Post No. 32

Small Business Branding: How to Create Brand Consistency

Creating brand consistency isn’t complicated, but it is often overlooked by busy business owners. After all, you’re already wearing a lot of hats, and building your brand might not seem like it should be your biggest priority. If your small business already has a logo and a website, you might be wondering what else you need to create a consistent brand.

What’s so important about a consistent brand?

First and foremost, a consistent brand leads to a pleasant experience for customers. They can transition from your Facebook page to your website seamlessly, never pausing to wonder if they made it to the right place or not.

Secondly, a consistent brand communicates an element of professionalism. It shows people that you care about the details, even the ones they may not notice. Building a consistent brand from the beginning will save you time (and frustration) in the years to come.

Finally, once you’ve taken the time to define your core brand elements (logo, fonts, colors, tone/voice, etc.), keeping your brand consistent gets easier, not harder. Now that you have the elements, it’s just a matter of packaging them for different scenarios. With no foundation, you find yourself updating fonts on the fly, running with your favorite color of the day…you get the idea. Starting your business with strict brand guidelines will save you from trying to reign in rogue brand elements that keep popping up and embarrassing you.

How to create a consistent brand

Ok, so a consistent brand is important. But now it’s time for the fun stuff: how to make that consistency happen.

Colors
If your company hasn’t nailed down your specific brand colors, now is the time to do just that. Don’t rely on your monitor to pick the same blue that you used in your last graphic. Commit to your primary and secondary brand colors, write them down and stick with them. If you’re having trouble deciding which colors to use, we’ve got some tips on how to choose your brand colors.

Fonts
Similar to choosing your specific brand colors, using the same fonts will help build a consistent brand. Decide what fonts you will use for business cards, flyers, blog posts and anything else with text. Make sure all the fonts work well together, and then use them appropriately. If this isn’t in your wheelhouse, we have the font nerds to help find the best fonts for your brand.

Social Media
Use the same logo variation on your social media profiles. Choose a Facebook cover photo that matches your website. If people go from your website to one of your social media profiles (or vice versa), they should have no doubt they’re on the right page.

Print Materials
From flyers to business cards to informational handouts, you’re missing out if you’re not branding your print materials. Make the most of every print material by including a branded letterhead with your logo, company colors and website information. You want people to look at your print materials and immediately know they’re from your company. Sure, you could use a piece of plain white paper, but branded print materials will take your professionalism to the next level; and it will create another opportunity for people to interact with and remember your brand.

These are some of the main ways you can build a consistent brand, but branding doesn’t stop there. If your company has already branded the items above, consider how you can make other elements of your business, such as email signatures, social media graphics, slide decks and more, consistent with your brand.

We’ve helped over 300 companies build their brands, and we’d love to help you build yours. If you’d like any help branding print materials, designing logo variations for social media or even picking your brand colors, contact us – we’d love to chat!

Happy branding!