Branding consistency is surprisingly harder than it sounds. You would think a small business would be able to easily send the same message across all communication platforms. You’d be wrong. I had an epiphany while reading Elizabeth Edward’s Startup book – I was really messing this up and needed to fix it. Keep reading to see the steps I’m taking to set things right.

Branding Consistency in 5 Steps

Be consistent in messaging and design execution

 

Ms. Edwards summed it up quite nicely with that statement. When I read that, it hit me. I knew my Facebook page was not consistent with the look and feel of my website. This also led me to realize why it’s so hard to be consistent when starting. You get into the zone trying to push out content and create a space in all of the social media platforms that you sometimes just use the images you have on hand. Those images aren’t always consistent due to everything needing a specific size and format. That’s how I got off track (I think).

Here’s the short version of what you need to be paying attention to ensure branding consistency.

Brand Identity

Keep your look consistent. Colors, fonts, logos, etc. This is probably why most books recommend that you sub out the work of logo creation. I’m sure you get a package that includes logos and headers for every situation.

Value Proposition

Keep your offering consistent. Don’t let your Facebook page give your audience an impression that you walk dogs while your Instagram pics are always of you washing dogs.

Brand Promise

Keep your integrity consistent. This can take many meanings from your Terms and Conditions to warranties to checking that your opening hours are correctly listed. Everyone doesn’t get their information the same way so entrepreneurs have to be especially careful here.

Target Audience

This is tough. I believe that different platforms should be utilized to target different audiences. I would bet that not too many young folks are using Facebook these days versus InstaSnapApp or something. The imperative here is to send the same message to all audiences. Don’t tell the women that your products are soft and supple and your manly crowd that they are coarse and tough. Word will get out.

Lastly:

Touch Points

The delivery has to remain constant. Whether this is your sales pitch over coffee or your YouTube channel intro, the way you positively interact with customers has significant impacts. For me this is means that the experience had while shopping on the site should be as smooth and sleek as the curves of the purchased chair.

Don’t be misled that brand consistency means that your logo should never change. Let your core brand proposition be your foundation and branding consistency will come easily.

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