As the head of a nonprofit, you may not rank building a strong visual brand identity as a priority for your organization. You may think that your organization’s actions speak for themselves and that this is enough to build a positive reputation in your community.
Unfortunately, this lack of investment in your organization’s brand identity could be your downfall. Whether you realize it or not, your nonprofit is already building a visual brand identity through its fundraising efforts, marketing campaigns, and client services. A more broad, strategic approach to branding could deliver many benefits.
When members of the community see marketing material from your nonprofit, such as your organization’s website, they instinctively build a perception of what they think about your nonprofit. You have the option of allowing the public to develop its own image of your organization or you can direct the narrative by building a dynamic visual brand identity.
Benefits of Developing a Strong Visual Brand Identity
One of the most valuable benefits of building a strong visual brand identity is that it enables your organization to tell its own story. Instead of leaving it up to the public to determine what your organization’s goals and mission are, a brand identity allows you to make sure the public knows the who, what, where, why and how of your nonprofit.
Using visual storytelling to provide a complete and accurate overview of the organization can help you connect with the right clients and donors. An established visual brand identity also will strengthen your organization’s overall reputation in the public’s eyes.
How to Build a Dynamic Visual Brand Identity
If you are ready to tell your organization’s visual story to make sure the public understand the true mission of your nonprofit, now is the time. Here’s a look at several things you can do to start building a dynamic visual brand identity today.
Know Your Mission
There is no way that you can build a valuable brand identity of any kind without first identifying the value and mission of your organization. You must know what type of image you want to present to the public before you can create a brand identity to tell your story. If you have not already taken this step meet with board members and leaders of your organization to fully define your nonprofit’s message.
What Makes Your Brand Unique?
Today, the public has instant access to information about nonprofit organizations across the globe. It is vital that you find a way to differentiate yourself from similar organizations. Determine what makes your organization unique? what makes your nonprofit special? and why should clients/donors seek out your organization?
The good news is that a well-created visual brand identity can help to showcase exactly what makes your organization special. It allows you transform your unique qualities into a visual format that will resonate with the public.
Who’s Your Target Audience?
For-profit businesses are not the only entities that need to understand their target audience, so do nonprofits. While it’s true that you are not selling any types of goods or services in the traditional sense, you still must find a way to connect with your clients, donors, partners, and sponsors. The best way to make this connection is to first understand who your target audience is and what their demographics are. This data will help you create a visual design that speaks directly to this specific audience.
Developing a dynamic visual brand identity does take a strong commitment from the organization, but the investment is well worth it.
Learn more about how to build a visual brand that will tell your organization’s story and help boost its reputation with the public.