We’re back with an article fresh from the oven on our favorite topic: building a strong brand identity.

If you haven’t read the first part yet, just click here – promise you’ll love it.

The first part is meant to give you an overview on what’s the real deal with creating a brand identity that helps you stand out from the crowd.

Now that you know the concrete definition of the concept, it’s time to get to action. No, it's not time to hire a PR agency or invest fortunes in marketing, not until you go through the most essential phase:

2. Find your purpose, position & personality.

Before diving into the depths of strategy planning, it’s crucial to set where that strategy is heading to. Your purpose and goals should be crystal-clear from the start, because nothing builds loyalty like a cohesive identity.

Your purpose will be the engine of your communication and customer-engagement strategy, so make it a good one. If we were to quote someone who nailed the purpose and positioning thing – your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.

And to quote another expert – people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. That’s the main question that will make all your doubts go away: “Why am I doing this? How am I making the world a better place?”

Spoiler alert: the answer must be beyond dollars and cents.

If you’re not convinced about the power of a powerful purpose, think of Nike, Coca-Cola, Dove or Starbucks. Maybe you’re not a loyal consumer of any of these brands, but you instantly associate them with a feeling and a message, don’t you? That's a sign of a clearly defined purpose.

But let's be real - a business won't survive without actually selling its products. Dove still has to sell soaps, Nike has to sell kicks, Volvo has to sell cars - everything while staying true to their core purpose. That's where position comes into play. As Arielle Jackson says in this article, “Positioning is how you’re seen in the mind of your consumer relative to something they already know. It communicates what makes you unique and different.”

You can think of position as a definition of what your product delivers and what makes it better than other counterparts. It explains briefly why your potential customer should choose you.

What about your brand's personality? This one is strictly related to how you communicate your messages. It's your tone of voice, it's how you sound in your customers' minds when they read you on Social Media, it's the kind of person your brand would be if it had a body and a soul. But more about that later.

We like to keep our articles short and sweet, so for the moment we'll stop here with the second article on brand identity. In the meantime, we'll leave you in the exquisite company of this awesome free e-book from Ogilvy which is right on point.

Stay tuned for the third part.