hearten and hone
Have you ever wondered how brands grow such a huge audience? I’m sure you also have your fair share of favorite brands who just can’t seem to do anything wrong. Everything they put out simply resonates with you. You can’t help but be the first person in line whenever they release something new. As an entrepreneur, this is probably an aspiration of yours too.
And let me tell you, it’s totally possible! Like how we make friends with people in real life, there are also ways to make people naturally gravitate towards your brand.
Before people choose products and services, they would almost always look at who they’re buying from.
Here are some things that people look for in a company or business before purchasing:
- You’re intentional about maintaining certain brand standards.
- You’re committed to building trust with your audience.
- You’re organized and you make sure your audience know what to expect from you.
But how exactly do you help your audience have this perception of you?
It’s simple: simply by being CONSISTENT with your branding.
And here are 4 ways to achieve just that:
1. Polish your brand strategy
A brand strategy is a comprehensive guide for how your business behaves to get the goals that you want. It’s essentially the foundation that leads every moving piece of your brand. Having a brand strategy in places allows you to answer what your goals are, what your values are, who your audience is, and how you’re going to get your message across.
Being clear on all these things will make it easier to be intentional with any branding decisions you have to make in the future. Having this basis will ensure that you don’t go off track so you can always stay ‘on-brand’.
2. Stick to a color palette and font system
Using consistent colors and fonts is a great way to remind people of who you are even if they haven’t absorbed your content yet. The first 10 seconds that people encounter your content is crucial. Building this familiarity early will allow them to recognize you right away.
Aside from being memorable, you’ll also appear credible. A consistent look will suggest the effort you put into creating a seamless customer experience because then, they won’t have a hard time decoding what your brand is all about. The moment they see you, your audience would instantly know what you’re trying to make them feel.
3. Create your own brand guidebook
A brand guidebook is a reference document that details how to use each element of your brand consistently. This usually includes your entire brand strategy to your styling guide: from what color combinations to use, to which font should go where, to how you should sound in your caption.
It’s great to have all the elements of your brand compiled into one neat place so you don’t have to worry about whether you’re doing it right or now. This is also the perfect document to pass along to your team especially when you’re expanding because then, you wouldn’t have to spend so much time briefing them on how to live out your brand.
4. Hire one person to do your branding
Sometimes, people would hire different people to work on different aspects of their brand. This could look like having a business coach, a brand strategist, a content strategist, a messaging mentor, and a designer to help you figure out your brand. Sometimes, this works for people who like to gather ideas from different sources and distill it themselves.
On the other hand, if you’re the type who wants to save time trying to piece things together, hiring a single person to help you out would definitely be a great choice for you. One person. One source. One idea. It’s also easier to communicate and collaborate with just one expert doing your brand. There are a lot of people, including myself, who already incorporate both brand strategy and design into their process. This way, you can make sure your brand is streamlined and coherent because you don’t have to sort through conflicting ideas.
When you’re consistent with your branding, your growth tactics become more effective. This is because everything is coming from a clear and aligned place. And prioritizing this foundation is so key in building a successful brand you can sustain for years and years.