Your brand is made up of your professional brand, your social brand, and your personal brand. So in essence, all the places where people interact with you and your business need to show a “united front.”
The best way to show that united front is by having a consistent visual brand. By being consistent with your brand you make it easier for your audience to recognize you.
Bringing consistency to your brand image starts with getting organized. If you’ve had your brand image professionally designed (which I recommend), you already have your foundation set up. The next step is to ask your designer for a branding style guide.
And then-the hard part-follow those guidelines!
Even if you haven’t had your brand image designed, and you don’t have a style guide, there’s steps you can take to create a cohesive look. Below are 5 ideas to get your brand image on a consistent path:
- Once your logo is designed, ask your designer to create the different formats and sizes you will need, and keep them easily accessible.
- Use your company colours regularly. If your logo is red and grey, use those colours regularly. That red and grey should be on your business card; they should be the predominant colours on your website and newsletter.
- Do you have a great tagline? Use it everywhere! If It’s on your website, feature it somewhere in your Facebook page. Don’t create a new tagline or a new version. Stick with the one that works!
- Your logo should appear in all media. The same logo. Don’t deviate and create a different version of it for your social media pages.
- If you use photographs in your website, don’t switch to cute illustrations or clip art for your online marketing. Illustrations convey a totally different feeling.
Likewise, if you started with full colour photos of your workplace it makes no sense to use clownish close-ups of people’s faces.
The thing to remember about consistency is that you will probably get tired of doing the same thing over and over. You’ll get tired of using the same style of photos again and again. You’ll be temped to use different colours to “jazz things up.”
But keep in mind that you are not your client.
Just because YOU are tired of seeing your red and grey logo it doesn’t mean anyone else is. When you’re sick to death of adding your tagline to yet another email, remember that other people need to see it many times before they will remember it.
The goal is to help others find you.
Because when they need your service, you will be the one they remember.