Setting up a website is relatively easy these days. However, that website is only one cog in the machine that is your brand as a whole. If you want your online business to prosper, you need to ensure that your audience understands what you stand for.
In this article, we'll talk about why having a cohesive brand identity is essential. Then we'll go over three tips to help you establish your brand online. Let's jump right in!
Why Establishing a Strong Brand Identity is Vital
There are brands that just about everyone knows about. For examples, think about Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Google, and even Starbucks. You may or may not be a fan of their products, but you're familiar with these companies and what they represent, and that's thanks to each one's powerful branding.
Everyone has an idea about the types of products and services they want to buy into. Your branding plays a significant role in demonstrating how you can fit into potential customers' lives, which means it's essential that your business' identity is clear and memorable.
3 Things to Pay Attention to When Establishing Your Brand Online
Establishing your brand online works a bit differently than it does in the 'real world'. Even so, a lot of the assets you will use to develop your brand online will cross over with your offline marketing efforts.
1. Use the Same Logo Wherever You Appear Online
The easiest way for users to recognize your online presence is through branding, and more specifically logos. The most successful brands tend to have instantly-recognizable logos:
Of course, designing an outstanding logo takes work. Unless you have a background in design, we recommend working with a professional to create a logo that's unique to your business.
Once you have the perfect logo, you'll want to use it everywhere online – from your website to social media. The goal is for users to come to recognize the logo instantly and associate it with your brand, so repetition is key.
2. Maintain a Uniform Brand Style
Re-using the same logo across all of your online properties ties into a bigger strategy, which is maintaining a uniform brand style. Your brand style includes a lot of elements besides your logo, such as:
-
The colors you use
-
The types of content you publish
-
Your business slogans
-
Other identifying features, such as mascots
When you put all of those elements together, a cohesive brand starts to emerge. For example, if we show you the Facebook logo, you'll notice that it features the brand's iconic shade of blue:
The same applies to YouTube, with its highly-recognizable red accents:
Color is an essential part of your branding, and choosing the right palette goes a long way towards defining how users will feel about your business.
Slogans can also be powerful identifiers as well. If we say "Just do it", we're willing to bet you know exactly what brand we're talking about. Often, slogans go hand-in-hand with logos. You can also use them as a part of your social media profile bios, in your website's tagline, and as a key part of your marketing materials.
3. Use a Consistent Tone for All of Your Content
If your brand relies on content to find a broader audience, then you need to pay attention to the tone of your publications. Consider BuzzFeed, for example – a quick look at its home page tells you that it's aiming for a light tone, with easy-to-digest content that's highly shareable:
Now compare that with the CNN website. It's evident that this publication is aiming for an entirely different audience:
There's no one 'tone' that's inherently superior. It all depends on what audience you want to target. What is important is that you remain consistent, especially if you want people to associate your brand with a specific type of content.
Conclusion
Every great brand tells a story about what its goals and values are. To tell that story correctly, you need to align a number of elements, including your logo, brand style, and tone. If you get these key aspects right, your brand should feel much more cohesive and memorable.
Image credit: Pixabay.
