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5 Ways for Successful Brand and Marketing In 2026

January 1, 2025

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Are you an entrepreneur or a small business owner looking to stay ahead regarding Successful Brand and Marketing? In an ever-evolving and competitive market, it’s essential to understand the strategies and techniques companies use to establish their brands and attract new customers. This blog aims to provide insights, tips, and actionable advice on the best practices for marketing and branding in 2026. Read up on five ways to start building your small business brand today.

I get many calls on the immediate needs of new (or redesigned) websites, quick turnaround on print deliverables (brochures, business cards, posters), trade-show booth displays, or a social media campaign that can’t wait. There’s never enough time or budget to do everything, and often small business owners put their own company’s marketing and branding on the back burner. But if you want your business to survive and thrive in today’s extremely competitive marketplace, you must ensure your company is visible and has a strong brand identity.

  1. DO YOUR RESEARCH: Before you start putting together your branding strategy, it’s essential to do your research and understand your target audience. What are their needs and wants? What are their pain points? What are their values? What sort of language do they use? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you to create messaging and visuals that will resonate with your target audience and help you to stand out from the competition.
  2. KEEP IT SIMPLE: Regarding branding, less is often more. You want your brand to be memorable, so don’t try to cram too much information into your logo or tagline. Instead, keep your message clear and concise, and ensure your visuals are easily understood.
  3. BE CONSISTENT: Consistency is vital when it comes to branding. Use the same colors, fonts, and style across all of your marketing materials, and make sure that your website, social media, and physical locations all reflect your brand identity. This will help to create a cohesive brand experience for your customers and make your business more recognizable.

1. Don’t wait to invest in branding and marketing.

The results are usually subpar if you’re scrambling or forcing a designer to take an on-the-fly job. Also, the people who are willing to take last-minute jobs are often less qualified than those that can be booked for months in advance. You get what you pay for–but in this case, what may suffer is more significant than your pocketbook; it may be the overall image of your company. Your company’s image is its brand. Your brand is the perception people have of your company. It’s how they remember you. It’s what they say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s your promise to your customers and the total of every customer’s experience with your company.

Timely Brand Building is Key to Your Success. Consider a plan with a professional that can set expectations and develop a list of deliverables over an extended period. Procrastination is the enemy of success, especially in branding and marketing. The most successful businesses are the ones that invest in branding and marketing early on and continue to invest in it throughout their journey. If you wait too long to invest in branding and marketing, you’ll likely never catch up to your competition.

2. Include branding and marketing as part of your operating budget.

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you have costs like everyone else. Your company has expenses like payroll, electricity, rent, or products. You shouldn’t consider your brand and marketing budget an afterthought; if you do…you’re in trouble.

Even if you’re short on cash, it’s worth being disciplined enough to create this budget because it will benefit your business in the long run. Plan to spend 5%-15% of your budget on brand and marketing efforts. What if you don’t have a total budget? Start with a minimum of 5% and reassess after six months. You can reallocate those funds to another area if you do not see a return on investment (ROI). But, if you see results, continue to invest in your brand and marketing.

Branding and marketing should never be an afterthought; they should be considered essential parts of your business. Investing in these areas early on will pay off in the long run, so don’t wait to get started.

3. Analytics is crucial–know them.

You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve started. Therefore, having basic Google analytics in a web design should be standard for any company providing these services. If it isn’t…..run!

It’s okay if the analytics themselves are over your head. Millions of YouTube and Google search results will provide you with the basics to look for at least once a month.

You can always hire a professional to provide this information once a month. Your analytics should be included in your market planning for the months ahead. If you have a marketer who is NOT including these analytics in your planning……ask them why not. Here is a quick review of the top 5 Google Analytics reports every business should monitor.

  1. ACQUISTION OVERVIEW: Details how many visitors came to your site in an allotted time and where they came from.
    ( Find this report through Google Analytics > Acquisition > Overview )
  2. SOCIAL OVERVIEW: This report will allow you to see where your social media efforts are coming from. Facebook posts, tweets, LinkedIn, etc…
    Find this report through Google Analytics > Acquisition > Social > Landing Pages
  3. BOUNCE RATE VS. EXIT RATE: Bounce Rate measures the number of visitors who land on a single webpage and leave without visiting other pages. Finally, the exit Rate estimates your visitors to a website that clicks away and leaves the site altogether. 
    ( Find this report through Google Analytics >Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages )
  4. TOP LANDING PAGES: It shows which page most website visitors visit. In addition, the list shows in order of highest visits to lowest.
    ( Find this report through Google Analytics >Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages )
  5. EXIT PAGES: It shows visitors leaving the site from what pages. Ideally, visitors leave from form completion pages or order completed pages. If they are exiting from your home page, that can send red flags that your site is being underutilized.
    ( Find this report through Google Analytics >Behavior > Site Content > Exit Pages )

4. Post relevant and ORIGINAL content on social media

It’s okay to be yourself on social media. Well, not too much of yourself, but stop the re-posting madness. Your social media platform comes with an outstanding level of responsibility. That responsibility is to engage. Tell stories, give facts and insights into your business that the average person can’t Bianca Frank Design themselves online. You provide valuable information and interaction with your customers that you can’t get on any other platform. That’s the beauty of social media. Develop a monthly plan on what content will be posted and when. Start small, but stay consistent. An experienced brand designer and marketer will develop and maintain your social media presence, including ORIGINAL, written, and visual content vital to attracting and retaining your desired customers.

Here are some ideas for content to keep your social media platforms active and engaging:

  • HUMANITY: Show the faces of the people behind your business. Customers want to know who they’re doing business with.
  • PROCESS: Take your customers behind the scenes. How does your product or service come to life?
  • BEFORE AND AFTER: Share photos or videos of your product or service. Show your customers the before and after and the transformation that takes place.
  • EDUCATION: Teach your customers something they don’t know. What is your area of expertise? Share your knowledge and help your customers learn something new.
  • TIPS AND TRICKS: Is there a hack or shortcut that you can share with your customers? This type of content is always popular and shows that you’re an expert in your field.
  • COMPANY CULTURE: Share what makes your company culture unique. What values do you stand for? What makes your team come to work every day?
  • GIVEAWAYS AND CONTESTS: Who doesn’t love free stuff? Offer a contest or giveaway relevant to your business and watch your engagement level soar.

By posting ORIGINAL content on social media, you can better engage with your customers and attract new ones.

5. Your IT guys should not be in charge of your brand and marketing.

Programmers are excellent at what they do and contribute a lot to the overall function of a website. However, just like a website developer knows the language of code, brand and marketing professionals understand the language of their respective fields. Trusting your website and developing its content to someone focusing on your overall company brand will create a holistic approach to the growth of your company brand.

Some companies make the mistake of putting their IT guy in charge of their social media platforms, but social media is more than just posting updates on a website. An IT professional may know how to code and develop a website, but that doesn’t mean they understand how to market or brand a company. Just like you wouldn’t trust a heart surgeon to fix your teeth, you wouldn’t want your IT guy in charge of your brand.

Let’s Start Something New. Say Hello!

Suppose you need someone to help your brand and market your business for 2026; contact Bianca Frank Design today to discuss. We will provide a one-hour free brand consultation to get you in the right direction. Contact us today to see how we can help your Alaska small business! Also, please read our Alaska Web Design blog to learn more about branding, website design, and digital marketing in Alaska!

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