How to Promote Your Brand with Custom Stickers

You know that feeling when you spot a random Sticker slapped on something, and it just sticks with you? Yeah, that's the power of sticker marketing! Stickers have this underrated ability to promote your brand in the sneakiest (and stickiest) way possible.

Think about it – those little sticky suckers are like brand ambassadors that can travel far and wide, getting your business seen in places other marketing can't reach. And let's be honest, who doesn't love a fun, creative sticker? They're like tiny mobile billboards, minus the obnoxious in-your-face vibes.

So, if you want a marketing tactic that's both cost-effective and cool as hell, Custom Stickers are where it's at. But listen up because slapping any old design onto a sticker doesn't cut it. You've got to get strategic and craft those sticky circles of glory with some serious thought behind them.

Still, trying to figure out where to start? No worries, I've got you covered with this ultimate guide on promoting your business using custom stickers that are rock.

Why Stickers are a Marketing Superpower

Okay, before we dive into the nitty-gritty of using stickers to boost your brand, let's talk about why they're such a powerful promo tool.

They're Cheap AF

Custom stickers are a bargain compared to other marketing methods like ads or fancy schmancy billboards. You can get a heck-ton of them made relatively cheap – we're talking major bang for your marketing buck here. So, even small businesses or solopreneurs can afford to go all out with sticker campaigns.

Versatile Little Suckers

Stickers can be stuck on almost anything – laptops, water bottles, skateboards, walls, foreheads (kidding…kind of). This versatility means you can get creative with placement to reach your target audience in unexpected spots. Those mobile billboards can travel all over the place.

Tangible Brand Touchpoints

In our digital world, there's something satisfying about a tangible, physical brand experience – stickers deliver just that. Folks can grab, stick, collect and obsess over them in a brutal way for online-only promos. Those little stickered surfaces become miniature brand monuments!

Crazy Collectable

Speaking of obsession, stickers have a way of becoming irresistible collectables for some people (I may or may not be one of those sticker fiends). Brands can play into this by creating sticker series, limited edition runs, and those oh-so-rare “chase” stickers that stir up major FOMO. Boom, insta-fans!

Evergreen Promo Power

Whenever someone fresh eyes your sticker out in the wild, it's like a brand new impression – no matter how old that sticky circle is. Stickers can just keep promoting your business repeatedly, making them a gift that keeps on giving for your marketing efforts.

Finding Your Sticker Superpower Through Design

Hopefully, I've convinced you that stickers are the real MVPs of cheap, eye-catching, long-lasting brand promotion. Now it's time to dive into what matters – creating sticker designs that slay.

Crafting Your Concept

First, you've got to lock down a solid concept for your sticker design that ties into your brand's overall vibe and messaging. Some questions to ask yourself:

• What are your brand's personality traits? (Fun, luxe, edgy, etc.)
• What visuals represent your products/services? (Icons, imagery, etc.)
• How can you incorporate your logo for brand recognition?
• Is there a specific campaign or promotion to highlight?

Your concept should give the design clear direction while allowing room for creative expression. Brainstorm keywords, colour palettes, and distinct visual elements to make your brand's stickers unmistakable.

Considering Your Composition

With stickers, you're working within a compact circular (or rectangular/square) canvas – so intelligent, eye-catching composition is crucial. Some tips:

• Leave breathing room around text/icons instead of overcrowding
• Play with contrasting background vs foreground colours
• Explore creative type treatments beyond basic fonts
• Incorporate fun patterns, textures or graphics as accents
• But don't go too busy – simplicity can also make a bold statement

The goal is to create something striking yet clean that grabs attention from a distance. Avoid the visual clutter trap – those tiny stickers must read clearly and spread brand recognition like wildfire.

Sizing for Stickability

Sure, you can buck wild with gigantic stickers – but for optimal slap-ability, it's wise to stick (heh) to a range of small-to-medium sizes:

• 1-2 inch circle stickers are perfect for slapping all over the place
• 3-4 inch circles or rectangles work great as laptop/water bottle decor
• Anything much larger becomes unruly and challenging to stick smoothly

Remember to consider mirroring and die-cut options to have fun with unique sticker shapes and styles beyond basic circles!

