Improving Brand Consistency
Improving consistency in brand and content strategy, especially with a focus on visual communication, can establish trust, enhance brand recall, and foster a stronger emotional connection with your audience. Here are the top 10 ways to achieve this:
1. Brand Guidelines
Create comprehensive brand guidelines detailing specifics like color palettes, typography, logo usage, and imagery styles. This ensures that every visual touchpoint is consistent, no matter where or when it's created. Comprehensive brand guidelines act as a roadmap for all visual touchpoints. For example, Coca-Cola’s use of its signature red and distinct typography ensures that its products are instantly recognizable. Similarly, in the enterprise world, IBM's specific shade of blue, paired with its minimalist design elements, ensures brand consistency across its many platforms and product offerings.
2. Unified Visual Themes
Establish a visual theme that communicates your brand's core values and identity. Whether it's a specific filter, graphical element, or style, keep it consistent across all content. Apple, a consumer brand, maintains a sleek, minimalistic design across its product imagery and marketing materials, communicating elegance and innovation. In contrast, Salesforce, an enterprise solution, employs its cloud motif and shades of blue consistently, representing its cloud-based CRM solutions.
3. Consistent Photography
When using images, ensure they have a consistent look and feel. This might mean using similar lighting, compositions, or even similar subjects across photos. Nike consistently uses high-energy, dynamic shots in its campaigns to inspire athletic achievement. Enterprise brand Adobe, on the other hand, often uses images of creators in their element, highlighting precision and creativity, mirroring its software's value proposition.
4. Templates
Use templates for regularly produced content, like social media posts or blog graphics. This maintains visual consistency while allowing for easy content creation. Consumer brands like Canva use templates for their user-generated content, ensuring that even user creations have a touch of the Canva brand. HubSpot, an inbound marketing enterprise solution, uses templates for its ebooks and blog posts, ensuring consistent branding across free resources.
5. Innovative Visuals
Stay abreast of visual trends and innovative design tools. Augmented reality, 3D graphics, or animated infographics can make your content stand out while staying true to your brand's identity. PepsiCo, in its consumer campaigns, has utilized augmented reality experiences to engage users in new ways. On the enterprise side, Cisco has used virtual reality for product demos, offering a more immersive experience for potential B2B customers.
6. Showcase Real-World Outcomes
Use before-and-after shots, customer testimonials with pictures, or case study visuals. This not only provides proof of your claims but can also be done in a consistent visual manner. Fitbit, a consumer brand, showcases user testimonials with visuals highlighting personal fitness transformations. On the enterprise end, Slack utilizes case studies with metrics visuals to demonstrate how their platform enhances team productivity.
7. Consistent Posting Schedule
For platforms like social media, post at regular intervals with a visual style that's instantly recognizable as yours. This not only aids in brand recall but also sets a visual rhythm for your audience. Consumer-facing brands like McDonald's might have a regular cadence of posts introducing new items or promotions, all while maintaining its golden arches and red and yellow scheme. Enterprise brand Oracle maintains a consistent posting schedule with content around digital transformation, all designed in its red and white palette.
8. Interactive Elements with a Consistent Look
As you innovate, you might include quizzes, polls, or interactive infographics. Ensure these have a consistent visual design with the rest of your brand. Spotify, as a consumer brand, offers "Wrapped" at the end of the year – an interactive showcase of a user's listening habits, but all with the Spotify green and black theme. For enterprises, Tableau offers interactive data visualization samples on its website, all stylized in its distinct, clean design.
9. Educate Your Team
Make sure everyone involved in content creation is familiar with your brand guidelines. Regular workshops or training sessions can keep everyone aligned. Brands like LEGO ensure that every product, even if it's a collaboration, fits within their playful and creative ethos. For enterprise, Microsoft ensures that all its product launches, whether it's Windows or Azure, maintain a consistent visual and messaging standard through internal alignment.
10. Regularly Review and Update
Brands evolve, and so do design trends. Regularly revisit your brand guidelines and visual strategy to ensure they're still aligned with your brand's goals and the current design landscape. Consumer brand Instagram updated its logo from a retro camera to a gradient design, reflecting its evolution. Similarly, enterprise giant Google Cloud periodically refines its cloud imagery and typography to align with its modern, evolving platform.
