You have a killer business idea and you’re setting out to take the world by storm.
One thing that you won’t get far without, though, is a powerful brand.
No matter how brilliant your idea, or how innovative and solid your business plan, people need to recognize you and your product. Instantly.
Creating a strong brand identity is at the heart of every successful digital marketing strategy.
It will guide your marketing decisions, permeate your social media profiles, and put your stamp on the content strategy you’ll pursue.
When you’re just starting out, building a brand identity for your business can be intimidating. To succeed, your brand must be memorable, unique, and consistent.
To help you, here are the six best tools available for free to help you. Whether you’re creating a brand from scratch, or are looking to boost brand awareness – these resources will help you succeed.
Best Free Tools to Grow Your Brand
1. WPBeginner’s Business Name Generator
The first and most crucial decision is finding a magnetizing, unforgettable name for your business.
This can also be the hardest part.
If you already have a genius idea, that’s great! If not, check out the Business Name Generator. It’s run by WPBeginner, a site that offers in-depth guides for launching WordPress sites.
This generator uses AI algorithms to help you come up with the perfect name for your brand. All you have to do is enter a few keywords and then go through the extensive list of suggestions the AI gives you.
In addition, the generator also offers some expert advice for brainstorming your business brand.
2. Namech_k
Once you’ve nailed down a name for your brand that perfectly encapsulates who you are and what you do, it’s time to pick your usernames and social media handles.
Here, consistency is key. You don’t want to show up under different handles on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. That would make it harder for people to find you. Plus, it looks unprofessional.
Instead of having to sift through usernames on several sites in parallel, use Namech_k. This tool helps you find out if social handles are available on dozens of platforms at once.
From popular social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to business sites like Etsy, Foursquare, PayPal, Fiverr, and Patreon – Namech_k has your back.
In addition, this tool also shows you which domain names are still available for your search term.
3. Colormind
The visual impression your brand gives is just as important as its name. That’s why you have to decide on a palette of colors you want to work with from the start.
Switching between colors or using too many will throw off potential customers. On the other hand, a consistent palette will eventually make them associate these colors with your product, no matter where they see them.
You’ll be using these colors for your logo, your website, your social media, your email marketing – everything.
To generate a color palette for your brand, there is no better choice than Colormind.
You can either upload a picture that includes a color combination you like, or pick one color to start with. It’s also possible to enter a very specific shade and go from there.
On this basis, Colormind will generate a visual presentation of shades that harmonize well.
Even better – it will show you a mock-up of a website using these colors. You’ll get an instant impression of what it would look like in real life.
Make adjustments until you’re satisfied, then note down your main brand color and all the complementing shades.
4. FontPair
A second major element of the visual presentation of your brand is the fonts you use. Generally, brands use several fonts as part of their brand identity.
Having just one font associated with your brand will bore your audience. Having too many, though, can be confusing.
The best solution for this conundrum is FontPair. This online tool helps you pick the perfect combination of fonts for your brand identity.
It shows you popular fonts, and featured pairs, and gives general typographic advice. Plus, it offers countless resources for inspiration.
A similar solution is TypeWonder. Besides everything that FontPair does, TypeWonder also gives you a preview of what your chosen fonts would look like on a website.
5. Hatchful Logo Maker
Well-designed logos have immense recognition value and can even create an emotional connection with your audience.
Coca-Cola’s logo, for example, hasn’t changed significantly since 1893, when it was first trademarked. It’s instantly recognizable to almost anyone in the world.
When the US clothing retailer Gap tried to change its traditional logo for 20 years, there was an international outcry online. The company backtracked after just one week.
The bottom line? Choosing your logo is one of the most important business decisions you make when you’re starting out.
Hatchful logo maker can help you with that. Run by Shopify, but available to anyone for free, it offers countless design options.
You can start from scratch, or adapt one of the hundreds of templates in Hatchful’s library. Using the platform’s intuitive design studio, you can customize colors and fonts, edit layouts, and create the foundation for your unique brand.
Hatchful goes a step further than other logo design tools, though: You can create an entire brand package for social media based on your logo.
6. Canva
Finally, Canva is an all-around solution for integrating your brand into a cohesive graphic design strategy.
Whether you’re looking to create a logo, posters, flyers, business cards, Instagram stories, presentations for investors, YouTube thumbnails, Facebook covers, or infographics, Canva has you covered.
Currently, the platform offers over 65,000 templates that you can adjust and make your own.
The best bit? Canva offers special free branding templates. Using its brand kit functionality, you can also set your brand logo, color palette, and fonts and then use them for all your business-related designs.
Finally, Canva also offers a content manager that will help you keep track of all your branding designs.
Final Thoughts
Building your brand identity is one of the most crucial steps in starting a business. It determines how recognizable and memorable your business is – and thus, how successful.
It pays off to spend the time and effort on choosing the right name, social media handles, colors, and fonts. Put thought into designing your logo, and your heart into creating a branding kit.
The tools above will help you create a brand identity that both you and your audience will love and remember.
