Anindya Widita, B.A., M.A

Branding has become an essential part of running a business and many have invested big amount to build and develop their own brand. It is about giving your product or service or even yourself a desired identity or image and develop reputation in long term.

Branding is usually identical with visual identity such as logo, design, as well as activities like campaign or social media engagement in order to create positive impression for the market. However, it is also important to know that internal branding cannot be considered lightly if businesses want to establish a solid branding.

Internal branding is a corporate strategy in ensuring that the employees are aware about the company’s/product’s/service’s brand and willing to contribute to develop and maintain it themselves (Brand Trust, 2020). In other words, companies want them to live the brand and feel connected with the brand (Kunsman, 2019). It can be done by involving employees in brand development process and giving them opportunity to relate with the brand. Moreover, companies should ensure that the employees understand and believe in company’s values and recognize their contribution for the company.

According to a study by MSLGroup (cited in Kunsman, 2019), brand message reached 561% further when it was shared by their own employees compared to when it was shared by their social media accounts. Yet, there are still many employees who do not feel like they relate or feel connection with the company’s brand, which can affect their productivity as well as work environment in general.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to create a sense of belonging for the employees and a sense of purpose in working there. When a company manages to do so, it would help employees to feel proud and happy, which will turn them into a good ambassador for the company. An example of strategy to build internal brand in an organization is through employee communication program. If an organization can establish an effective communication program, it will help them to relay any necessary information that employees should know and provide a platform for them to ask question and to help them contribute better for the organization.

Strategy to build internal brand can vary in different company. However, it is very important for companies and its leaders to spend time and effort to their internal branding instead of only focusing on external branding to their target customers in order to grow good community internally and achieve its objectives.

References:

Brand Trust. (2020). Internal Branding. https://www.brand-trust.de/en/glossary/internal-branding.php

Kunsman, T. (2019, December 11). How to Build A Unique Internal Brand at Your Company. everyone social. https://everyonesocial.com/blog/internal-brand/