In this digital age, it is easy to churn out endless content without any real meaning or message behind it. When multiple people are working on different projects, branding can begin to take a back seat and get a little lost. Taking the time to perfect a piece of work and ensure it matches your branding standards will encourage consistency across the board and create the appearance of an expert, professional company.
Initially, you will need to determine your brand’s ‘personality’. Once you understand who you are as a business, you can reflect this within the work you put out to your audience, defining what you stand for and building trust. Effective branding should also make you more recognisable as a business, creating a clear style and message.
Create a style guide
Creating a document that states the exact details of your company branding including colours, font, logo and icons will ensure consistency, across all staff and for all work produced. Ensure this is an easily accessible document, visibly located on your central intranet or file-sharing software so there is no excuse for it not to be followed.
Everyone knows the workplace can become hectic during busier times of the year. Remembering to use the right colour or font can easily go out the window during a stressful week or quick turnaround for a piece of work. To be sure this won’t happen, carry out regular checks and host a workshop on the importance of branding and consistency to all staff. This will help to clarify that everyone is on board as well as enhancing the introductory process for new staff.
Update existing branded materials
Whether you are just starting out or looking to rebrand, ensuring all past and present business materials have the same branding is crucial. This may seem like a long process if you own an established business but are looking to refresh it, however, it will be extremely beneficial in the long run. There are also some great ways to celebrate your businesses’ new lease of life and start over on a positive note…
- Throw a launch party for your rebrand – celebrate with the team and existing or potential clients.
- Invest in new branded stationery – personalised business stationery looks smart and professional, leaving a physical reminder for any potential new clients or customers.
- Offer deals or discounts to encourage new customers – develop your client base with an offer they can’t refuse to match your new, sophisticated messaging.
Make a plan
Rebranding can be an exciting time for any business, new or old. However, it can be easy for this to wear off after the initial relaunch. Ensuring brand consistency involves keeping up a set style for the foreseeable future. If this gets lost along the way, you risk appearing unreliable and unidentifiable, with customers losing trust and staff lacking direction. Making a content plan or strategy will allow you to produce work, appropriate to your branding and suitable for your target audience. Reviewing and refreshing this regularly is how you will remain consistent and keep moving forward.
Finding your brand identity and implementing this across the board is not a one-man job. You may require the help of experts like us to allow you to fulfil your branding dreams. Get in touch and we will offer our advice and support for any of your branding requirements.
