#BrandConsistency - Themes in Your Marketing Can Help With Consistency

One highly-useful tool for Brand Consistency is the use of themes. Marketing themes help solidify your branding in the mind of your audience. There are two areas you should consider when it comes to themes: visual recurring themes and thematic messages.

Visual Brand Consistency

Visual Brand Consistency is something we’ve mentioned before. You want your images and messages to follow guidelines you’ve built for your company. Think of brands you know. Pepsi and Coca Cola are two that really stand out. Across the board, they use the same branding style: Colors, fonts, etc. to push their brand into the mind of the consumer.So how do you create visual brand consistency? 

• Create a brand use document where you list how your logo icon can be used. Make sure you provide a color and black and white logo. Place your logos in a group folder so your employees can use the logos as needed for official correspondence.

• Use uniform colors across your social media platforms and website. 

• Standard graphic layouts. It’s best to create a graphics template for your preferred social media interaction. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more all have ideal size requirements. Create templates that meet those needs. Don’t forget to include a PowerPoint and video template that has your logo already inserted. Creating these templates will save you time and money since no one will have to guess which layouts work.

• Uniform images with logo placement. To further expand on your logo style guide, you need to determine where your logo and text should be placed. Consistency is key. 

• Keep the same cover image for all aspects of your social media platform so your customers aren’t jarred by inconsistency. Modify it, of course, to adapt to the platform’s requirements, but keeping consistent is necessary for making you stand out in a crowd.

Thematic Consistency 

• Create a one-line summary of your company, a tagline if you will. Expand it, by adding a two-sentence paragraph that further explains the mission of your company. After this, create several in-depth paragraphs with detailed descriptions. Provide your blogs, social media, and website links in that final detailed description package. Use these as needed depending on your social interaction. If you have room for a one-line summary, then use that. If you have an opportunity to further explain, use the more in-depth options. These files, like the logos mentioned above, should be available for your company’s use.

• Create themed content based on your company’s values. If you believe in speedy delivery, create content that emphasizes that part of your brand. If your company puts the customer first, emphasize that instead. While you can have more than one value, choose the one you want to emphasize over the others.

• Release themed content on a consistent basis. Whether you’re doing a Q&A, highlighting new trends, or providing motivational content on Mondays, keep your content consistent with both releases and styles.

These are just some ways to get you started. If you’re ready to tackle #BrandConsistency, start with your brand and logo use document. Decide which fonts, colors, and logo can be used. Once you have that established, move into building thematic content. Templates are key to speed and quality, so make sure you set them up as soon as possible.Do you have any tips on Brand Consistency? Let us know in comments. 

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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

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