Creating a consistent brand identity is key to creating a recognizable and memorable brand. Your brand identity should carry through across all of your marketing platforms and consumer touchpoints. This is the written and visual expression of who you are as a brand. Your first and lasting impression to customers and clients.
Today we’ll be sharing with you our essential guide to unifying your business branding. We’ll talk you through how to identify your unique brand identity, and how to create branding resources that can then be applied to all of your written and visual content- across the board.
So, without further ado, let’s get branding!
How to identify your brand identity
First thing’s first, it’s time to find your brand identity. You may already have a clear idea of how you want to present your brand to the world. But if you’re still a bit unsure, don’t worry. That’s totally normal. After all, there are so many possibilities. We recommend beginning with a process of research and discovery. It’s important to gather lots of information both about who you are as a brand and who your customers are. Based on that, you’ll be able to create a stunning visual and character identity for your business. That could be cool and quirky, comedic, strictly professional, or something else entirely. You may wish to seek the help of a professional marketing team for this. A marketing expert will be able to help you discover your unique brand story, and curate your perfect brand image and voice.
How to create a brand book
Once you’ve identified your brand identity, it’s time to set it in stone. A brand book does exactly that. This is a written resource that presents an overview of your entire brand persona. Typically, a brand book will include an overview followed by a set of detailed brand guidelines. These resources will then be used by your marketers, writers, and designers as a resource guideline when producing content. Think of your brand book as an encyclopedia of your brand’s personality.
It should include:
- Brand story/ company history
- Logo design and email signature
- Color palette
- Typography
- Imagery
- Voice
How to create a style guide
You may also wish to create a separate content style guide. This is a little bit like your brand book but specifically targeted at your written content. This guide should be used as a resource by anybody producing written content on behalf of your brand. That could be website content, leaflets, email copy, social copy, blog posts, whitepapers, grants – you name it.
Your style guide should include:
- Your mission/ vision (what do you represent?)
- Your target audience (who are you writing to?)
- Your brand personality (e.g., sophisticated, formal, or funny)
- Your brand values (the key principles that make up your brand)
The magic touch- delivering consistent content
Last but not least, it’s important to remember that once you start disseminating your branded content it should be as consistent as possible across all channels. This is how you’ll be able to connect with customers and promote consistent engagement. Consistent content will ensure that your brand remains recognizable, searchable, and professional at all times. Unified content and a consistent brand experience will buy you credibility and – well- it just makes sense!
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