Using Color & Material Wisely

Bold colours and premium materials are vital in creating stickers with that irresistible “I gotta get me one of those” appeal. Some clever colour tricks:

• Use striking colour schemes that align with your brand palette
• Play with subtle shading, gradients or textural effects
• Try splashes of contrasting accent colours to make designs pop
• Matte, glossy or speciality finishes add extra pizazz

And for that thick, durable sticker feel, go with premium vinyl over cheap paper options. That lush, high-quality texture will attract sticker snobs and casual admirers alike.

Slick Sticker Printing and Production

Okay, you've nailed down those fire sticker designs that'll put your brand on the map. Now it's time to get those babies printed and ready to spread worldwide!

Finding a Reliable Printer

Not all sticker printers were created equal, so do your research to find a reputable one that checks these boxes:

• High-quality materials and finishes (vinyl, speciality laminates)
• Full-color printing with accurate color matching
• Quick turnarounds, no minimums, fair prices
• Size/shape flexibility for die-cuts
• Environmentally-friendly printing is a plus

Reputation and customer reviews can speak volumes, so go with more than the cheapest option if quality and reliability are questionable. Your stickers represent your brand – you want them printed right.

Getting Prepped for Print

Before hitting that “print” button, there's some due diligence to handle:

• Double (and triple!) check your design files for mistakes
• Use the correct file formats and colour specs per printer requirements
• Send over vector files whenever possible for the crispest output
• Clarify any questions on sizing, finishes, quantities, etc.
• Get a final proof from the printer for approval.

The little things can derail a print job, so dotting those i's and crossing those t's is crucial. Be that annoying client who asks a million questions – it's better than reprinting due to errors!

Savvy Sticker Storage

You waited patiently for that fresh sticker shipment to arrive…hooray! Now, where the heck are you going to keep them all? The good thing is that sticker storage is pretty hassle-free:

• Keep them at room temperature out of extreme heat/cold
• Store flat in a cool, dry place away from moisture
• Slip packing helps prevent sticking if stacked
• Use clear plastic containers or boxes for easy grabbing
• For longevity, keep them out of direct sunlight when possible

With a bit of simple care, your stickers can maintain their pristine quality for a very long time – which is good since you'll want to keep stocking up on those little brand billboards!

Clever Ideas for Stickering the World

Simply printing some stickers is one thing – but if you want to tap into their full promotional powers, it's time to get creative with sticker strategy! Here's some juicy inspiration:

Product & Packaging Stickering

An obvious yet often overlooked use – stickering your actual products or their packaging! Those things will be seen by anyone who buys from you while doubling as little giveaways to spread the word.

Slick sticker placements:

• On product containers/boxes
• Under lids and caps
• On shopping bags or boxes
• As seals over package openings
• Get crazy with sticker shapes worked into the branding!

Prizing and Incentives

Who doesn't love free stuff? Running giveaways or rewards programs centred around your stickers is promo gold:

• Use stickers as inexpensive gifts or bonuses
• Make numbered/limited edition stickers to give to top fans
• Send exclusive stickers to influencers for promotion
• Give away stickers with contest entries, reviews, shares, etc.

Get resourceful and work those stickers into loyalty or engagement programs. You can leverage that sticker obsession as an easy incentive for folks to tune into your biz!

Event Marketing FTW

Making appearances at live events, conferences, meetups or trade shows? Stickers can be your portable little event marketing squad:

• Hand them out free to event attendees as branded swag
• Create theme stickers custom to each specific event
• Run sticker giveaways, games or photo opps at your booth
• Stick branded decals on any surfaces you're allowed
• Let attendees “bomb” the venue by sticking your stickers around

Bring that good old brand recognition to the physical world while geeking out about sharing your stickers with fellow fans and customers!

Digital Stickers Are A Thing!

In this modern life, we live so much online, so your stickering strategy had better have a digital component! Ways to use digital stickers:

• Animate some stickers for shareable Instagram/TikTok posts
• Create custom Twitch, Discord or WhatsApp sticker packs
• Offer stickers as printables within paid digital products
• Use stickers to brand screenshots or multimedia within freebies
• Sell affordable digistickers and packs for fans to use

Going digital expands the usability and shareability of stickers beyond the physical – plus, they make adorable emotive emojis and meme fodder. Hot dog sticker, anyone?

