In this day in age, most businesses know they need a strong social media presence. However, what they may not know about is the importance of a strong, unified branding across all their accounts.
What Is Consistent Branding
If you’ve searched around the web and social media, chances are you’ve seen the pages for some of the largest companies. For example, take Microsoft’s website. Here is what their homepage looks like as of mid-August 2020:
If you take a look at Microsoft’s social media accounts, you will see the same solid color logo. As customers see the unification of the new Microsoft logo, we will immediately associate that with Microsoft. Now, Microsoft’s logo has been iconic for decades, but the recognition so many people have of it is due to their brand consistency.
You may be thinking, that’s all well and good, but how does this apply to my business? I’m going to walk through the top five reasons why consistent branding is critical for your business.
Why Consistent Branding Is Essential
1. It Increases Brand Awareness
Consistent branding helps increase brand awareness for potential customers. If your branding is unified across social media and your website, more people are likely to recognize your business from platform to platform. This in turn helps build credibility and trust.
If a visitors views your website and doesn’t think about your business again for several months, that visitor probably won’t turn into a lead — yet. However, what if your social media accounts share the same branding as your website? If that same visitor stumbles upon content of yours in their social media feed, consistent branding will help them recall your business and potentially generate a lead.
2. It Builds Credibility
Great consistent branding helps develop credibility. Unified branding helps your business come off as an authority in your niche. When people see the colors of your branding, they will recall the reputation and services your business offers.
3. It Increases Leads
The use of consistent branding can help increase leads. People will buy goods and services from a brand they know rather than one they don’t. Customers feel your brand is more dependable if they see consistent branding.
4. It Conveys Your Brand Story
Having consistent branding can help you convey the story of your brand. Your branding gives you a chance to be unique and convey your company’s story. Stay away from using logo designs that are overused and generic. Customers want to know your brand, so be unique but consistent.
5. It Enables Growth
Consistent branding enables growth. When potential customers are able to recall your branding, it will help increase your customer base. Since consistent branding increases leads, and in turn helps grow your business. The awareness and credibility gained by brand consistency enables further growth.
Tips to Develop Consistent Branding
1. Ensure You Are Using High Resolution Graphics
Have you ever seen website or social media branding, but noticed the graphics are a bit blurry? It’s no good! Always ensure you are using the highest resolution version of your branding graphics. If customers see a discrepancy between one or more of your social media profiles because your logo is slightly blurry, they might not think as highly of your work.
2. Stick to One Version of Your Logo
I mentioned Microsoft’s branding above and that they use just one version of their logo. You should do the same. Using the same logo allows you to build brand recognition and trust among your customers. A memorable and recognizable logo is sure to boost leads. Different variations of your logo in different colors isn’t likely to help your customers to recall your brand. The moral of the story is pick a logo and stick with it.
3. Use Your Logo
If you have a quality logo, use it! There’s nothing that helps with brand consistency and recognition more than using your logo. By incorporating your logo into social media images and infographics from your business, your customers are much more likely to remember your brand.
Conclusion
Brand consistency so important to establish right off the bat. Establishing a style guide can also help you keep your business’s branding consistent. A style guide is a list of rules to follow when your company wants to publish content anywhere online.
Need help establishing consistency for your brand? Contact us today and we would be happy to consult with you about the branding needs of your company.