Fifty years ago, customers had limited interactions with a brand. They might have seen a TV advert or caught a full-page colour spread in their favourite magazine, but that was it.
Today, the world of marketing has changed beyond measure. Brands must navigate the tricky terrain of multiple platforms, from traditional marketing platforms such as print magazines and TV through to social media and PPC advertising.
Brands that achieve a consistent representation over multiple platforms are up to four times more likely to be more visible to their audience. In turn, this boosts revenue by as much as 23%.
Some brands get it right; some don’t.
As an example of one who has, Coca Cola–you might have heard of them–is a huge global brand. They sell 1.9 billion drinks a day, in more than 200 different countries. Despite being around for decades, Coca Cola has successfully adapted to the challenges of a multi-platform world.
How do they keep their brand message consistent across so many different countries and across so many different touchpoints?
When you think of Coca Cola you have a very clear image of them in your mind, what they stand for and what you can expect if you buy their product. Where did that image come from? It wasn’t one ad or one purchase that created this concept, it was many, many years of interactions with this brand which formed the solid picture you have now.
Coca Cola develops all of their content with a core focus in mind. You might be surprised to hear that their concept is nothing to do with drinking or staying hydrated!
The concept is; “enjoy life”.
And this frames everything they do and put out into the world. They want you to link enjoying life with their product and so keeping this link consistent is very, very important.
Building a Strong, Consistent Brand
There are many ingredients to building a strong brand – a professional logo, strong brand message, and loyalty all count for a lot – but unless your brand is consistent on every platform, your brand message is diluted and damaged. Aspects of branding, such as a recognizable logo, tie a brand message together and help create consistency.
A study by Harvard Business Review found that the quality not quantity of interactions with a brand is more important. To build a loyal relationship with your customers, you need to create a relatable brand identity. Using the Coca Cola example from above, everything Coca Cola puts out into the public domain revolves around its core message of “enjoy life”. Its social media accounts, promotional material, and TV ads are full of content that reinforces this message.
The Importance of a Logo
Google is another instantly recognizable brand. Despite massive growth and development in recent years, Google has retained its core brand presence. The Google logo hasn’t changed over the years, which has helped it to avoid brand dilution. This proves how important something as simple as a logo can be when you are marketing on different platforms.
Brand consistency pushes your marketing efforts to the next level. We don’t need to see a menu to know we are standing outside a McDonald’s restaurant. By the same token, a Starbuck’s skinny latte is instantly recognizable from its distinctive logo. When customers are familiar with your brand and logo, they trust your brand, whatever platform you use.
Going through the process of creating a logo can also be a good way a for new business owners to reflect about their business & what it should stand for. Logojoy is a company who understands the importance of this creative process. A business owner, or founding team can create a stunning logo online, without the need of hiring an expensive designer. If you need to revamp your logo or create a new one then we have a special discount code for you at the end of this post.
Once people start to recognize your brand and become familiar with it, they will begin to form a deeper relationship with your business, garnering rewards that can last a lifetime. For example, my first pair of “proper” running shoes were Saucony. There are plenty of other brands of running shoes, but I love my Saucony trainers and now I won’t wear any other brand. I have an emotional attachment to my Saucony running shoes; I trust them to go the distance and improve my running gait.
The Dangers of Mixed Signals
Sending mixed signals can cultivate a climate of mistrust. If your brand message is “calm, professional, and reliable”, but you use your Twitter feed to fire off angry feedback to disgruntled customers who dare to complain about bad service, nobody is going to trust your core brand message.
Imagine if you visited your favourite fashion store in a new city and it looked completely different. Would you want to buy something there? Probably not. You’d think twice because a big part of you would be suspicious.
Consistency is critical, so it is vital that every person within an organization understands the core brand message. Social media management teams, marketing personnel, and even general employees all need to be aware of the company’s brand message. Educate employees so they know to deliver a seamless message across all platforms, online and offline.
Brand Voice
Create a consistent branding strategy. Establish your brand voice: is it serious or humorous? Consider who your target audience is and what platforms they frequent. Remember that social media is a great platform for humanizing a brand, but if “casual and low-key” is in direct contradiction to your core brand message, you need to manage interactions carefully.
Make sure your brand image is identical on all platforms. Use the same logo, colors, fonts, and tag line everywhere. Using a logo is critical, as this helps customers recognize your brand at a glance (see the promo code at the end of this post if you need a logo.)
Utilize technology to leverage different platforms to deliver your brand message. There are many tools out there that centralize marketing and keep different departments all on the same page. Tools such as Hootsuite, Salesfusion, LeadSquared and others all make a tough job a little bit easier.
The biggest takeaway here is that you need a consistent brand message if you want to grow your business and attract new customers. If you understand this, you can win across multiple platforms.
Now, for the cool news. I managed to get a 15% off discount just for BGB readers! Logojoy
Just be sure to use code BigGirlBranding15 at checkout.
Now, take this opportunity right now to spend an evening diving into what your business really stands for & how you want to present it to the world.
You’ll go through a step by step process of creating a stunning logo which will lock down your brand identity across your social media accounts, website, blog & guest posts. Start building loyal followers and use the don’t forget to use the code BigGirlBranding15 at checkout!
Additional BGB brownie points if you share the logo you have made and link to this post.