Want to know how to create a branding guide?
Just ask yourself who are you? Or another way of saying that is:
Uncover the Authenticity of Your Brand Identity: How well do your customers really know you?
If you don’t know how will your customer know? How will they be able to connect through your content? You need to learn how to boost your online presence and be recognized by your target audience.
This is where your brand guide comes in.
What’s a brand guide?
A brand guide is the rules and regulations you’ve decided on for keeping your brand looking consistent across all your marketing material.
Online properties like your website, social channels, YouTube video. As well as any of your non-online marketing; business cards, packaging, flyers, pricing cards. etc.
Once it’s created you’ll have a blueprint for keeping your brand consistent with all the same color palettes, typography, imagery, messaging (visual, verbal, or written communication) and any other elements that should be consistent across all your marketing materials, both online and offline.
Creating a brand guide is important for any business that wants to be known and recognized. It’s the map that helps you stay on the right path when building your brand.
It also helps you stay focused on the content you should be creating, helping you to never run out of content ideas or have too many you don’t know how they fit together.
You will also be attracting the right audience.
Which sets the foundation for a solid brand to grow.
Let’s walk through making your own brand guide step by step.
Step 1: Define who you are and what you do
The first step is to figure out what your brand is all about. This includes your mission, values, and who your target audience is.
- Your mission is why your business exists and what it wants to achieve.
- Values are the rules you follow
- The audience is who you want to sell to. Finding out your target audience is the number one secret to online marketing
You should also look at what makes you different from other businesses like yours. Your USP (unique selling point).
- What are tried, tested and the repeatable processes you use? What are the things you do all the time that always work?
- What is the most critical part of your processes for your customers? What do your customers seem to care about the most?
- What are they saying about you?
Pro tip: Look for patterns in what they’re saying to figure out what makes you special.
Step 2: Make a visual identity
This step is about creating a logo, colors, font and pictures that represent your brand.
- Your logo should be simple, easy to remember and can be used in different ways.
- Your colors should make people feel a certain way
- The font should be easy to read and match your brand.
- The pictures and icons you use should also reflect your brand.
Step 3: Create a Voice
The voice is how you talk to your audience.
To create a voice, think about the personality and character of your brand.
If your brand was a person, what would they sound like? Are they serious and professional or fun and quirky?
Now that we have a sense of the personality we’re going to convey we can make a list of words and phrases that fit that personality and represent your brand’s voice. And don’t just stick to the words themselves, think about the tone and attitude.
For example, if your brand is a fun, laid-back kind of brand, words like “chill” or “no stress” would fit. Or “friendly” “informal” “whimsical” might work.
- Are you going to be more formal or casual in your language?
- Does your voice use emojis and emoticons?
Fun Fact there is a difference: Emoticons are combinations of symbols available on your keyboard, like letters and punctuation marks, while Emojis are pictures.
Add this information on how to talk to your audience to your brand guide.
Include these things like tone, language, and attitude to use when you’re communicating with your target audience into your brand guide.
That way, no matter who’s talking for your brand, they’ll all sound like they’re coming from the same place.
Step 4: Make guidelines for messaging
This step is about making key messages, slogans, and a plan for how to talk to different audiences.
- Your key messages should tell people the most important things about your brand
- Slogans/Tagline should catch the essence of your brand
- The plan should show how to talk to different audiences.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Key Message:
This is where you need to figure out what’s the most important thing you want people to know about your brand.
Our products are made with all-natural ingredients
OR
We support local and sustainable farming practices
Tagline:
Create a catchy tagline that sums up that message.
Better for you, better for the planet
Messaging Plan:
Determine your messaging for different audiences.
For a younger audience, use social media platforms like TikTok to showcase the fun and unique flavors of our products.
For a health-conscious audience, highlight the all-natural ingredients and the benefits of our sustainable farming practices in email campaigns and blog posts
Step 5: Make guidelines for different channels
Make sure your brand looks the same on all channels like social media, email, and website.
Include the best way to use each channel, what types of content to share, how often to post and what tone to use in the guide.
This helps you use each channel to its full potential.
Step 6: Review and distribute
The brand guide itself could be a simple document with bullet points, or it could be more detailed with examples and explanations.
Once you have all the steps done, check everything again and make updates if needed.
Creating a brand guide is an ongoing process and it should be reviewed and updated regularly as your brand evolves.
It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth it to build a brand that will stand the test of time and help you stand out from the competition.