Your brand is all about how your customers perceive you. But just like anyone, brands can wear many different masks depending on who they interact with and what channel they are active on. We don’t like it when people we think we know suddenly change their demeanour too drastically. Such a thing would be considered mercurial and even odd. The same goes for brands –
Adapting to a situation is normal, but acting out of character speaks badly for your authenticity and trustworthiness.
Being consistent pays off. Consistent presentation of a brand across various channels has increased revenue by as much as 33%.
But what exactly does it mean to maintain brand consistency, and how can you ensure it?
What Does Brand Consistency Mean?
Before we proceed, let’s clarify just how much is included when we talk about brand consistency. At surface level, it means that your tone, visual presentation and product positioning should remain the same across all channels.
But social media is by far the only aspect to which you must pay attention. There is:
- Social media
- Paid social ads
- Your website
- Phonecalls
- Instore experiences
- Print ads and billboard ads
- Paid social ads
- Events
- Blog
- TV and radio
- Packaging and label descriptions
- Your email funnel
- Webinars
…and even staff uniform.
Consistency is about speaking with one voice wherever you address your audience. It is not about copying content or using the same strategy across all channels. So, naturally, your approach would change depending on which channel you are trying to succeed in. But essential elements about your brand should be recognizable no matter where they are found.
How Can You Maintain Brand Consistency Across Your Online Messaging?
The first step to being consistent is knowing in great detail what your brand is all about and what it represents. Imagine an actor learning their role. Their work likely entails thinking themselves into a character and learning how they would act under certain circumstances – how do they deal with gratitude, adversity, grief, criticism?
To portray a consistent brand, you have to do the same. This means laying out for your employees across the board which words and phrases best convey the essence of your brand.
Tone of Voice
One critical step in keeping messaging consistent is establishing a clear tone of voice. Think about the personality it communicates – are you casual, accessible and friendly? Or are you conservative, authoritative and formal?
What grammar represents your tone of voice best? Do you insist on correct punctuation? Do you keep your sentences short and sweet? Do you follow up messages with emojis?
Create a brand guide to establish what tone of voice you are trying to strike.
Follow a Clear Style Guide
Visuals are another aspect of keeping your brand messaging consistent. Use the same colour and shape language, typography and iconography, across the board. This is where it pays to work with a brand strategy agency in London to establish a style guide that helps your teams refer to the ‘rules’ of posting in your image.
Know Your Goals
A call to action is essential to your online messaging. Your CTA is one of the most important things to keep consistent. If your brand has a mission and you know your objectives, the messaging you put forward should match this.
Your mission affects everything – from packaging to the direction of your ads and the type of content you post online. That’s why brands like Innocent drinks, Ikea and Apple keep convincing customers with their consistent commitment to their core values.
Strategy is Key to Keeping Brand Messaging Consistent
Like any aspect of your marketing strategy, maintaining a consistent brand requires research and careful planning. It means thinking ahead and realizing how to best communicate your brand’s unique value to your target audience.
This is where ZAK comes in. We are a Brand Strategy agency in London committed to helping ground-breaking and innovative brands present their story to the world and make it listen. Get in touch today to learn how we can help you devise a plan for brand consistency.