We won’t go into the minute details of a basic branding, but what you do want to make sure is that you have is a consistent logo, color palette, bio, boilerplate and handle. Some companies like to change logo styling slightly between networks depending on how small the allotted photo space is and the interests of those specific audiences. Whichever you choose, the most important thing is to ensure your profiles have a common thread that people will recognize as your brand. In the above example, Burt’s Bees uses the same logo for both Facebook and Twitter. Their banners are also the same.
It isn’t always necessary for the two banners to be the same on every network, but this approach succeeds because even the colors in the banners reflect those in the logo. You could implement this with different banner designs by retaining a recognizable brand color palette, even if the text or the imagery in the design changes from one network to another. Since Facebook allows you to create Video Cover Photos, you could also explore animating your standard brand banner—think video views!Once you’ve got the basics of branding your social profiles down, then you’re able to move on to more intermediate strategies. Even your basic branding strategy should be audited and updated quarterly. These next four strategies are not one and done deals. Your audience craves new content, and your brand should evolve alongside that, especially on social media.
There also may be times where you can use your branding basics to your advantage. Celebrating a hashtag holiday or the launch of a campaign could be a great time for this!Branding your social media presence takes takes time and like your posting schedule, will need consistency, forward thinking and focus to implement. Over time, your customers will see the consistency in posts and begin to recognize when a post is from you without seeing your brand’s logo or social media handle. This type of brand recognition is the ultimate goal for your social media branding efforts. Anthropologie is known for their pastel and earthy colors.
The general brand feeling is light and airy, which carries into their clothing. And though they may deviate from that depending on the season, the consistency carries into their Instagram Stories. A single story has a clear beginning and end in terms of color and design. The story set in the above example uses a specific font style and design approach throughout the story. Stories like this help reinforce brand identity with these recognizable elements, and as the brand’s followers see these types of Stories over time, they’ll be able to recognize the brand’s unique approach to visuals even without checking the logo or brand name at the top.
A voice and tone guide should include details like brand persona, company catchphrases, personality traits and vocabulary. The smallest details, like whether you use the term “clients” or “customers” will help you keep your writing consistent. If you have multiple people managing your accounts, having a guide to reference keeps your team aligned so it doesn’t seem like your company is writing from disparate perspectives. Mailchimp’s style guide covers several areas including social media and newsletters. It’s easy to navigate and is direct in its approach and examples. While your own guide may only be for internal use, having it accessible to everyone in the company allows for people to refer to it when writing anything from marketing copy to sales emails.
Everyone is on the same page and that cuts down on repetitive work. Branding is no longer limited to logos and colors. It’s about your voice, your imagery and even your targeted audience. Because it’s more qualitative, it can make measuring its success a little tricky. But as you start on improving your branding on social media, you can see the impacts by paying close attention to engagement, mentions and share of voice.
You can also use techniques like regular surveys of your audience to understand their level of brand recognition, learn what audiences you’re effectively reaching and find out if how they see your brand is what you’re aiming for.