Biz Tip:

5 Tips for a Stronger Brand

“Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose and of action over a long period of time.” – Bruce Springsteen

When promoting your brand to people, it is important to always present your brand in the same way, using the same logo, font and colors.

Why is this important? By using the same elements, your brand will become ingrained in the thoughts of your prospective customers, making them more likely to recognize your brand and increasing the likelihood of them making a purchase. Consistency also helps your brand look more professional and reliable.

Look at the iconic brands like Nike. Nike’s swoosh logo is used on every tee-shirt, hat and shoebox, as well as social media and television advertising. Even though the logo doesn’t use Nike’s name you know which brand it represents.

Here’s a five-step primer on laying the groundwork to follow in Nike’s footsteps. Spend 5 minutes watching the video, or read on for the tips!

Logo

Use the same logo across all of your marketing efforts. Your logo is the first thing customers notice about you, so use it everywhere you can, including:

• On your website
• Business cards
• Social media accounts
• Letterhead
• Packaging

You may need have a few variations on your logo (for example, a color logo and a black & white version) but it’s also best to use the same version as much as possible.

Colors

Stick to the same colors across your branding to build brand recognition.

Just saying “blue” is not enough. Find out the hex code, RGB and CMYK values of each of the colors you use and share these with your web developers and graphic designers to ensure the shade is always perfect.

Fonts

Imagine you are researching a company to work with and you see they use strong, bold block letters on their business cards and but their website is filled with whimsical script.

You might start to wonder if they have a split-personality, or at the very least one part of the company doesn’t communicate well with another. While it may not seem like a big deal, the inconsistency may make you wonder about the quality of their work, and ultimately start to erode your confidence.

Just like you did for the colors, choose one or two fonts to use across your branding and stick to them!

Images

The images and photos you use should work together to complement the rest of your brand. If your website uses lots of moody and evocative photos of buildings and your business card has a cartoon elf on it, there’s a massive mismatch going on.

A good tip is to find an artist or photographer you like and stick to them. If you use your own photos, stick to the same color scheme or filter every time.

Tone of voice

Consistency doesn’t just apply to graphics and photos. It applies to the words you use too. If your website’s wording is formal and authoritative and your social media account is light and breezy, then this sends conflicting messages to your customers.

Decide on one tone of voice and stick to it across all communication channels.

Wondering if your branding is on point? Take advantage of a free website audit, and we’ll tell you where you shine, and where you need to apply a little elbow grease.

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