Thoughts on Branding

This week’s post was originally in response to a request of one of the club members for some assistance regarding branding their social media posts.  I thought it might be worth sharing some thoughts – and also maybe start some discussion!

First a disclaimer!

I am not a branding expert and I always recommend that you do consult with professionals to get assistance if you have the budget.  Most graphic designers will provide this as part of their service – they don’t just draw pretty pictures.  They should spend time with you to understand your business and what you are trying to do before “putting pen to paper”.

Note also – your logo is not your brand!  It is part of your brand and it is the part that makes you instantly recognisable (hence the original question) but everything you do, and how you do it make up your brand.  

So to the question in hand.  Should all social media posts look “the same” or can you have a variation on a theme (e.g. to denote a different type of product).

I guess my answer was yes!  As in – yes, there should be a recognisable theme, but you can vary it.  If your branding is strong then it should immediately leap out at people as being from Company X but you should be able to add elements to suggest (for example) different product streams.  Perhaps a different coloured band or something which consistently aligns with that product stream.  

Is Content King?

It’s not enough just to say that the content will deliver that – because guess what – if it’s not recognisable no one will read it! People have no time – they doom-scroll and if your post doesn’t have a recognisable theme in the graphic element they’ll just scroll on past.  Sorry – but if you think people behave otherwise you’re in for a shock!  And just because your name is attached to it still may not be sufficient – again – people want the pretty pictures! 

As an aside – video will probably work if it’s got your recognisable face at the start – even if you don’t have graphics.

So – if you are doing it yourself rather than using a designer (maybe in Canva) then get yourself a template you like and apply your “brand colours” – then perhaps have a variation (maybe a band of colour) to denote a different product stream. My thoughts would be to have the avatar for that product stream in mind and design accordingly – the content of course would be written with that avatar in mind.  Yes it is always about the avatar – and if you have different avatars for different product streams do bear that in mind also.  It might also be that those avatars “hang out” on different social media platforms too!

Please do aim for consistency though – don’t keep chopping and changing – otherwise your stuff just won’t get seen.  And remember – post, then post some more – and after that guess what – keep posting!