What does it mean to manage your brand?
September 6, 2022
Once your brand is set and launched out into the world, it’s time to manage and nurture it. To do that, you need to ensure that your brand is associated with the intended characteristics for customers to connect with. These associations are made through consistency and repetition.
If you want your brand to be remembered by others, you have to make strong associations with things they know and can remember. They understand how a home can feel “comfortable” and an outing can be “fun” or that a style can be “youthful”. Determine what associations you want to establish with your customers and lean into that on every post, every visual and every story you tell with your brand. Associations are ways to allow your customer or client to connect with you. They can call on you when the need or time is right.
We don’t suggest saying “We are fun. We are fun. We are fun.” on every social post, but rather to show the brand is fun through the visuals, the customer quotes shared and results you’re showing.
Here are a few brand management examples where you can see how the consistency of story and visuals repeated throughout the project built the associations for the brand as a place to connect and learn:
One of the biggest challenges for our small business or start-up clients is to keep that thread of consistency in their visuals and messaging when they begin to share their brand story on social. We start out strong and then somehow within a few weeks or even a few posts later, we start to see the brand story waver or fall away from the core storyline.
This wavering causes confusion and makes it harder for your customers to remember what they need you for. Remember, we only have customers because we are offering something they need or want. We’re offering something that will help them solve a problem or better their life. If they can’t associate our offerings with their lives, then we become irrelevant.
Do an audit of your existing materials. See where you could improve – either through visual consistency or brand story association. The visual connection to the brand is much easier to “see” and can feel quite obvious. It looks “off.” However, when you lose connection to your desired word associations, it can be much trickier to spot. An outside perspective is often helpful when making this evaluation. We’re happy to help or you can even survey your customers. What do they associate your brand with? What they say, may surprise you!
To manage the brand, set the word associations that align with your business, and repeat them throughout your brand collateral, your website and social media. Be consistent and unwavering. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Your brand longevity depends on it.
