Is your brand represented the same everywhere online? Check out these branding statistics and you’ll agree that branding is important to any business:
- The average revenue increase attributed to always presenting the brand consistently is 23%. (Lucidpress)
- Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%. (University of Loyola)
- Brands that are consistently presented are 3 to 4 times are more likely to experience brand visibility. (Lucidpress)
What can you do to make sure your branding is consistent online? Here are 5 little changes that’ll make a big difference:
1. Color – Choose brand colors. Choose a primary color to use and then another 2-3 complimentary colors. Once you have these colors, be disciplined in using them in everything you do from print to social media to email marketing. Pro Tip: Your logo should be the primary color with complimentary colors as accents if needed.
2. Font – Choose 2-3 fonts to use consistently in all your graphics and marketing materials. There should be one primary font and 1-2 complementary fonts. Try to choose different fonts that will look good on different backgrounds. For example, maybe 1 thin font and 1 heavier font that will look great together. Again, keep your fonts in mind when creating your logo because they should be incorporated into it.
3. Voice – Keep the voice and feel consistent. For example, if you are a cutting-edge brand, make sure all copy, pictures, and videos have a modern look and feel everywhere online. Creating templates for each social media platform for each type of post can make this easier. Keeping topics similar online can also help. A voice gives you wider recognition across different platforms online.
4.Identity – What do you stand for? What is your company about? What makes you different from your competitors? Spend some time figuring these things out and create a tagline to use in your marketing online. It will help you stand out from your competition and communicate what is most important about your company. Choose just one tagline and keep it consistent online. Taglines can change over time as the company evolves but don’t put 3 different taglines out there at the same time.
5.Story – Creating your brand story can help you identify your voice, tagline, and even online content. It should be personal to you and your business and unlike anyone else’s. Some key questions to ask when creating your brand story are:
What is the purpose of your company?
What difference or impact are you trying to make?
What makes your story worth listening to? What will appeal to YOUR customer on a personal level?
What was your company like in the first few years?
What does it look like now?
What is the future of your company?
What problem does your company solve?
What is exciting about your company?
Why is your company DIFFERENT from everyone else in your industry?
After answering these questions write down any memorable situations, creative solutions, or unexpected outcomes you have had in your business. How do they relate to the above questions? These key questions are a great starting point to writing your brand story. You do not need to use everything you wrote down but pick a few that stand out and you’ll see a story starting to form. The ideal brand story is 1-3 paragraphs long. You can use the longer version on your website and pick out key sentences to use in social media profile descriptions. The more consistent you stay to your brand story, the more trust you will build in the brand.
Creating an overall consistent brand builds brand recognition and loyalty online. Have any questions? Let me know: Lori@LoriCaralisConsulting.com