How To Make A Lasting First Impression For Your Brand

A small business owner shaking hands with a client after making a good first impression of his brand

In today’s competitive landscape, making a strong first impression for your brand could be the difference in someone choosing your business over a competitor’s. If you want your small business to stand out in the market, it’s essential to craft a memorable brand image that will resonate with your target audience.

In this blog post, we’ll explore some effective marketing tips to help your brand make a positive and lasting first impression.

How to Make a Lasting First Impression for Your Brand

Uncover four key insights into crafting a brand presence that leaves a lasting mark on your customers and prospects alike:

Plans for a brand to make a lasting first impression on a desk
How can your brand make a lasting first impression?

1. Establish a Professional Website

In the digital age, having a professional website builds credibility and attracts customers. Your website serves as the online face of your brand, providing visitors with valuable information about your products or services.

To ensure your website makes a positive first impression, your website should be . . . 

  • User-friendly. Visitors should find your website easy to navigate and understand. Your site should have a flow to make it seamless for users to explore with clear CTAs (calls to action) to move visitors toward making a purchase, booking a service, or contacting the business.
  • Visually appealing. There’s a science to color and design, and visitors will see right through a website that had no time and effort put into its design. Your website shouldn’t be filled with ads, difficult-to-read fonts, or eight different colors.
  • Mobile-responsive. Some of your client base might be on a computer. Others may be on a tablet or mobile device. If you want your site to attract the highest possible number of visitors, then it must be accessible across multiple devices.
  • Optimized for SEO. Optimizing your site for search engines will improve your site’s visibility and attract organic traffic.

Takeaway: Establishing a professional website that is user-friendly, visually appealing, mobile-responsive, and optimized for SEO will help make a positive first impression for your brand.

2. Maintain an Active Social Media Presence

Social media platforms offer a valuable opportunity to engage with your audience and showcase your brand’s personality. But have you ever visited a company’s Facebook or Instagram account and realized they hadn’t posted in a few months? Visitors are often left to fend for themselves or become “detectives” in finding the information for which they’re searching.

That’s why consistently posting relevant and engaging content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Nextdoor, or other platforms can answer the questions for which visitors might be searching all while helping your brand build awareness and establish credibility in your industry.

Aside from posting consistently, here are a few ways you can actively engage with your clients on social media:

  • Respond to comments and messages promptly.
  • Stay up-to-date with current trends.
  • Note what type of content with which your visitors engage, and then share more of that content on your platforms.

Takeaway: Build positive brand awareness by maintaining an active social media presence through consistent posting and active engagement.

3. Invest in Quality Creative Assets

Compelling creative assets are essential for capturing the attention of your audience and conveying your brand message effectively. Invest in high-quality assets, including photography, videography, graphic design, and marketing materials, to convey professionalism and attention to detail.

Similarly, well-crafted copy that speaks to your brand’s values and resonates with your target audience can help you make a memorable impression and differentiate your brand from competitors. Whether you collaborate with in-house creatives or contract with a marketing agency like Paragon Marketing Group, we recommend having talented professionals create visually stunning content that reflects your brand’s personality and values.

Takeaway: Investing in high-quality creative assets can help your brand stand out and leave a lasting impression on potential customers.

4. Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Delivering exceptional customer service is key to making a positive first impression and building long-term relationships with your customers. Your branding never stops at the sales or marketing side. To maintain a positive reputation and establish your brand as one where people want to give their business (and continue giving their business), you need to provide extraordinary customer service. A few ways you can accomplish this include:

  • Responding to inquiries and concerns quickly. If there’s been an issue with a client’s service or product, one of the best ways you can manage the problem is by responding quickly so that the client understands they’re a priority. Often the way in which you defuse a tricky situation can become more memorable than the issue itself.
  • Address customer feedback and reviews thoughtfully. As a small business owner, it’s never easy to receive a critical review or negative feedback. But that doesn’t mean you can’t respond professionally, even if the review was unkind or untrue. Plus, other prospective clients will be watching and reading what you respond. How you respond will tell them whether or not your business is worth considering.
  • Go above and beyond to exceed customer expectations. There are so many ways you can accomplish this. Whether you offer a special discount, give extra attention to detail to a customer’s account, follow up on service where a client had concerns, or even offer a listening ear, you can always find a way to exceed expectations. Your customers will not forget how you made them feel.

Takeaway: By prioritizing customer satisfaction, you can create a positive reputation for your brand and earn the trust and loyalty of your audience.

Here’s a Quick Recap:
  1. Establishing a professional website that is user-friendly, visually appealing, mobile-responsive, and optimized for SEO will help make a positive first impression for your brand.
  2. Build positive brand awareness by maintaining an active social media presence through consistent posting and active engagement.
  3. Investing in high-quality creative assets can help your brand stand out and leave a lasting impression on potential customers.
  4. By prioritizing customer satisfaction, you can create a positive reputation for your brand and earn the trust and loyalty of your audience.

Crafting a strong first impression for your brand is essential for small businesses looking to succeed in today’s competitive market. By following these marketing tips and investing in your brand’s online presence, design, and customer service, you can create a memorable and impactful brand image that resonates with your target audience.

To learn more, please visit our website at paragonmarketinggroup.com or call us at 262-443-9092 to learn more. We’re here to help you elevate your brand and make a lasting impression.

Social Media Secrets for Small Businesses

uncovering social media secrets

While it seems like everyone is a social media guru today, the industry is oversaturated with advice and different methodology about how, where, and when to post. But what about marketing your small business on social media? It’s difficult to know where to start or which methods to apply. So today, we’re going to uncover some social media secrets that often aren’t talked about, and then share how you can start applying them to your business marketing today.

