Brand consistency is at the core of effective marketing, ensuring that every interaction resonates with your audience and builds brand loyalty in an authentic way. And in an age where our brains are constantly bombarded with information–be it promotional, political or informational–it can be hard to process and filter out the real visual and mental data from the fake. So how do you create marketing and branding material that cuts through all of the noise, and shows your audience that you are authentic when it comes to promoting your brand and services? Consistency, consistency, consistency. (See what I did there?) Discover strategies for maintaining brand consistency across platforms in this article, where you’ll learn how to reinforce your core message, build customer trust, and ensure cohesive brand communication.
Establishing Brand Guidelines
There are many ways to maintain consistency across whatever marketing platforms and modes you choose to use for your business or personal brand. Establishing a set of brand guidelines is absolutely essential to setting yourself up for success. By creating a clear and comprehensive set of rules to be used for everything from voice and tone to visual identity, you can ensure consistency across the board. Outlining your brand’s values and mission are at the core of any set of brand guidelines, and can create a consistent tone to be reflected in all of your messaging–from social media posts to newsletters to internal communications. When everyone with access to your brand understands its values and principles and how to apply them, you ensure that your brand’s identity shows up consistently and authentically.
Authenticity and Consistency
Another important aspect of brand consistency is keeping your customer’s experience authentic across all touchpoints. It’s one thing to tout your brand as “family-friendly”, but when you can provide real examples of how your employees are treated like family themselves, it further reinforces your brand’s core values. Share photos of the quarterly company picnics, or provide information on your website about the free seminars you provide to all employees about work-life balance and meditation practices. Brand Consistency is at the core of effective marketing. When you have a clearly defined value that is at the core of your brand, sending out messaging that authentically promotes it can build trust with your audience, and your employees!
I had the pleasure of working with Chenel Trevellini, a Registered Nurse who specialized in wound care management and also started her own business called Patient Safety Solutions (PSS). Chenel established herself as an expert legal consultant, working with healthcare institutions, legal firms, medical manufacturers and risk management firms. As she expanded her business, we worked together to clearly define her brand and consistently communicate her values through her website, blogs and social media accounts. Chenel is a highly professional medical expert, and is also deeply committed to her own physical and mental health, which led her to begin practicing yoga and meditation. By sharing more personal aspects of her own health journey on her social media platforms and in detailed blogs on her site, Chenel was able to consistently position herself as a healthcare expert who is passionate about her own health, and the health of her patients.
Brand Consistency Across Platforms
Cross-channel integration is yet another great way to align marketing strategies across digital, print, social media, and in-person experiences for a unified brand presence. By identifying key themes or campaigns, you can then adapt them for different channels while consistently maintaining the same core message. Using consistent branding elements—such as logos, colors, and tone—across promotional efforts, can strengthen brand recognition and loyalty, making your brand feel more familiar and reliable to consumers. Additionally, cross-promotion is a fantastic way to not only keep your customers engaged and drive traffic to multiple platforms, but also keep your brand’s consistency in check and ensure cohesive and consistent messaging across the board.
Consistent Branding in Action
On a personal note, I recently experienced a situation where brand consistency made a positive impact on my life and sparked a newfound loyalty to a brand. As a small business owner, I was considering changing the financial institution I use for banking. In casual conversation, a friend mentioned that Truist Bank had become a trusted resource for them, and encouraged me to check out their website. In doing so, I was immediately struck by the customer-focused and user-friendly content on their site. And more importantly, their consistent use of my favorite color, purple! I decided to pop into the local Truist brick-and-mortar branch, and was once again greeted with the familiar and consistent purple color scheme. I was especially impressed by the kiosk in the entryway that served as a three-dimensional display touting their commitment to customers, shareholders and employees across the board. It was the quintessential example of their values being consistently communicated in multiple forms.
Brand Specialist Services
With all of the different marketing strategies and options available, consistency across platforms can get overwhelming, especially if you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur without a large marketing team–or large budget. Working with a Branding Specialist can provide an opportunity to delve deeply into your personal and professional brand values, mission and vision. As part of my Brand Specialist services, I work with clients to uncover what is at the core of their brand identity through a unique and in-depth Discovery process called Values-Based Branding (VBB). Brand consistency is at the core of effective marketing. Together we can define your target audience and establish a brand identity that is consistent, clear, and can be translated into content that makes a statement and highlights your values. By outlining a strategy that fits your specific needs and goals, we can create content for your website, social media and other marketing tools that positions you as a powerful and consistent extension of your brand.