What would you think about a brand if the font of its logo jumped from Palatino on the billboard to Calibri on its website, Papyrus on Twitter, and Charter on Instagram?
You might think, “Wow, that’s messy and unprofessional,” or “Maybe I am not on the right website/socials,” or “This company is likely a scam!”
But you would most definitely reconsider engaging with them.
Brands are developed with creativity and sustained by consistency. Consistency in branding is essential for creating strong and lasting impressions on consumers. A cohesive brand image across channels lends trust, recognition and authenticity to the brand. It also effectively communicates the brand’s personality and the values and missions that drive it.
But why is consistency so important for branding?
- Consistency Enhances Brand Recognition – Would you recognise the Tata branding without its iconic font- Tata Sans? Probably not. Consistent branding makes it easier for consumers to recognise and remember the business. Consistency across typography, colour scheme, messaging and aesthetics makes the brand identifiable and helps it stand out in a crowded marketplace.
- Consistency Builds Trust and Credibility – In an oversaturated market, trust is a decisive asset. Consistency across platforms presents the business as a reliable and credible personality. It reassures customers that the business is dependable and trustworthy. Inconsistencies can make the business appear disorganised and untrustworthy. Whereas a professional, cohesive brand across channels strongly conveys the message that the brand is serious about its business, values and missions.
- Consistency Strengthens Emotional Connectedness – When customers consistently see the same recognisable visuals and messaging, they develop a sense of familiarity. Additionally, a cohesive brand requires attention to detail, thought and care, which translates into the business’s commitment to carefully and thoughtfully engaging with, and valuing their customers.
- Consistency Improves Marketing Effectiveness – Consistency across channels ensures all marketing efforts work harmoniously. A consistent brand message reinforces the business’s identity and makes marketing strategies more effective. It becomes the foundation to designing marketing campaigns and the guidelines that fuel it.
How to Maintain Consistency
But how can businesses maintain a cohesive brand image? Designers and specialist branding agencies like Dolphin Branding understand the need for consistency well and have the capabilities to create consistent assets for your business. Engage with them and use the following top six strategies:
- Develop Brand Guidelines– Your style guide is a cohesive document that anyone in your marketing and branding team can refer to. The document should include guidelines regarding typography, colour scheme, messaging and aesthetics, ensuring brand consistency across mediums. Additionally, you must conduct regular training sessions across teams to align team members with the branding guidelines.
- Use Consistent Visual Identity– Visuals are the most noticeable aspect of branding. All brand assets, including logos, colours, and fonts, should remain the same across different platforms, making the brand instantly recognisable.
- Maintain a Consistent Brand Voice– Ensuring the use of the same tone and language across mediums communicates the personality of the business and enhances brand consistency.
- Build a Content Strategy– Organising your content beforehand using content calendars helps ensure a structured and cohesive approach to content publication. It also allows the business enough time to ensure that key messages, promotional themes, and brand stories align across channels.
- Leverage Automation and Templates– Create branded templates and utilise various automation tools to automate social media scheduling while ensuring posts follow brand aesthetics.
- Regularly Audit Brand Presence– You must periodically review branding across platforms to identify inconsistencies and update any outdated elements.
Businesses make a promise to their consumers through their branding. A promise of authenticity, credibility, trust and dependency. Consistency then becomes the very plough that yields this promise. By creating a unified customer and visual experience across channels, consistency reinforces trust and brand loyalty. In an oversaturated marketplace consistency is a decisive force magnetising your brand.
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