Having an online business means your branding is the first thing your potential client or customer is going to see, a first impression if you will. Whether they are on your website or your Facebook page, your branding is the first chance you have to stimulate them visually. And you have to admit, the majority of us nowadays are highly visual. If we aren’t looking at the internet, or Facebook, we are watching TV, flipping through our iPhones or Snapchatting our bf. That is why I am going to share 3 ways to build a brilliant brand.
1. Just Be You
Yes, we need to consider what our potential clients are looking for in a brand, but you are not going to please everyone. You will have people that no matter what your branding looks like, they will not connect with you, and you can not help that. What you can do is be true to yourself. Ask yourself if your site or logo was a smell, travel destination, outfit, or photograph what would it look like? For instance, part of my branding includes my name, Erin, written in calligraphy. That represents me so well that in college I got a calligraphic E tattooed on the top of my back. Is it clicking yet?
2. Be Utterly Consistent
Your Facebook Fan Page profile picture, landing page, site banner, Twitter background, Twitter profile picture. You get the point, right?! Every possible space on the interwebs that you inhabit MUST be consistent. WHY? Because you want to create a memory with everyone who lands on your page. If they stop by your Facebook fan page see your beautiful face and shining logo, and a week later they happen to see the same picture in the group of people that Twitter suggests you follow along the side of their screen, they will remember you. They are more likely to follow you, buy from you, and connect with you if you remain consistent and set yourself up to be recognizable.
3. Don’t Go F Crazy – Fonts That Is
Some branding is jam packed with 4-5 different fonts. Choose 2, 3 fonts tops and stick with them. Use them in your banner, buttons, site content etc. If your readers’ or potential customers’ eyes have to bop up and down the page trying to figure out what the heck is going on because the fonts keep changing they will get impatient and leave. And of the reasons people leave your site, fonts should not be one of them.
I hope the above 3 ways to build a brilliant brand were insightful to you! I have re-branded multiple times, and I am finally happy with my brand. I know it’s time consuming and requires a lot of brain power, but at the end of the day it matters. You wouldn’t want to show up to a party in mismatched pj’s right? Ok, my point exactly. So get your branding looking brilliant; it is a direct representation of you after all.
Well-put, Erin! I especially like the quote,
“Ask yourself if your site or logo was a smell, travel destination, outfit, or photograph what would it look like?”
It’s the abstract thinking that gets the mind away from “Uh, well, I like blue?” to identifying vibes and feelings and how to represent them visually! Way to say that nice and precise-like.
Thanks Stephanie, you are so right!
Loved the article. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas they were very helpful. I loved what you wrote about just being you. Oh so true. People can see through the fake. Having a company thats authentic and genuine will only attract the same principles and portray the same examples. Thanks again!
Your welcome!