4 Social Media Secrets for Small Businesses

Here are four major social media secrets we’d like to share:

Paragon employees pointing to social media platforms on the wall
Did you know any of these social media secrets?

Social Media Secret #1: Having a Social Media Account Isn’t a Strategy

Often when social media comes up in a conversation, we hear a lot of comments like this: “I have a Facebook profile, so I can do that, too!” Or, “my nephew is on TikTok.” Or, “Anyone can do that!” And it’s true – anyone is capable of occasionally posting to social media. But what most people don’t realize is that there’s actual strategy behind social media marketing. Some of the strategies we employ early on in the process include:

  • Defining and setting goals
  • Researching a target audience
  • Establishing a consistent posting schedule
  • Curating posts, from developing the copy to designing the graphics
  • Utilizing paid advertising
  • Researching best days/times to post
  • Creating a variety of post types
  • Determining aspect ratio for video posts
  • Researching hashtags where appropriate

Takeaway: Just because you have a Facebook or Instagram account for yourself or your business doesn’t mean you’re going to get results. You have to apply strategy if you want to be successful in the long-term.

Social Media Secret #2: Successful Social Media Strategy Isn’t Glamorous

While Emily in Paris would rather you believe differently, successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. If you want to be successful with your social accounts, you have to work hard. There’s so much thought and work that goes into each post, from the type of post, to when it’s posted, to the size of the video, to the hashtags used, to even the number of hashtags used.

Want to have an effective social media strategy? Employ these three Cs:

  • Clear – make sure your message is communicated clearly and cohesively. Your followers should know exactly what to do whenever they see a post. What is your CTA (call to action)? What is the goal behind the post? While it may require a lot of strategy behind the scenes, it should be very clear and simple to those who see the post.
  • Consistency – your social media accounts should have consistency so customers know exactly what to expect when they’re on your pages: consistent messaging, consistent posting, and consistent branding. If you don’t regularly post, this needs to change. Customers won’t come to rely on or trust your business if you lack consistency.
  • Commitment – social media strategy isn’t for the faint of heart. Commit to which platforms you’ll be posting on, and don’t stop when you get busy or it gets difficult. Giving up is the worst thing you can do! And if you don’t have the time, hire an in-house marketer or outsource to an agency like Paragon who is ready to help.

Takeaway: Successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. It requires clear communication, consistency, and commitment in the long-term. And remember, even if you start employing the three Cs, you won’t get instant results. Good things come in time.

Social Media Secret #3: The World of Social Media Is Always Changing

Is this really a social media secret though? While the fact that technology and social media is always changing isn’t a secret, the impact of that change on strategy is surprising to many people.

That old adage, “I’m going to do this the way I’ve always done it” won’t cut it in social media strategy. What’s true today may be false tomorrow.

So many changes to Meta Business Suite have rolled out even within the past year. Every platform has its own “algorithm” that’s constantly changing. One platform comes out with a very successful strategy to gain followers, and then others often follow.

Here are a few changes that have happened over the last couple years (that are certain to become outdated once this text is published, just to emphasize this point):

  • Twitter rebranded to X – the year 2023 brought a new Twitter CEO and a new name for the platform. While it still seems to be “in a complicated relationship” with its branding, how will the language of the platform evolve (are tweets now Xs)?
  • Instagram posts can now be scheduled through Meta Business Suite – as recent as early 2022, this was not an option. Social media strategists and content creators were celebrating everywhere when this became a reality.
  • Nextdoor doesn’t allow post scheduling . . . yet – we’re still posting Nextdoor posts live, but how long will this be the reality before they permit scheduling?
  • Stories, Reels, & TikTok have changed how we record video – say goodbye to 16×9 video aspect ratio. When it comes to mobile, vertical is now king.

Takeaway: Social media is always changing. You have to be willing to change up your strategy at a moment’s notice. You need to be aware of the latest trends.

Social Media Secret #4: You Can’t Half-Ass Social Media Marketing

Is there really anything in life we should be half-assing? Probably not. But the reason this is such a big secret is because SO MANY PEOPLE DO THIS.

We’ve heard many business owners claim they can just do it in their “free time,” but what business owner do you know with “free time”? Even if they did, they don’t have the time to do it right and apply actual strategy.

Here are a few recommendations we’d make to business owners starting out with social media and trying to figure out which platforms to use:

  • Find your audience – do you sell primarily to men in their 60s? Or are 30-something aged women your target market? Maybe you sell only to homeowners? Once you know who your audience is, then research which platforms they spend time on.
  • Consider your availability – after you know on which social platforms your audience spends time, figure out how much time you can set aside to apply the three Cs – clear communication, consistent posting, and commitment to posting. Is that an hour a day? Great! Is that 15 minutes a day? That might work. If you have a realistic viewpoint of how much time you can truly spend on your social posting, then you know what approach to take.
  • Start slow – no business needs to start off posting daily to 7 or 8 different social platforms. So if you know where your audience is, you know how much time you can dedicate to your social media marketing. We typically recommend choosing 1 or 2 platforms to start getting your content out there.

Takeaway: It’s better to “whole-ass” a couple platforms than to half-ass several. And if you can’t manage that, consider finding a marketing agency like Paragon who can help.

Here’s a Quick Recap:
  1. Having a social media account isn’t enough. You have to apply strategy to be successful.
  2. Successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. It requires clear communication, consistency, and commitment.
  3. Social media is always changing. You have to be willing to change up your strategy at a moment’s notice.
  4. It’s better to “whole-ass” a couple platforms than to half-ass several.

We hope that uncovering these social media secrets for small businesses was helpful to you!

At Paragon, we understand that it can take a lot of time, work, and research to successfully market your business on social media. As always, we want to be a resource for you. So as you have questions, we’ll be here to answer them.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.