by Jeanine Vecchiarelli return to JayVee Media Link LLC
As a social media consultant and coach, I am frequently asked to evaluate the social presence of local businesses. Quite often when I do, I am surprised to find that many of these businesses neglect to maintain consistent branding across their online profiles. Even if they are well tended and tidy, each one has a different branded image.
What is the image that comes to mind when you hear the brand name Coke? Starbucks? Nike? Before the word fades, the brand’s logo is clearly visible in our minds. Would that be the case if these brands displayed different logos on each one of their marketing sites?
We may not be heads of huge national chains or manufacture products known worldwide. Still, we need to strive for the same reaction consumers have for those big brands, on a scale equivalent for OURS. The pathway to that objective begins with brand consistency. Every platform where our businesses maintain a presence must display the same branding as our websites.
We also need to remember that branding goes beyond just logo design. It includes details such as colors, effects, and fonts. We need them to be an EXACT match from profile to profile. Our designers have on file the exact colors used for all facets of our brandings (by hex numbers), as well as style and size of fonts. If any effects are incorporated into our logo designs, those also will be catalogued. Additionally, if our brands are represented with mottos, they must be included so they are kept consistent across all social profiles. It’s a good idea to get a copy of all this information for our own records, too. It needs to be carefully stored, as it is literally the physical DNA of our brands.
The benefits for our companies of being known at a glance are obvious. Like Coke, Starbucks and Nike, we should strive to achieve widespread visual recognition for our businesses, on a level appropriate for our aspirations. Carefully constructed, consistent branding across all of our platforms – on AND offline – is the way to achieve this goal.
What are you doing to achieve branding consistency for YOUR business? Please share your strategies in the comments section below.
Filed under: branding, media platforms, Social Media Management/Marketing Tagged: branding, Jeanine, media platforms, Social Media Management/Marketing, Vecchiarelli
