Over the past 16 years, I’ve worked with businesses of all shapes and sizes. Challenger startups to household names, across every sector you can imagine, helping them craft brand experiences that resonate. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: the brands that rise above the noise don’t fit in, they stand out. They lean into what makes them different and build from that place with positive intent and courage.

If you’re ready to grow your business with online branding, here’s where to start…

1. Craft a distinctive and human brand identity

Your brand identity is more than just a logo and a colour palette. It’s a system of visual, verbal and emotional signals that reflect who you are and what you stand for.

Far too many businesses play it safe. They default to what competitors are doing or pick styles that ‘feel professional’. But fitting in is rarely the path to growth. Standing out is. The brands that turn heads are the ones that choose boldness and lead with personality. They own their quirks.

A distinctive brand identity includes your voice, values, visuals and how you behave in every context. But more than anything, it should feel human. The brands that people connect with online are the ones that speak like real people. They show their face, share their beliefs, and invite conversation.

Photography and video are especially powerful here. A library of brand visuals (with team shots, real environments, product moments etc.) will immediately set you apart from the stock image crowd. Video, even shot on your phone, can help build a connection fast. It gives people a much better sense of your energy and purpose.

Ask yourself: if your brand were a person, what would they be like? Confident and irreverent? Calm and wise? Warm and energetic? Then show up as that person everywhere. Ensure your identity is consistent and unmistakably you across all media, from your homepage to e-mail signatures.

2. Know your audience and build around them

One of the most common mistakes I see is brands trying to be all things to all people. If you’re for everyone, you’re going to end up resonating with no one.

Get specific. Get personal. Who is your ideal customer? What do they care about? What keeps them up at night? What motivates them or excites them? Equally, what frustrates them? Go beyond demographics like age or job title as much as possible and get into mindset, beliefs and behaviours.

The more deeply you understand your audience, the more meaningful your brand can become. You’ll know what to say, how to say it and where to say it. You’ll design experiences that feel made for them, because they are.

Use data to support this. Analytics, social insights and customer feedback from surveys and interviews can uncover what really matters to your audience. Again, it’s not just about demographics though, it’s about desires.

This new clarity should inform everything: your copy, your packaging, TikTok captions, onboarding emails, wherever your brand lives. When your audience sees themselves in your brand, they feel seen. And when people feel seen, they’ll stick around.

3. Use storytelling to create emotional connection

People don’t buy facts. They buy feelings. Stories are how we process the world. They’re how we learn and remember. They’re also what we use to make decisions. We want to go deeper than logic here. Straight to emotion.

This is where brands can often get it wrong. They flood their platforms with features, credentials and stats, forgetting that emotion is the thing that moves people. Story is your most powerful brand tool.

At Horrible, we often lean on Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework. The core principle is simple but game-changing: your customer is the hero. Your brand is the guide, the one who understands their challenge and helps them overcome it.

Your job is to show empathy, demonstrate authority and paint a picture of what life could be like after working with you. Do that well, and your audience won’t just hear your message. They’ll feel it.

Share stories about your origin, your team and your customers. Show transformation. Show vulnerability. Let people see behind the curtain. When your brand becomes a story people want to be part of, they don’t just buy. They belong.

4. Build authority and trust through strategic content

Content is the bridge between your brand and your audience. It’s how you engage and educate them. It’s also how you can establish authority.

Trust is built through repetition. When people see the same message, tone and style across all your channels, it reinforces who you are. That consistency makes your brand feel reliable and real. But consistency doesn’t mean being boring. It means being intentional. Every interaction is an opportunity to build recognition. When those details feel connected, your brand starts to feel alive.

In a world drowning in content, only the meaningful stuff truly breaks through, however. You should never create content designed for algorithms. Create for humans. Ask yourself: What does my audience genuinely need help with? How can I bring them value based on insight, inspiration or entertainment?

Value-led content positions your brand as a leader in your space. Blog articles, videos, how-to guides or thoughtful LinkedIn posts, it’s this kind of content builds credibility. Every time that content is shared by your community, or even co-created with partners, your reach multiplies.

Don't overlook the power of social proof either. Case studies, testimonials and customer stories build trust and help people see what’s possible. Make your customers the heroes of your brand narrative, highlighting not just what they achieved, but how they felt during the journey.

