It can be difficult for businesses to remain consistent online. Inconsistency of messaging, inconsistency of regular action, inconsistency of tone, imagery, naming conventions, reporting, process, the list goes on.
3 reasons businesses are so inconsistent online
- Lack of consistent branding: Without a unified brand image across all platforms, businesses can appear disjointed online
- Inadequate management: Without a dedicated team or individual in charge of managing, scheduling, and monitoring the online presence of the business, it can be difficult to ensure consistent messaging
- Poor planning: Not taking the time to create a comprehensive content plan, social media plan, and overall digital strategy can lead to an inconsistent online presence
How to improve brand consistency
Before even trying to ensure consistency, it is crucial that any business has pinned down the ‘Why’. This paves the way to all messaging, positioning and branding used in the first instance.
Then the best way to ensure brand consistency is to create and stick to a comprehensive brand style, message and profile guide. This should cover all elements of the brand from brand name, colours, logos, fonts, taglines, messaging, value, purpose, and more.
It should also provide guidance for how the brand should be presented across different mediums, such as digital, print, and different social media channels.
Once this guide is established, it should be shared with all relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Maintain Consistency
It’s important to ensure that all customer touchpoints are monitored and updated regularly to ensure accuracy. This includes online directories, social media profiles, website content, ads, and more.
Allocate responsibility to an individual or team to monitor brand presence and consistency. Set out clear objectives when it comes to brand. How often to review, refresh, realign based on brand changes and adjustments.
By taking the time to create and maintain a comprehensive branding guide and monitoring customer touchpoints, businesses can ensure that their brand is represented consistently and accurately throughout the buyer journey.
Regular posting and content sharing
The final step comes down to regular consistent sharing of content. The more regularly you are posting, the more you are seen. The more you are seen, the more your are listened to or considered. Therefore with rich, relevant, streamlined messaging and branding, alongside regular and consistent sharing of content, your brand will begin to gain traction.
