By Kathleen Furore
From Tribune Content Agency
I’ve had several people ask how small startup companies with very minimal marketing budgets can create a brand that will help move them forward. I put that question out to industry experts, who offered advice on steps they can take to build an image they want their company to stand for.
- Create a name and a logo for your business
Make sure the name and logo fits the company’s values and target audience, stresses Gary Davies, who started the DJ and event hire company
Fizz and Groove in 2019, just before the pandemic hit, on a very small budget with little to no marketing budget.
“I was targeting the luxury end of the events industry, so I went for a logo that was sleek, modern and looked luxurious,” Davies says. “I used gold and black colors, which reminded people of this. There are plenty of extremely cheap logo creation sites on google, and a bit of Googling will bring up lots of options under $100.”
“While it’s a plus to have an eye for design, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to build a solid brand,” echoes Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of
Elevate My Brand, a Los Angeles-based marketing agency that serves startups as well as blue chip global brands. “What you do need is consistency. For visual branding, this means establishing a color pallet, typeface and logo.”
- Create a consistent and modern social media image
Mintz says consistency in verbal branding means establishing your “why,” nailing down your brand’s voice, and creating a vocabulary.
“After deciding on those pieces, the key to building your brand is to maintain both visual and verbal identities on all of the channels your brand uses—from your website to social platforms to even your email signature,” she adds.
“There are plenty of free tools you can use, like Canva, alongside free high-quality stock image sites, like Unsplash, that can be used to create content, either for social media or your website,” Davis notes. “The social media posts can be scheduled for free using tools like Tailwind.”
- Turn team members into social media advocates
Sebastian Krzyz, digital marketing manager at
Betts Recruiting, calls this a critical step. “Any time you post on your company page, have your team engage with the post—like it, comment on it, share it. This will expand your reach significantly to their network,” he explains, noting that everyone should post consistently. “This is key to growing your following,” Krzyz says.
- And don’t limit the posts to likes and general comments
“Inspire your team to post consistently on LinkedIn and to share industry insights,” says Krzyz, noting that getting team leaders to post consistently can be especially helpful to building a brand. “They have a wealth of knowledge in their industry and people want to hear what they have to say.”
(Kathleen Furore is a Chicago-based writer and editor who has covered personal finance and other business-related topics for a variety of trade and consumer publications. You can email her your career questions at [email protected].)
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