Remember to track what’s working too. Use website analytics, email open rates, and engagement metrics to refine your approach. Great content is rarely perfect the first time and the best strategies come from listening and improving over time.

5. Create a website that converts

Your website isn’t just a digital shopfront. It’s often your most valuable brand asset and the place where curiosity becomes commitment.

Websites can easily be overdesigned and underperforming. I love the quote from Paul Cookson, which we often include in proposals to our clients, that says, “great web design without functionality is like a sports car with no engine.” A great site doesn’t just look good; it works. It loads quickly, flows effectively in terms of the user journey and displays just as beautifully on mobile. Most importantly, it speaks directly to your ideal customer in clear, confident language.

Strip away the jargon. Lead with outcomes and benefits, not features. Make it obvious what you do and why it matters. Your site should guide people from first visit to action without friction, whether that’s booking a call or making a purchase.

Great design supports great storytelling. Every image, headline and button should reinforce your brand and move people closer to a decision. Don’t forget accessibility either, because a truly great brand is an inclusive brand and one that doesn’t limit people because of ability or device. Using alt text, clear navigation, legible fonts and colour-conscious design all makes a big difference here. Inclusive brands don’t just reach more people, they resonate more deeply.

6. Turn your audience into a community

You don’t need thousands of followers. You need connection.

Focus on building a community, not a crowd. Ask questions. Start conversations. Celebrate your audience. Respond like a human. The most loved brands today aren’t megaphones but mirrors. They reflect the needs and values of the people they serve.

A strong community doesn’t just support you. It grows with you and the members become ambassadors, creators and collaborators in the process. That’s the kind of engagement no ad spend can buy.

Collaborations are a powerful part of this. Partner with creators, brands or causes that align with your values. A well-matched collaboration can amplify your reach, refresh your content and introduce you to new audiences with built-in trust.

7. Use automation to scale with purpose

As your brand grows, so does the volume of content, conversations and customer expectations. That’s where automation comes in, not as a replacement for creativity or connection, but as a tool to amplify it.

When used thoughtfully, automation frees you up to focus on the work that really matters – strategy, storytelling and human engagement –  while handling repetitive tasks in the background.

For example, tools like Later.com can help schedule social media posts in advance across multiple channels, allowing you stay visible without burning out. You can plan a week or even a month’s worth of content in one sitting, then use your live presence to respond and interact in real time.

Platforms like Zapier allow you to connect different software tools together. For example, automatically adding new email subscribers from a form on your website into your CRM or triggering an alert when someone fills out a quote request. These ‘micro-automations’ keep things running smoothly behind the scenes and help your team stay responsive at scale.

And yes, GenAI tools like ChatGPT can support your brand with idea generation, outline drafting and even early content versions, but with an important caveat. Automation should never replace original thinking or your tone of voice. If you’re using AI to support content creation, start by getting a paid account and creating a custom channel with a specific purpose in mind. Train it with a knowledge base filled with examples of how you speak as a brand, feeding it detailed instructions, audience personas and real copy you’ve already written. Only then will it reflect something remotely close to your brand’s distinct voice.

Use AI to spark ideas, not publish unedited output. Trust me when I say that your audience will feel the difference.

Overall, the golden rule is this: automate processes, not relationships. Anything that helps you be more consistent and more responsive (more human even?) is worth exploring. But scale with purpose and always, always stay rooted in your brand’s heart.

8. Evolve as you grow

Your brand isn’t a static thing. It’s a living system that should evolve as you learn, grow and shift.

Check in often. Is your visual identity still serving your strategy? Is your messaging aligned with your customers’ current challenges? Are you still speaking from the heart?

Use data as a mirror, not a master. Pay attention to what people respond to (and what they don’t!). Use that insight to steer your evolution, not suppress your creativity.

The strongest brands feel both consistent and current. That is to say, they are rooted in who they are, but always moving forward.

Branding isn’t just how your business looks. It’s how your business feels. It’s the emotional imprint you leave behind.

To grow a brand online and take your business to the next level, you need to be strategic and soulful. But also… be specific. Be BOLD. Say something that matters. Stand for something real. Remember that the brands people love aren’t always the biggest, they’re the ones that make them feel something.

Because in a world full of noise, connection is your most valuable currency.

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