I decided it was time to tackle my personal inbox and delete old emails. In doing so, I discovered that one retail company was sending me emails at least twice a day. Did I open the emails? No. Did I feel like this was pushy? Yes. Did it leave an annoying impression of that brand? Yes. Building brand equity is not a simple task. It requires the right balance of touchpoints and messaging at the right time. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share Enlightenment Media's five potential reasons why your brand is struggling—and what to do to turn things around.

1. You're Pushing Too Hard. It's very tempting to flat-out tell people to opt in, subscribe or even buy your brand's products. If you're trying to make people buy or provide information before you've managed to build any kind of relationship with those people, you're essentially shooting yourself in the foot. Instead, work on building relationships between your customers and your brand and create credibility. This will go a long way toward helping people see your brand in a more positive light.

2. You're Not Being Social. Social media is one of the best ways to enhance your branding campaign, providing you with huge potential for visibility. This is applicable to all brands, both consumer and B2B. However, if you focus too much on simply posting to social media without actually thinking about the social aspect, then your campaign isn't as effective as it could be. Don't try to be louder than everyone else; try to be better than everyone else. Engage with people. Build relationships with them. Encourage their comments and input. These things will provide the connection that your audience wants, and that's called being social.

3. You're Failing to Keep Your Brand Consistent. When it comes to branding, you're going to need quite a bit of consistency. While it's fine to share hilarious memes and political banter with your friends and family, consistency is key when it comes to dealing with your target audience. You'll need to decide what kinds of topics your brand should represent and only share those topics on social media (and even in its blog or on its website), and stick to it. When people know what to expect, your brand becomes more memorable.

4. You Haven't Branched Out. If you're only using Facebook and Twitter to reach out to people, then you need to expand your social reach. This is very important; most people use multiple social networks, and the more often they see your brand, the louder it resonates with them. Need some options outside of posting to Facebook and Twitter? Try posting photos on Instagram and Snapchat, creating or replying to posts on Reddit, and even answering questions on Quora that apply to your niche and area of expertise.

5. You Aren't Doing Anything Differently. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to campaigning your brand involves delivering the same content to the same people over and over, ad infinitum. Instead, focus on creativity. Think of ways to deliver new content that is unique and helpful. Be sure that you're offering solutions to your audience's problems in the most insightful and unique ways possible.

If your brand simply isn't working, it's time to take a few steps back and look at what may have gone wrong. The five tips above can help you turn things around and get back on track to enjoying business success.

Source: Enlightenment Media is a web design company in Melbourne, Florida.