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One of the key questions for new businesses is: why should your customers choose you over others? In a world with so much competition, branding is what can give you an edge.

Building a brand is central to any new startup. It’s what gives your business a unique identity and differentiates you from the competition. It can also create more awareness among your customers, investors, business partners, and employees.

For small to medium-sized startups, in particular, having a strong brand is essential. As your business grows, you must define and focus on your brand identity.

Once you have defined your brand identity and message, you can move onto designing your website and logo, creating marketing campaigns, and using your branding in other areas.

There are several ways to do this. Here are the three most common:

1. Use a branding agency

A branding agency can help you create a brand identity and incorporate it into your marketing strategy. However, this process can be elaborate, and it’s often an expensive service.

This is usually something businesses do later on, once they are most established and have more money to spend.

2. Work with freelancers

Another option is to work with a freelancer that has expertise in a particular area. This is a slightly cheaper option, as you only pay for the tasks you really need.

This is a good choice for certain tasks that you don’t feel confident doing yourself. But, remember that you will still need to oversee the work and check its quality.

3. Use online branding tools

Lastly, a great way to save money when launching a new business is to use online branding tools. There are many tools that are easy to use and can produce impressive results.

For any small or medium-sized business at the beginning of a branding journey, it can be really beneficial to use this option as much as possible.

4 Most affordable branding tools for Startups

Are you looking for the best branding tools for your business? Here are four of the best. They are all fantastic for starting to create and build your brand:

1. Looka

The first tool on our list is Looka, which is a design tool that uses AI to create websites, logos, social media posts, flyers, and more. Its “brand kit” gives you everything you need for branding.

Looka’s logo creator has a range of options for customized logos, with different colors, shapes, and symbols. This tool has both a free and a paid option, depending on your needs.

2. BusinessCards

If your business relies on business cards, these also need to be branded in line with the rest of your business. BusinessCards is a free tool that allows you to do this.

This tool is super easy to use. Simply enter your business information then browse through the platform’s huge database of design options, before printing off your cards.

3. Tailor Brands

Every business needs a professional logo. This is one of the best tools for logo creation. It provides customizable templates that can be used as part of your business branding.

You can tailor your logo based on your branding preferences, and you can also test out your design on social media using a range of social media templates.

4. Canva

Canva is another all-around visual branding tool. It has a large selection of design templates that can be used to establish and improve your brand identity.

This includes tools for social media posts, logos, flyers, posters, videos, websites, and more. It also has a library of designs and images that you can use.