Increased customer loyalty, improved image, and relatable identity are just some of the many things that successful branding can yield for your business, but it takes more than great branding to grow your company. It takes a village and your village has to be able to strategically and confidently represent your brand. So, raise your hand if your hive is guilty of any of these branding faux pas…
- Your PowerPoint presentations use random colors and fonts.
- Your logos are often stretched and pixelated on a variety of one-sheets.
- Your messaging is not aligned with the voice and tone you worked so hard to cultivate.
We promise we’re not judging. Training your worker bees to follow your brand guidelines is a doozy but the truth is, for successful branding to be, well, successful, you need your employees to understand what your company brand stands for, why it’s important, and what their role is in growing and protecting it. And we’re here to provide some un-bee-lievable advice on ways you can train em’ to properly and consistently use your brand guidelines.
Provide Brand Training Designed to Help Your Team Understand Your Core Values
Every team in your company’s multiple departments needs to understand your brand, regardless of their title or level. That’s why every brand guideline needs to have three important pillars:
- Content – Whether it’s your customer-facing employees or not, everyone in your company should have a basic understanding of your brand-cohesive content. From simple details like the color scheme, fonts, and tone of voice to deeper insights regarding your brand’s relevant topics, a brand guideline should explore all the priorities your content team follows.
- Delivery – Not all training delivery elements are the same since you need to curate them according to your specific goals. So, when delivering your training to your staff, it’s important to use principles that amplify your brand identity.
For example, using graphic elements like paper clips to enhance an infographic about Hacks for using Microsoft Office is appropriate, but you wouldn’t want to use the same details when creating an informative infographic about the meaning behind the colors in your branding. - Support – Approaching your brand guideline’s content and delivery can strengthen your team’s alignment with your identity, but branding is a continuous process. It’s important to follow-up training programs with additional support, so your team can stay on top of your brand for years to come.
For instance, taking pride in delivering quality service doesn’t have to be limited to your customers. By giving your team the same level of support as you would your market, you can prove that your brand guidelines are more than just promotional materials.
The Bottom Line: The Importance of Creating an Effective and Applicable Brand Identity Guideline
A brand is the heart of every business, the one that captures a company’s core values, personality, and vision. Branding exemplifies your business identity, plus the fact that it shapes how your audience perceives your company and influences their actions makes branding a fundamental part of every successful venture.
How Can Honey Creative Help You?
There’s truly no denying that running a business is complex. Besides ensuring you’re producing the best products and services for your market; you also need to ensure that you’re hitting all your business objectives.
Honey Creative has your back when it comes to helping you focus on your brand’s mission. We’re a creative marketing agency that can provide helpful and creative resources, allowing you to create your brand story and establish your space in the market.
From creating your brand identity to conducting brand analysis and streamlining social media efforts — we’ve got you covered. Learn more about how we can help you today!
