Brand consistency is the key to effective marketing. It builds trust, loyalty, and credibility with clients and customers, providing a cohesive experience and lasting connection.
You’re showing up and marketing your business consistently. You’re posting three times per week. You do the ‘Gram. You do TikTok. You do YouTube. You do LinkedIn. You do All. The. Things.
Except you’re not getting traction. The results just aren’t there. Which is frustrating (of course) because you’re showing up everywhere, just like you hear you ‘should’ do. You have diligently stuck to the Monday, Wednesday, Friday share schedule.
So, now what?
Rather watch than read?
In This Article
>> The problem with consistent marketing and no brand clarity
>> What is brand consistency and why does it matter?
>> Using brand consistency to effectively market your business
>> Rather watch than read?
>> Additional brand resources.
The problem with consistent marketing and no brand clarity
If you’ve resonated with the introduction of this post, you’re probably wondering what your next move is. After all, you’re showing up everywhere and consistently sharing content.
There’s a lot of advice ‘out there’ that says if you show up consistently, in terms of quantity, that you’ll build brand trust and connection because you’ll consistently be at the front of your audience’s mind. That if you just post every day, or every other day, you’ll win the game because you’re getting out there and getting visible.
Well yes, but.
But sharing and showing up, just for the sake of it, probably isn’t going to get you very far in terms of the results that matter for you as a business owner.
Sidenote: If pure brand awareness is all you’re after, by all means, go ahead and skip this post. Because yes, if you just show up on a consistent quantity basis, then you will most definitely reach your goal. However, if you’re after brand engagement, trust and connection, read on.
Results that matter, that move the needle, include things like lead generation, community engagement, community growth, influence or impact of your message. These are the metrics that will get you to your next level in business, whatever that may be.
So, when you operate from a place of consistency in terms of quantity, you may not be focusing on the quality of the content or message.
If you’re more concerned with making sure you hit that posting schedule than in sharing something that’s aligned with your overarching brand, you will likely wind up with the type of results that we talked about in the beginning of this post – you show up regularly but the content isn’t driving your right results.
What is brand consistency and why does it matter?
When I think about brand consistency, I think about sharing the same message on all your digital platforms. About having the same brand voice and personality regardless of where someone has an experience with your business. Said another way, brand consistency is communicating your brand in a cohesive way.
Consistent branding builds recognition, trust and community.
As a purpose-driven business owner, you know how important it is to have a community of people who trust and engage with your brand.
Let’s look at two examples to further hone in on this point:
Business A shows up every once in awhile on Instagram, she posts to her blog when inspiration strikes and she might hop on a Facebook Live when she has something she just has to share. While the quantity is sporadic, each and every time she talks about a similar theme. She has her brand message nailed down and she keeps coming back to it. Everything leads to her core beliefs and she doesn’t waver. Which means, each time she does show up, she further enhances the expectation and perception you have of her brand in your mind.
Conversely, Business B posts every day on Instagram, shares a blog post every Monday, releases a YouTube video every Wednesday and sends a newsletter to her list every Saturday morning. Except, some days she talks about her favorite fitness regimen, some days she shares mindset work and other days she talks about her various services. While she stays top of mind because she consistently shows up, there is not an overarching theme or narrative that you can connect with. Your mind isn’t able to create an expectation or perception of her brand because each experience is different.
Now of course these are extreme examples, but even so, which business owner sets up a better space for connection and engagement? I’d argue that although Business A’s sharing schedule is sporadic, because she is consistent in terms of what she’s saying and how she’s showing up, she will be the one to foster more connection and impact among her community.
Last note on this, which goes without saying, but still has to be said: the perfect-world-scenario is that you are able to strike a blend of brand consistency and marketing consistency. Because that is when you really set your business up for success and growth.
Using brand consistency to effectively market your business
So, how do you get to this space of effective marketing in a way that’s consistent with your brand?
The first step is to understand what your brand is all about and how you want it to be communicated. This is also known as your brand’s strategy.
Of course it comes back to your brand strategy. We are a strategy-first brand studio, after all 🙂
Your brand strategy is the communication plan for your brand and here at WCO, we share four main pillars to an effective plan: who you serve, what you’re offering, why it matters and how you want people to feel when they experience your brand. Together, these create a solid foundation for consistent and cohesive communication.
You see, when you have a strategy in place, you can use it as a filter for ensuring you’re showing up consistently.
Before every post on social or newsletter you send out (or whatever-it-may-be), ask yourself if it’s aligned with your strategy. This helps guard against those moments when you post ‘just to get something out there’ and add to your overall brand experience.
And with that, happy branding 🙂
All my best,
Need additional branding resources?
Here’s how to simplify the process of your brand strategy and start attracting your ideal clients.
Learn the five steps on how to map your customer journey so you can better communicate with the right people at the right time.
Perform a brand assessment today so you can clarify what’s working for your brand experience.
Seasonal Brand Theory is an easy way to help you identify your brand personality. This post walks you through the process.
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