If you had to pause to think about that for a minute, the answer for you is probably no.
Having a cohesive brand and branding strategy is essential to any successful marketing campaign. If you think of your brand speaking to consumers at every consumer touchpoint – on your website, in a brochure, through letterhead and packaging, in a position statement or boilerplate, etc – you want to make sure your brand is always speaking the same language, right? Mixed marketing messages only confuse people and create a weak brand. That’s no good.
Gather or print out every occurrence you can think of when a consumer might be introduced to your brand – your website homepage, any sales material, your business card, your social media pages, your email signature, etc. Now take all of your examples and spread them out next to each other. Do they all share a similar design? Is the message you’re trying to create consistent across them all? Are they all saying the same thing?
If what you’ve now got in front of you looks like separate and individual promotional pieces for your brand instead of a comprehensive campaign, your brand needs a little attention.
Earlier today Mashable posted an article, 5 Tips for Maintaining Brand Consistency Across Social Media, a few of which are universal truths.
This is a good rule from Marketing 101 that has become even more critical as brands have been given more of a direct voice through social media networks.
Basically, talk with people instead of talking at them. Get them engaged.
Being relevant just means making yourself, or your brand, a part of the conversation. Talk about what everyone is talking about and look for opportunities to get your message out.
“A foolish consistency,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
Always.
What do you think?
