Digital branding encompasses so much more than just a logo, fonts, colors, and a name. A digital brand should speak your business’s language and communicate with customers, leads, and the community on every level.
While branding in general is important, cohesion is the key to setting your digital branding up for success. A cohesive brand tells your company’s story and provides a consistent experience for customers interacting with any and every touchpoint. From your logo and website to marketing collateral, social media profiles, and your tone-of-voice, there shouldn’t be any guesswork in who you are or what you do.
What Is Cohesive Digital Branding?
Simply put, cohesive digital branding ensures that your brand is consistent and communicates the same message always, no matter where it’s being seen. It is vital that your brand is immediately recognizable no matter where you’re marketing so that leads, customers, and stakeholders know exactly who they’re interacting with.
Any time someone comes across your brand, the messaging and identity should feel the same as anywhere else they find you. Your website should portray similar branding as your social media. Ads you run in magazines should feel like your brand, just as a video on Youtube would. At every point, your brand should be recognizable, clear, and reflect your business.
Your cohesive branding should show and tell users exactly what to expect from your brand. And then provide it.
How Do I Accomplish This?
You can accomplish cohesive branding by using the same fonts, colors, graphics, and messaging across all aspects of your business. Once people become familiar with your brand, the content you share and the places people find you should subconsciously communicate with them on every level.
Working with a branding specialist is a great way to ensure your business’s branding is cohesive and your views of the brand don’t fog its identity or messaging. As a business owner or manager, it can be easy to get caught in the weed while missing the bigger picture. Cohesive branding should include targeted messaging, marketing communications, and other collateral that connect with your audience and move them to action. Your brand should speak to your target audience, and a third-party perspective can help ensure this is the case.
Why Does Cohesive Branding Matter?
1. Impressions make a difference
When you are looking for a new drink but aren’t sure what you want to try, the label on a can often can influence your decision. First impressions for branding matter, and the message you’re sending with yours must speak to the customers you want to work with.
With the increase of digital marketing in recent years, not only does your physical brand matter, but things like your website and social media presence also directly communicate with audiences. Your website should speak for your business and needs to be a direct reflection of your brand. It’s all about portraying the right message to potential new clients by making a super positive first impression.
2. Professionalism and placement in your industry are key
Regardless of your target audience, professionalism from a business perspective is needed. You know your audience best; even brands that are cheeky, humorous, or less serious in messaging can benefit from a well-crafted website, logo, and message. In addition, professionalism in branding and cohesive marketing can help convert leads into customers and keep them coming back for more.
A professional brand can also set you apart from competitors. Understanding where your brand stands in the industry allows you to really target the audiences who align most with your business.
3. Build trust in your brand
Cohesive branding shows that your business has a specific message to send and service to offer. Your messaging should be shown in your brand, inside and out. Seeing this consistency will show others that you take your business/organization seriously, that you are professional, and that you care. This will build a sense of trust with potential customers and increased trust from your current ones. Trust from your audience is a huge factor in any business’s success—and using branding to leverage this trust is a great way to build out your brand.
4. Establish an identity others recognize
Can you identify the brands above?
Once you have your branding in place, building out online listings, profiles, and accounts becomes much easier from your end of things. Having a cohesive brand means you know exactly what logo, text, and business information you’ll use on all platforms and in all of your marketing. Cohesive branding eliminates any potential guesswork. With effective messaging and creative design in place, you can focus on your customers and serve them the best ways possible.
Take A Step Back And Evaluate Your Brand
Microsoft brand evolution between 1975 – present. Source: Wikipedia.
Does your brand have cohesion? Take a good look at your branding and the message you’re putting out there to ensure it’s a perfect fit for your business. What does your brand and messaging communicate to a new customer who knows nothing about you?
You’ll also want to make sure that your brand shares your messaging and cohesive appearance across all digital platforms. If you’re unsure where to start with this or how to take a step back and evaluate your brand, consider working with a professional like Sharper Creative to get a reliable, unbiased opinion.
Need Help Bringing Your Brand Up To Speed?
We understand that branding can be overwhelming, and sometimes the hardest part is simply getting started. If you’re ready to evaluate your branding or make a change in what your brand is communicating, our team would love to help.
Getting started is easy! Simply schedule your free 30-minute call with us today and look forward to your upcoming branding conversation with our experts.
