convey some benefit or emotion that resonates with your customers.
- Memorable. Your logo should be distinctive and original, not generic or confusing. It should also be easy to spell and pronounce.
To design a logo, you can use various methods such as:
- Sketching. Draw your ideas on paper or on a digital device using a stylus or a mouse. You can use tools like Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, or Sketch to create your sketches.
- Prototyping. Turn your sketches into digital prototypes using vector graphics or bitmap images. You can use tools like Figma, Canva, or Logo Maker to create your prototypes.
- Testing. Test your prototypes with your target audience using surveys, polls, or social media posts. You can use tools like PickFu, UsabilityHub, or Google Ads to run your tests.
4. Select Your Brand Colors
The fourth step is to select a color palette for your brand that reflects your value proposition and appeals to your target audience. Your brand colors should be:
- Harmonious. Your brand colors should work well together and create a pleasing visual effect. They should also match your logo and other brand elements.
- Relevant. Your brand colors should be related to what you do and why you do it. They should also convey some benefit or emotion that resonates with your customers.
- Memorable. Your brand colors should be distinctive and original, not generic or common. They should also be easy to recognize and remember.
To select your brand colors, you can use various methods such as:
- Color theory. Learn the basics of color theory and how different colors affect human psychology and behavior. You can use tools like Color Wheel, Adobe Color or Coolors to learn about color theory and generate color schemes.
- Color inspiration. Look for color inspiration from nature, art, culture, trends, or other brands. You can use tools like Pinterest, Dribbble, or Design Seeds to find color inspiration.
- Color testing. Test your color schemes with your target audience using surveys, polls, or social media posts. You can use tools like PickFu, UsabilityHub, or Google Ads to run your tests.
5. Choose Your Brand Fonts
The fifth step is to choose a font family for your brand that reflects your value proposition and appeals to your target audience. Your brand fonts should be:
- Legible. Your brand fonts should be easy to read and understand at any size and on any device. They should also be compatible with different languages and alphabets.
- Relevant. Your brand fonts should be related to what you do and why you do it. They should also convey some benefit or emotion that resonates with your customers.
- Memorable. Your brand fonts should be distinctive and original, not generic or common. They should also be easy to recognize and remember.
To choose your brand fonts, you can use various methods such as:
- Typography basics. Learn the basics of typography and how different fonts affect human psychology and behavior. You can use tools like Typography Handbook, Typewolf, or Font Pair to learn about typography and find font combinations.
- Font inspiration. Look for font inspiration from nature, art, culture, trends, or other brands. You can use tools like Pinterest, Dribbble, or Fonts In Use to find font inspiration.
- Testing. Test your fonts with your target audience using surveys, polls, or social media posts. You can use tools like PickFu, UsabilityHub, or Google Ads to run your tests.
6. Define Your Tone of Voice
The sixth step is to define a tone of voice for your brand that reflects your value proposition and appeals to your target audience. Your tone of voice should be:
- Consistent. Your tone of voice should be the same across all your communication channels and platforms. It should also match your brand personality and voice.
- Relevant. Your tone of voice should be related to what you do and why you do it. It should also convey some benefit or emotion that resonates with your customers.
- Memorable. Your tone of voice should be distinctive and original, not generic or common. It should also be easy to recognize and remember.
To define your tone of voice, you can use various methods such as:
- Voice attributes. Choose a few adjectives that describe how you want your brand to sound like, such as friendly, professional, humorous, or authoritative. You can use tools like Brand Voice Generator, Brand Personality Quiz, or Brand Archetypes to find your voice attributes.
- Tone guidelines. Create a set of guidelines that explain how to apply your tone of voice in different situations and channels, such as formal or informal, positive or negative, or email or social media. You can use tools like Hemingway Editor, Grammarly, or ProWritingAid to check your tone guidelines.
- Tone examples. Provide some examples of how to use your tone of voice in different types of content, such as headlines, slogans, introductions, body paragraphs, conclusions, calls to action, or FAQs. You can use tools like Headline Analyzer, Slogan Generator, or Blog Ideas Generator to create your tone examples.
7. Create a Brand Style Guide and Tone of Voice Document
The final step is to create a brand style guide and tone of voice document that summarize all the elements of your brand identity and provide clear instructions on how to use them correctly and consistently. Your brand style guide and tone of voice document should include:
- An introduction. Explain the purpose and scope of your brand style guide and tone of voice document, as well as the target audience and goals of your brand identity.
- A logo section. Show your logo variations, sizes, colors, spacing, placement, and usage dos and don’ts.
- A color section. Show your color palette, codes, meanings, combinations, and usage dos and don’ts.
- A font section. Show your font family, sizes, weights, styles, alignments, and usage dos and don’ts.
- An image section. Show your image types, sources, formats, sizes, resolutions, styles, and usage dos and don’ts.
- A layout section. Show your layout grid, margins, padding, alignment, hierarchy, and usage dos and don’ts.
- A tone of voice section. Show your voice attributes
- Voice attributes, such as friendly, professional, humorous, or authoritative.
- Tone guidelines, such as formal or informal, positive or negative, or email or social media.
- Tone examples, such as headlines, slogans, introductions, body paragraphs, conclusions, calls to action, or FAQs.
You can use tools like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or Pages to create your brand style guide and tone of voice document. You can also use templates like Brand Style Guide Template, Tone of Voice Template, or Brand Identity Guidelines Template to save time and effort.
Conclusion
In this post, we’ve shared with you seven tips to create a strong brand identity for viral referral marketing. However to soften the tasks for you, Viralify can help you create and launch viral referral campaigns that boost your growth exponentially.
To recap, here are the seven tips:
- Define your target audience
- Choose your brand name
- Design your logo
- Select your brand colors
- Choose your brand fonts
- Define your tone of voice
- Create a brand style guide and tone of voice document
We hope you found this post useful and inspiring. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about brand identity and viral referral marketing.
What is the difference between brand identity and brand image?
Brand identity is how you want your brand to be perceived by your audience. It includes the elements that you control, such as your logo, colors, fonts, tone of voice, etc.
Brand image is how your brand is actually perceived by your audience. It includes the elements that you don’t control, such as customer reviews, word-of-mouth, media coverage, etc.
The goal of creating a strong brand identity is to align it with your desired brand image as much as possible.
What are some examples of viral referral marketing campaigns?
Some examples of viral referral marketing campaigns are:
- Dropbox: Dropbox offered extra storage space to users who referred their friends to sign up for the service. This helped them grow from 100k to 4 million users in 15 months.
- Airbnb: Airbnb offered travel credits to users who invited their friends to join the platform. This helped them grow from 10k to 650k listings in four years.
- Uber: Uber offered free rides to users who referred their friends to use the app. This helped them grow from 1k to 50k drivers in two years.
How can I measure the success of my viral referral marketing campaign?
There are several metrics that you can use to measure the success of your viral referral marketing campaign, such as:
- Referral rate. The percentage of users who refer others to join your platform or service.
- Virality coefficient. The average number of new users that each existing user brings in through referrals.
- Viral cycle time. The average time it takes for a user to refer another user.
- Customer acquisition cost. The average cost of acquiring a new user through referrals.
- Customer lifetime value. The average revenue generated by a user over their lifetime with your platform or service.
You can use tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Viral Loops to track these metrics and optimize your campaign accordingly.
