Are you making brand recognition a priority? YOU NEED TO BE!
Creating a cohesive and consistent look across all platforms—Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, blog posts, products, print material, etc—is so important for brand recognition!
Are you making it a priority?
You don’t have to have a graphic design degree to make things look pretty. Especially nowadays with so many apps and templates to fit every need and style, they’ve made it easy on you to DIY your branding.
Today I want to talk about three simple tips that will help you create a cohesive brand identity that customers and fellow entrepreneurs will start to recognize and associate with you.
Tip #1 – Colors
This is an easy one to replicate. We live in such a visual world. Are you using colors consistently?
Before you start promoting your business, you should decide on your brand colors. Typically you want a primary color, a few secondary colors that complement your primary color, and then an accent color or two that can stand out among your other colors when you need a pop or need to make a statement.
If you’re having a tough time choosing colors, my favorite free resource is color.adobe.com. Check it out and create a beautiful palette that matches the look and feel you want your business to portray.
In my ebook, Simply Branded , I go much more in detail into the psychology behind colors and help walk you through choosing colors for your business. Check it out here if you haven’t yet!
Tip #2 – Fonts
I’m a total font snob. My husband, Justin, and I used to have races to see who could figure out the font on billboards fastest while driving back and forth between college and our hometown.
Similar to colors, you want to have a primary font and an accent font. You can have a third font as long as they go together well. When choosing fonts, think about what feeling you want to give a new customer or audience member.
Serif fonts, like Times New Roman, are most often used for print material and more formal writing. San-serif fonts, like Arial or Montserrat, are more clean and modern with simple lines. Once you choose the fonts for your brand it’s important to stick with them and don’t stray from them too much.
If you know about typography, then you probably recognize I didn’t use all the correct terminology above. In the case of this post, I’ve worked to simplify it to help people understand the importance of consistent branding. We go much more into detail about typography in my book, Simply Branded.
Tip #3 – Feel
Shut your eyes for a minute and picture your brand as a person. What personality traits does that person have? What type of clothes do they wear? Do they lean towards bright pops of color or more muted, basic clothes?
Take a few minutes to write down traits and characteristics of that person.
Once you have a good idea of who your brand is, it’s time to put it into business terms. The feel of your brand is not as easy to qualify as colors and fonts, but it is as equally important, if not more.
As you can see in my color story example below, there are many different feelings you can put out depending on the type of imagery you use. Be sure all your material (both on your website, in print, and across social media) gives the same feel.
Is your site more minimal and simple with limited colors or is it full and vibrant? Staying consistent across all platforms will help your audience connect with your brand and make you more recognizable.
As you consistently use the same colors, fonts, and feel, your business will start to form a brand identity that will help you to attract the person you are after. If you are struggling or want more info, check out my brand new ebook, Simply Branded. This fill-in-the-blank style workbook will help you define your brand strategy and identity so you don’t waste any time getting your business going down the right path.
Use code LAUNCH for 10% for a limited time only. Get your copy here!
happy branding,
