Having a kick-ass brand is one thing, but knowing what to do with it is another. If you feel like you’re struggling to showcase your brand in a way that is both useful and increases your brand awareness, I’ve got a few ideas for you!
Here are four new ways you can present your brand that will attract your audience, allow you to convey your messaging, and keep your brand top of mind.
1. USE BUSINESS CARD MOCKUPS
Whether you use business cards or not, sometimes the best way to showcase your brand is through a branded mockup. There are so many stunning business card mockups that allow you to present your brand in a way that is both professional and stylish.
My favourite mockups are those of Moyo Studios because they are elegant and elevate the look of your brand. When you have your mockup ready to post, it’s the perfect image to capture the attention of your followers.
Once you have their attention, use this opportunity to tell an insightful story about your business or valuable advice that will benefit them. This is the goal, afterall, to have a memorable brand that earns recognition and stops their scroll, so you can deliver your message.
While many mockups require Photoshop, there are a few browser-based platforms like Smart Mockups and even Canva has a mockup feature in their photo editor that is fairly easy to use.
2. USE YOUR LOGO OVER CURATED PHOTOGRAPHY
Did you know you have access to a seemingly endless supply of free professional photographs? Platforms like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay—to name a few—offer royalty-free photography for brands and small businesses.
I highly encourage you to build a collection of curated brand photography. Why? Because sometimes the simplest way to showcase your brand is over a beautiful image.
It’s tasteful, it looks professional, and it gives you the chance to attract your audience and tell a story. Here are a few examples of brand's I've worked on. To best showcase brands to my followers, I simply overlay a logo from their logo collection to an image that aligns with their brand—the result is impressive. You can do this with your brand too. Just be sure you have a transparent logo file—these will be PNG files.
Three tips for placing logos over photography:
choose an area of the image that isn’t too busy
ensure you choose a logo variation that will have enough colour contrast to stand out
don’t put it too close to the edge of the frame
3. CREATE MOCKUPS OF RELEVANT PRODUCTS OR SWAG
Another way to showcase your brand is on products or swag. Even if you don’t sell products, per se, you can still put your logo on coffee mugs, notepads, stationery, or signage. Just look at this mockup I created for Raise Some Dough. Because the mug in this image was straight on, I was able to just add it overtop and it looks like it’s printed on.
There are countless available product mockups out there, some paid for, some free. But here’s the thing, if you can find the right free stock image, you may be able to create a pseudo-mockup without much effort.
Simply upload the image into Canva along with your logo file. Overlay the logo on to the product and resize to fit appropriately and voila—a new way to showcase your brand and elevate your brand experience.
Not sure where to begin? Go to unsplash.com and start searching for things like “mug”, “notebook”, “tote bag” and see what you can find. Alternatively, smartmockup.com has several great product mockups you can use and edit in your browser.
4. SHOW OFF YOUR WEBSITE OR LATEST FREEBIE
Launching a new program? Just revamped your website? Use photographs or mockups of laptops, phones, or iPads to display more than the content itself.
Using devices is something we can all relate to, so why not showcase your brand using a styled image flat lay with an iPad showing you your website or latest freebie as the focal point?
When you have high quality visuals, it immediately tells your audience how much value you put into your content creation. This increases your brand’s perceived value and credibility.
These new ways you can style your brand are perfect to be used for your social media content, on your website, in brochures or your lead magnets. Make sure that each image you create is cohesive with your brand’s overall aesthetic. For example, if your brand palette is clean and cool, you may want to avoid images that are busy with lots of warm colours.
If you need help creating a branded mockup for your content, shoot me an email, I’d be happy to help create some visuals that will elevate your brand online.
Happy creating!
Jenny Henderson is a brand strategist and business mentor. She collaborates with service-based solopreneurs to design memorable brands that allow them to make a living doing what they love. Since 2020, her branding studio has become a place where small business owners learn to think like a brand.
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