Marketing your small business on social media needs consistency. Have you ever known someone who was a completely different person depending on who was around?
Ew.
That’s one good reason why you want your brand to be consistent across all forms of social media… and well, everywhere!
Think of your brand as a person. You give them a style, a voice, a look, morals and values in the hope that they (the brand) can build a connection with your audience. When you have a consistent presence online, you are able to build this trust in a way that humanizes your brand and allows you to connect with your audience in a way that builds trust.
Consistency is crucial in which elements of your small business on social media?
- Brand Identity (Logo, Colors, Fonts, Photography, Filters, etc.)
- Brand Voice (Tagline/Motto, Copywriting, Social Media captions, etc.)
- Brand Values (What the brand stands for, How the brand behaves, etc.)
1. Brand Identity on Social Media
Think about your brand identity as the look and style of your brand. Is your small business giving consistent vibes across all platforms? To illustrate a point, take a look at these two logos.
Despite having the same name, the two logos couldn’t give of a more different impression.
Let’s say you saw the first one on a Facebook post and found the copy interesting enough to click on it. It takes you to a website that uses the second logo, colors and font. Instead of the brand reinforcing the feelings you had with the first post, it has changed its tone completely.
Obviously, you are going to lose some trust in this brand. Will you be as interested in exploring the website as you did the original post? Do these two logos give off the same vibe? Nah. You’re probably going to think something is sketchy and gtfo get out of there.
Remember, anywhere the brand can be seen, it should have a consistent look. This consistency builds trust with your audience.
Ultimately trust with the audience increases brand awareness and brand loyalty overall.
2. Brand Voice for Small Business on Social Media
How do you talk to your audience? Do you talk to your boss in the same tone you talk to your BFF? your husband? your kids? Nah, they’re likely all different, right? The way you sound to your audience is just as important as how you look to them.
Voice consistency is not just important from one post to the next, but everywhere copy from the brand is found.
Now, consider the above “posts”. They are both talking about Mondays, but do they sound different to you?
Think about the scenario from before. You see a post where an excited, laid back, and humorous voice compels you to click and check out the offering. When you do, you find a different voice. When you get to the website, the voice is proud, strong, and borderline strict.
Did you just lose trust in what you were “hearing”? Probably…
3. Brand Values for Small Business
Indeed says, “Your brand values might inform your leadership decisions, company organizational structure and workplace philosophy.”
Phew! That’s deep, right? You want me to have values and display them for my audience to see? Eep. That sounds scary. Nah. It’s all about being genuine.
Think about a brand you love. Why do you love them? What are there values?
Chances are you are at least familiar with one of the three below:
Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
*if you have a body, you are an athlete
Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work.
Our vision is to craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet.
Above are some examples of brand values. These companies try to embody these values in everything they do from products to customer experiences.
For example, What would you think of Nike’s values if they came out with a product line of junk food?
What if Amazon started deleting customer complaints on social media?
What if Coca-Cola was caught using harmful chemicals in their plants?
All things considered, you’d probably lose trust in the brand, right? The stated values wouldn’t seem very valuable if they were not being actively lived out.
In conclusion, just as in our personal lives, we can’t have a relationship without trust. If we, as small business owners, want our audience to become consumers and entrust us to provide a product or service, we have to give them a reason. Our business should appear as a sturdy, trustworthy brand that can provide a consistent presence and consistent value. Then we should follow through with that image.
Category: Advanced Tactics, Personal Branding, Social Media Marketing 101