Making Your Brand Identity More Consistent
Maintaining a consistent brand identity is a necessity for businesses today. However, it can also be incredibly difficult. After all, with your company handling and creating such a large amount of content, from social media updates from ad campaigns, it can be easy to get a little bit lost. But once you become divided, unreliable, and disjointed, it confuses your employees, clients, and customers. This is the last thing any business wants, so let’s take a look at some of the different ways you can ensure your brand identity is consistent.
Create a brand guide – First and foremost, you should create a brand guide. This is vital because it reinforces what your business is about and it ensures that everyone is on the same place. Your brand guide should include details on the likes of photography and graphic styles, media formatting, signage specs, typography and fonts, brand colors, iconography, logo usage, tone and voice, value differentiators and propositions, and brand mission.
Circulate the brand guide – The next logical point is circulating your brand guide. A lot of business owners assume that branding is an area that should only be reserved for the design and marketing departments. In fact, it is something your entire business needs to be concerned with. After all, your brand guide should state what your company is founded on, how the company should be presented, and what your objectives are. It’s vital that all of your employees are on board with this so they can present your company in the right manner. For example, let’s take a look at your sales team; they need to read your brand guide so they know how to present brand values to all clients and customers.
Designate an in-house ‘branding police squad’ – You can’t do everything yourself. You need to create a team that is tasked with policing your branding. Look for ‘needle-in-the-haystack’ types – i.e. those who have a great eye for picking up on things. Encourage them to familiarize themselves with the brand guide and to make sure they look out for any actions that go against it. They should then get back to you with their findings whenever they have any.
Invest in digital asset management software – As your company’s digital assets are constantly evolving, keeping pace with the changes demands software in the current day and age. This is where digital asset management software comes in. It can help you to manage your corporate identity by organizing and sharing your digital assets efficiently. With everything maintained in one place, it is much easier to keep on top of your brand identity and ensure it is consistent.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that consistency is boring – This is one of the biggest mistakes that business owners make when it comes to having a consistent brand. Consistency does not mean that your brand needs to be boring. It doesn’t mean that you cannot innovate and evolve. Think about some of the most successful brands across the globe, for example, Apple or Coke. Their brands are consistent, right? You would instantly be able to recognize something relating to their business. Nevertheless, these brands certainly aren’t boring. In fact, they are anything but. The two don’t, and shouldn’t, go hand-in-hand. Looking for ways to innovate while having your brand guide at hand is always a good idea.
Create a plan for the future – The final step when it comes to a consistent brand is to make a plan for the future. If you don’t commit to consistency, you are only going to fall back into the trap of losing your brand and becoming more confused. So, what should your future plan include? Schedule allotted times for you to review your brand strategy and update it. After all, as your company grows and changes, your brand will too. You also need to schedule a bi-annual content audit and an annual update for your design elements too.
Hopefully, you now feel more prepared for ensuring that your brand identity is consistent. The importance of this cannot be ignored. If you want to stand out from the competition and be a strong player in your industry, you are going to need to have a strong and consistent brand that your employers and customers resonate with.
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