WHY REBRANDING CAN BE A GOOD THING

There has been a legal dispute. It seems there is a local business that (despite being registered as a print company) has a similar name and services to my small business, Blast Digital (absolutely not getting into why I, and a few other people I have spoken to, think this is the companies register’s fault). For many small businesses, rebranding might be seen as time-and-money-consuming disaster.

Despite the waste of over a week spent looking into legalities and rebranding assets, I assure you, it has been far from a business-ending nightmare. Let’s talk about some of the fantastic things about rebranding.

REFINE YOUR BRAND STYLE AND TONE

When creating a new brand, especially when you’re a solopreneur, you are bound to make mistakes. Rebranding means revisiting your logo and tone of voice – you’ll be surprised by how many things you see that you’re not happy with. This is your chance to make it better than ever.

Changing your brand name and logo often also means changing your brand tone of voice. It’s extremely important that you do. Is your new brand name more aggressive? Refined? Friendly? Inconsistent design, name and tone can distract from the content. Don’t take shortcuts here. Read more about why you should make the changes here.

LIFT YOUR SEO GAME

You’ve stepped back from your website, called it done. Very proud of you! Now you have to rebrand. ARGH!

This is perhaps the most time-consuming part of your process. Not only does it mean changing the logos and look of your site, but all copy (if necessary) and internal links. There is a massive silver lining here, in the form of SEO.

Keyword targeting is still the number one way to raise your search engine ranking and the best time to do it is during your rebrand. Use Google Search Console to see what lead people to your pages and add in those keywords to every part of your page/site possible. But remember to keep the content conversational and do not “keyword stuff” or you’ll be penalised.

Need another positive here? You can also improve your SEO through updating and fixing internal links. 404 errors make Google think your site is untrustworthy – all will be fixed thanks to rebrand!

STRENGTHEN YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY

The email threatening legal action against my business came through on a Sunday. Understandably, I flipped. I needed advice, free and fast. So I reached out to people who understood and received so much support that it not only helped the direction of my next steps and put my mind at ease, but also forged invaluable connections within business communities.

This cannot be overstated: the best things you can do as a new business owner is to create a community of people around you who you can reach out to with questions, concerns, and wins! Remember, you are not alone, there are people who can help. (Shout out to the fine folk in The WE Network | Support NZ Women In Business Facebook group, and the amazing Karen and Rachel.)

LET’S BE HONEST HERE

No, it’s hasn’t been all fantastic – it’s been a stressful, sleep-eluding, emotionally-draining experience – but there have been many positives. I have been lucky, there was another name I could use that not only meant that my whole aesthetic didn’t need to change, it meant my tone of voice could remain the same. And what’s even luckier is, the new epithet is more targeted.

We’ve refined our plan of attack from Blast Digital to Blitz Digital. We’re ready to hit our targets harder and faster.

Are you ready to blitz your digital marketing in Wellington? Interested in how you can use your rebrand as a digital advertising and website optimisation opportunity? Talk to us.