What are Digital Brand Guidelines?

Digital marketing and branding are the way of the future, plain and simple.  There’s really no denying that at this point, and it’s something that businesses need to adapt to. Doing this is easier said than done, though, given everything involved in the process. 

One of the parts that tends to get overlooked a lot despite how critical it can be is creating digital branding guidelines.  It’s a set of “rules,” essentially, that are put in place surrounding anything that is put online and is representing your brand.  This ensures consistency across all platforms, which is a pretty big deal.

Pretty much everyone in the business world has their eyes fixed on the matter of digital branding, as you can see here: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/digital-branding.  Don’t worry if you’re feeling a bit lost in terms of how to go about it, though. That’s what this article will covering in a bit more detail.

Consistency is Key

If there is one thing to prioritize above the rest, it would probably be to keep your marketing as consistent as possible across all of your social media pages.  Content posted should always be recognizable as from your company.  Otherwise, it isn’t really garnering the type of attention that you’re looking for from a marketing perspective, right?

When you think of some of the most popular businesses out there online, what comes to mind?  Most likely, their profile pictures or icons are one of the things thought of first.  Iconic quotes or catchphrases are another.  What you’re experiencing is the result of the careful cultivation of their digital brand, even if you don’t realize it.

Enforcing consistency might seem like a difficult task at first, and that isn’t entirely incorrect.  That’s why establishing digital brand guidelines is such a useful too – this way, you can explain exactly what sort of values that you’re looking to impart on consumers who visit your pages. 

Even if it seems a bit pedantic at first glance, there’s real value in making a ruleset like this.

What to Include

With all of this being said, you may be wondering what sorts of things you could include in a set of guidelines like this.  There are a few simple ones to get out of the way first.  Figure out what font that you want to use in all official company posts, for one thing.

It should be professional looking but still inviting – there are professionals who can help with selecting that sort of thing, even, if you’re not sure how to go about it.  Really, it’s a good idea to have a marketing team anyhow.  Navigating the digital world isn’t always the easiest thing to do, after all.

Beyond the font choice, though, there’s plenty more to consider.  Something to think about is the general color scheme you want to go with.  A lot of us end up associating certain color palettes with brands, right?  An example of that is red and yellow – there’s probably a specific set of golden arches that come to mind.

“Personality” of a Company

Admittedly, most of us don’t consciously think of businesses as having personalities.  Yet, that’s a huge part of how online branding operates.  There’s more detailed information on that on this page, but the gist of it is that when a company has a social media presence, they’re in charge of creating a personality of sorts to present to their followers.

It sounds weird, for sure, but it’s true.  A lot of brands don’t really know where to start with it, though, which is understandable.  How can you pick how to present yourself?  Again, that’s why consulting agencies exist for this sort of thing.  They can help you decide what traits you want to present to the world, be that quirkiness, professionalism, or silliness.  Whatever the selection is, it should reflect some of the values of the company.

Is Marketing Consulting Worth it, though?

Unless you’ve got a degree in digital marketing and are quite confident in your own abilities there, well, it’s probably going to be worth it to get a consultant or two.  Heck, even if that does describe you, additional pairs of eyes never hurt.  At the end of the day, we’ve all got some internal bias when it comes to our own brands or projects that we’re close to.

So, getting some help isn’t a bad thing.  In fact, it can give a pretty sizable boost, especially in the early steps of creating a brand personality and image on the internet.  Making a set of guidelines for your company to move forward with can make quite the difference – less room for errors, for one thing, and more room to grow and cultivate a loyal following no matter the site that you decide to focus your efforts on.

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