Your brand needs to be recognisable throughout all your platforms, offices and beyond. Here are 5 Tips to keep your brand consistent
1. Colour Palette
When you think of Coca-Cola, what colour do you think of? How about Google? Facebook? Maverrik? Colour has become synonymous with so many brands and in some cases – iconic.
I think we’ve all heard the story about how Father Christmas was green until Coke came along and envisioned the jolly red-faced, red-suited Santa we’re all familiar with now. So there’s certainly power in choosing the right colour to be associated with your brand.
The right colour (or combination of them) can portray something or make you feel something. Colour psychology – it’s an actual thing! Various studies into this phenomenon have proved that there is a significant relationship between a brand’s colour and the customer’s reaction.
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, believed that colours and humans have a special connection in that we have a universal response to colour as a stimulus. He also said that: “Colours are the mother tongue of the subconscious.” What a statement! But, you can see the truth in it.
For example, dark shades of pink are seen to be energetic and exciting which is exactly why the Boss chose it – because we’re always looking to what’s next at Maverrik.
It’s a must to get this first step right for keeping your brand consistent. Once you’ve chosen it, it will follow you everywhere. So make sure it represents what you’re about.
2. Keywords
Word association can be just as powerful as the colour association I previously mentioned. Are there certain SEO or keywords that you often find yourself using? Not the keywords that describe your personality or the vibe of the office.
It’s more so your brand’s character – imagine it was a person. What would they say? How would they like to be perceived? Picking 3-5 adjectives (or personality traits) that you’d like to be associated with your brand when somebody thinks about you is a great start.
You don’t want to pick too many as it becomes confusing. It’s like the dreaded “Describe yourself in 3 words” interview questions. Keep it short and concise and utilise them.
3. Match Your Tone Across Your Social Channels
You can’t portray yourself as quirky or edgy on your Twitter if you’re trying to promote a more level-headed, serious service. You need your social media channels to reflect the quality and candour of the product or service you’re selling.
This just helps to further cement your ‘brand’ in people’s minds. They know exactly what they’re getting from you and what to expect. You may have seen a lot about your brand’s ‘voice’ and this is exactly that.
That one story you put up. That one tweet. It all contributes to your overall brand voice. Getting this under control is a big leap towards being more consistent with your branding.
4. Work With A Designer
It goes without saying that if you want something done well…go to a professional! Designers can create whole brand identities for you as long as they have a decent brief and get to know a little more about your company, product or service.
It’s not just a logo anymore. You need branded templates, fonts, graphics, branded merchandise and more. Everything will tie in together to tie up your branding in a neat, little bow. They’ll also know more about the psychology behind colours, shapes and fonts to help make an even bigger, more immediate statement with your designs.
5. Be Yourself!
Taking the previous four steps into account, my final tip is to be yourself. Make your brand uniquely your own.
Whilst you do have to carefully cultivate your brand, its colours, its voice – you can still show your personality. If it’s a product or service you truly believe in, it won’t be a million miles away from your own personality in the first place.
Through both your content and your engagement with clients or potential customers, make a lasting impression that is ‘you’.
