Brand consistency is how people connect with your company. The more consistent you are with your message, image, and offerings, the more people will be willing to trust your company.
Coke’s brand value in 2014 was more than $81 billion. Coke is also one of the most recognizable brands in the world. How did it get that way? Brand consistency. Be consistent with your message, image, and offerings. This way people recognize and trust your brand.
Brand Consistency
To build brand consistency, you first have to know and understand your brand. Create brand guidelines that reflect your company’s mission statement and values. Make clear what it is your company does, how you do it, who your customer is, and the value you bring. Then you’re ready to bring visual cohesion to the ideas behind your brand.
Design Elements and Logo
Branding is about more than having a great logo. Brand consistency is about visual standards. Your color palette, font style, size, and spacing all need consistency. A website design strategy is a crucial first step for any business. But your branding needs to carry across every social media platform that you use. Do you offer webinars? Make sure the same style elements are in all webinar slide decks. Make branding templates available to all employees so all collateral materials look similar. Create a foundational style guide.
Consistent Tone and Personality
Branding is a small part of what makes you unique among the competition. Your brand is a look, but it’s also a promise. What do you promise your customers? Fulfill the promise. What’s the personality of your company? Tone and personality should be similar across your media platforms. Are you a young fresh company with a witty style? Then your Twitter account, Facebook, website, and presentations should all reflect that.
Choosing Platforms
Knowing your target customer helps determine which social platforms and channels to use. Are you best customers on Facebook? If yes, then Facebook is a good social platform for you. Create a consistent, branded presence on a few platforms. Don’t use too many platforms in an inconsistent manner. Use social platforms that align with your company’s tone, personality, and brand identity.
Content Calendar Topic Selection
A blog is a great place to build brand awareness and add value for your customers. Post relevant content on a regular basis to help with search engine optimization (SEO). Vet your content for consistency with your brand’s mission, values, and goals. Offer real solutions that address customer’s issues. Giving away some free valuable content means the customer will think of your product first when he’s ready to buy.
Bringing It All Together
It takes more than a logo and the right color to establish your brand identity. Create your mission statement first. Then come up with your style guidelines. Then identify who your target customer is. Once you’ve made the important decisions, get the right help. You’ll need a website that reflects your brand identity. But you also need good SEO and social media management. Once you’re established, keep the branding consistency and watch your brand take off!
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