Many female entrepreneurs who are building a business through networking should know how important every component of branding is, right down to your LinkedIn profile picture, your business cards, your Facebook page, your Twitter profile, every single component of your marketing collateral. That first impression lasts forever.
There’s a secret that successful woman-owned companies know about social media: A strong visual brand helps you connect with your community and effectively convey your brand’s personality. In short, it makes you memorable. Think Oprah.
Good branding doesn't have to be complicated. Before you dive into social media contests, blogging, and driving traffic to your website, it is imperative you thoughtfully consider the following five branding elements:
1. Color Palette: Does your company have specific colors associated with it?
If not, I encourage you to think about your brand’s personality and how you can convey it with color; a strong color palette is a key element of brand recognition.
Are you a fun brand that wants to inspire creativity? Use bright or pastel colors. Or are you an insurance brand built on trust? Use trustworthy dark blues and maroons. If you need help with finding your perfect brand colors, click here.
Google is a perfect example of a successful company using established brand colors.
"Google‘s color scheme is immediately recognizable and is used in all of the company’s imagery. The colors (primary red, blue, yellow and green), as well as their images, reflect Google’s playful, innovative culture" Zach Kitschke.
2. Determine Your Brand Fonts- A blogger I love learning from, Zach (mentioned above) taught me: like your color palette, your font choice should reflect your brand’s personality. Don’t go crazy. You only need two to three fonts. Any more than that and your audience may be distracted and your message lost.
The 1 Million Women Facebook page combines a fun, modern font with images for its posts. Using the same font for each post trains their audience to recognize the company’s Facebook updates in the news feed, which in turn encourages more interaction.
Consistency in the look & feel of marketing materials has a subtle but vital effect, and fonts are where people often trip up - usually by using too many when in reality 'less is more'.
Do you have a font you use regularly on your social media posts? If not, pick two to three that represent your brand and incorporate them into your marketing efforts.
3. Get Professional Headshots ASAP: There’s nothing worse than looking at a LinkedIn or Facebook profile and seeing someone else’s shoulder abutment because you couldn’t quite crop them out. Seriously? Get with the program. You should be well dressed (at least from the waist up), well groomed (styled hair), well polished (current makeup), and your teeth should be relatively white (look into Crest White Strips or photoshop). Show those pearly whites!
Are you getting my drift here? A professional headshot is a must, whether you are an executive or business professional. And BTW, you will not be paying wedding portfolio prices here – it is just a headshot!
And of course I have a referral! If you want this info – get your ‘ask’ in gear and just ask me.
4. Design Consistent Templates and Themes: Now that you have your colors, and fonts, you want to be sure to use them together every time you create new marketing materials (even if that material is just a Facebook, Pinterest or Google+ post).
Think Coca-Cola. Always red and white. Always Swirly. Always Fun.
Keeping the same elements of structure gives your audience the feeling of familiarity and consistency. Take the time to create templates for quotes, announcements, sale products, promotions or contests. They’ll make it easy for you and your team to quickly create and post timely content. And they’ll also make it easier for your social media fans to recognize your brand and encourage further engagement.
5. Release Your Feminine Power!
As women, we naturally want, maybe even need to share, protect, motivate, and educate our friends, family, and cyber buddies. It is imperative you allow yourself to be a woman in business. Be sure your language, photos, content, branding, and even your fonts all exude your feminine energy and power.
Gone are the days where one can say "this is a man's world." Puh-llleeze! Women rule social media! Social media is all about building relationships. Who builds sustainable relationships other than women?
Now, on to my soap box...
These are just the first elements that can put the basis to a real relationship with your audience. The key to social media is building a relationship with your audience. Increase that relationship by promoting familiarity through branding.
When you use colors, fonts and filters consistently, your fans and followers come to recognize your brand quickly and your content stands out in their social feeds.
Set aside some time to review your company’s online image. If you take away your company’s name, will your fans still know it was you posting? If not, look at ways you can implement the ideas in this blog.
As my old tag line read, get social or get left behind!
Socially and Stylishly Yours,
Check out my ever changing website: www.styledbydeanna.biz
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