Branding has become more important than it has ever been because modern consumers care about branding to the point that it influences their spending habits. In fact, 71% of consumers nowadays prefer using products and services from companies that are aligned with their values. Considering how important it is, it’s in your best interest to work on your brand.
Now, branding won’t be as effective if your business as a whole isn’t aligned, which is why creating brand guidelines is incredibly important. With that being said, simply having guidelines isn’t enough as you also have to make sure that everyone in your business sticks to these guidelines. This is easier said than done, as this can be a lot of work.
To help make things easier for you, here are three tips that will help when it comes to sticking to your business’ brand guidelines:
Provide Context
One common mistake that businesses always seem to make when it comes to their brand guidelines is failing to provide the necessary context. While you may think that your brand history and mission statement are nothing more than just fluff, they are actually crucial to branding as they will help provide context for your business as a whole.
While the guidelines dictate how things should be done within your business, context is key so that everyone in your business understands why the guidelines are the way they are. When providing context for your brand, it’s important to be as specific as you can be. This will help people who aren’t used to handling branding better understand what it is that you’re trying to achieve.
Make Your Guidelines Accessible
Aside from providing sufficient context, it’s also important that you make the guidelines as accessible as possible. When we say accessible, we mean that you should make them easy to find and understand.
When creating your brand guidelines, you must make sure that everyone will be able to understand them regardless of their personal experience and knowledge of branding. Making your guidelines too jargon-heavy may make it difficult to understand for people outside the marketing department.
You’ll also want to make sure that your guidelines are easy to find. The last thing you want is for your employees to have a difficult time locating your brand guidelines. You need to keep this list of rules and guidelines somewhere that’s centralized and easily accessible so that people don’t have to go out of their way to look for them.
Build Your Culture Around It
Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you build your culture around your brand guidelines. While it is possible to micromanage people in order to ensure that they are always abiding by your brand guidelines, this just isn’t sustainable. By building your culture around your brand and your brand guidelines, you make it easier for everyone to stay consistent with your business’ brand. A great way to do this is through the use of effective communication. If something is amiss or out of line, it’s important that you communicate it right away. This will help steer people in the right direction and will make things easier for you in the long run.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping everyone stay on brand when it comes to your business. While it may seem like a lot of work at first, taking the necessary steps to help everyone stay on brand and stay aligned will prove to be beneficial to your business.
Branding can be quite tricky, but you don’t have to do everything yourself. We at Mendocino Drone are experts in photography, videography, and web design services. If you’re looking for help when it comes to branding, then you’ve come to the right place!
