Building Your Brand on Social

Your brand is made up of many elements including your logo, colors, fonts, and voice. These elements tell a story to users about who you are so that they can better understand and recognize you. Here are some tips about building your brand on social media.

To put this into perspective, imagine that you just met someone with long brown hair who was wearing all black. The following week, a stranger with short blonde hair and a colorful outfit approaches you — and to your surprise — reminds you that they were the person with long brown hair and dark clothing from the previous week. It would be confusing for their aesthetic to have changed so drastically and you wouldn’t know what to expect from them the next time you ran into each other.

Our relationships with brands are very similar to our relationships with people and a successful brand interacts with their social media followers just as they would interact with a friend. Their personality and aesthetic are consistent and their interactions are valuable. As you begin thinking about how to build a stronger brand on social, keep the following tips in mind.

Use a Great Logo

Your logo is your brand’s face. It should be high quality, one-of-a-kind, and something that represents everything you stand for. Because it’s your brand’s face, you’ll want to show it to users on a regular basis.

In most cases, your logo should be your profile photo so that it shows up frequently in your feed and elsewhere online.

Additionally, you might occasionally post graphics or photos that include your logo to build brand recognition (you can also share photos of yourself wearing a shirt, hat, or other item with your logo on it!). Users love to see the people behind the brand.

Example: Regional Director Bruce Morse wearing a shirt with the Wyoming SBDC Network Logo.

 

Stick with a Set of Colors and Fonts

Colors and fonts are really fun, but they’re a branding pitfall.

Your brand identity should be comprised of consistent visual elements, which includes consistent use of 2-3 colors and fonts.

If your logo is your brand’s face, then your colors and fonts are the clothing your brand wears. You should be using them to create a consistent aesthetic that users can grow to associate specifically with your brand.

Example: The blue and yellow colors, font, and “swoosh” appear consistently throughout Wyoming SBDC Network graphics and materials.

 

Know Your Voice

Think of your brand as a person and ask, “What personality does my brand have?” Once you know the answer to this question, that personality should shine through in every post you make. Are you funny? Kind? Intense? Users don’t like brands that they don’t understand and using a variety of personalities is confusing to consumers.

Implementing these brand elements effectively will create a relationship between your brand and your followers, which leads to increased levels of trust and brand loyalty. Ultimately, successful branding should ensure that a consumer chooses you over your competitors.

Example: This post featuring some Wyoming SBDC Network clients reinforces our optimistic, proud, and professional brand.

 

Help is Available

We would love to help you with building a brand on social media. If you are interested in no-cost, confidential assistance then you can contact your local Wyoming SBDC Network advisor by clicking here.

 

About the Author: Audrey is the daughter of a serial entrepreneur and loves being a part of helping small businesses around the state succeed. When she’s not in the office, Audrey can’t get enough of the Snowy Range, homemade food, and walking her dog a lot.