Tracking and Maximising Sticker Impact

With a solid sticker strategy, you'll want to measure how well it's working to promote your brand. But how do you track something as freewheeling and unpredictable as sticker impressions? A few tactics to employ:

Leveraging Online Metrics

Sure, stickers live predominantly IRL – but savvy social tracking and links can help monitor their digital impact:

• Create custom URLs/links to drop on sticker designs
• Print QR codes leading to a landing page for scanning
• Use branded hashtags to find and count tagged pics
• Check Google Analytics for upswings tied to campaigns
• Watch for spikes in follows, shares or engagements

Put tracking measures on there that encourage online interactions you can observe! That data serves as a rough (yet insightful) gauge of sticker performance.

Geotagging for Intel

Want to know the specific locations where your stickers are turning up? Promoting geotagging on social whenever folks spot your branded circles can reveal the following:

• Cities/neighbourhoods producing high sticker sightings
• Venues, events or hangouts hits where you're sticking
• Target demographics interacting with your stickers most
• Visual confirmation that, yes, your stickers are out there working!

You can even reshare/highlight the geotagged fan posts for some digital sticker showmanship while strengthening that community connection.

Rewarding Reports

For hyper-detailed tracking that also creates customer engagement, position your stickers as a digital treasure hunt! Some ideas:

• Run contests for snapping and sharing the most incredible sticker spots
• Hand out freebies for showing proof of stickering new locations
• Repost fan submissions of your stickers “in the wild.”
• Give incentives for reporting sticker codes/serial numbers

Treat every fan submission as valuable data for pinpointing sticker successes while using that intel to dial up the fun and interaction for your customers.

Monitoring Online Chatter

Remember to underestimate the impact of anecdotal stickers, too! Keep a digital ear to the ground for any online comments, reviews or social buzz about your little sticky ambassadors:

• Check brand/product tags or @ mentions across platforms
• Look for feedback within relevant online communities
• See if influencers give your stickers any love or shoutouts
• Monitor forums or subreddits where fans might post sightings

Qualitative data like this provides those harder-to-measure but equally meaningful insights into sticker performance, brand awareness and customer sentiment.

Stickin' It to the Brands Who Stick With You

As you're stickering up every square inch of the world, don't neglect one crucial group – the folks who interact with your stickers the most! I'm talking about the diehards who gobble up every new sticker drop.

Fan Appreciation and Incentives

Treat your fervent sticker collectors like the VIPs they are:

• Run exclusive giveaways or subscriber packs just for them
• Give early access or discounts on fresh sticker launches
• Send personalised thank-you freebies to avid taggers/traders
• Hire some superfans as ambassadors promoting your stickers

Folks who go to these lengths to rep your brand deserve appreciation and perks galore. Nurture that cult fandom and keep those sticker evangelists hyped!

Customer Involvement

Rather than just designing and printing yourself, why not loop customers into the sticker creation process? A few ideas:

• Crowdsource new sticker ideas through contests or polls
• Enable fan pre-ordering to gauge interest before printing
• Let customers vote on colours, shapes or tagline options
• Open digital design contests for the chance to get printed

This fosters engagement and ensures your new stickers will strike a chord with the most likely to obsess over them. Win-win!

Strengthening the Sticker Lifestyle

For some fans, sticker collecting goes beyond a casual hobby into full-blown sticker lifestyle territory. Cater to these sticker diehards with the following:

• Branded sticker sheets or binders for collecting
• Sticker club memberships with periodic exclusive drops
• Fun sticker apparel like hats, shirts or jackets to wear
• Merch items designed specifically for sticker customisation
• Shoutouts, reposts or features for epic sticker setups

Essentially, it fosters a community for the sticker-obsessed and enables new ways to immerse themselves. Brands that lean in like this gain superfans for life.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, folks – a veritable sticker strategy bible for using those sticky circles to skyrocket your brand promotion! At this point, you're probably as pumped about sticker marketing as a kid in a candy shop sticker store.

But wait, before you rush off to bombard the globe with custom stickers…just keep this in mind: No amount of stickering skills will compensate for a subpar product or business. Stickers amplify what already exists – your brand's substance and value.

So start there, then let those cleverly designed sticky stunners radiate your brand out into the world, spreading smiles and recognition wherever they end up! With smart stickering, you'll be the envy of every business, wishing they could stick it out as long and hard as you do.

Who sticks with you? You stick!

Sticker Marketing FAQs

The post How to Promote Your Brand with Custom Stickers is by Stuart Crawford and appeared first on Inkbot Design.