5 Of The Most Common Branding Mistakes – And How You Can Avoid Them - Pennink Productions

[Liz Seyi]

Branding is one of those things that, for many organisations, can seem simultaneously elusive and immediately identifiable. It’s the sometimes apparently intangible thing that can have a very tangible impact on your business’s prospects – so it really is crucial that you take it seriously.
The power of branding – as well as the consequences of getting one’s branding approach wrong – is why it will always have an important role among the leading Internet marketing consulting services.
But what errors could your organisation be committing right now that are eroding or diminishing its efforts to set out a potent brand? We thought we’d take a quick look at some of the most frequent ones and what your firm can do to steer well clear of them.
1. Being too personal on social media
It’s not a bad thing to show a bit of humanity in how you communicate your brand values across the major social media platforms on which you are active. After all, showing that approachable ‘human face’ of your company – especially when you are a smaller firm anyway – can be one of the most important parts of your branding approach.
If you’re using your company’s branded Twitter account to get involved in political squabbles or any other conversations that are largely negative, this is one of the biggest ‘no-nos’ when it comes to managing your brand online.
Remember that anyone communicating with your target audiences through your branded social media accounts is representing your brand, not themselves. They – and you – should act accordingly.
2. Not bothering to develop a brand identity at all
If we were to say words like “Apple” and “Coca-Cola” to you, the chances are that you would be immediately put in mind of certain strong values these brands are associated with.
Granted, your own company is probably not Apple or Coca-Cola. But not even taking the time to develop a clear brand identity for your organisation – thinking, perhaps, that it’s only for the “big boys” – is one of the worst mistakes a firm can make.
The fact is, having a distinctive and recognisable personality as a brand will definitely go a long way in helping your company to succeed – provided that you have the right branding strategy, of course. With branding, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt – it breeds trust.
3. Placing too much emphasis on quantity
Your brand’s social media followers are rapidly gathering in number – that’s great news! Or is it? Alas, even gaining a lot of followers quickly isn’t necessarily an indication that you are gaining people who are likely to become committed customers of your brand.
Indeed, one of the benefits of branding in general is that it reminds you of the importance of pursuing a particular target audience. Your firm shouldn’t be trying to appeal to literally everyone, because no brand can do that. So, when you are choosing between quantity and quality, the latter should be your number one priority.
4. Having a confusing or inconsistent logo
The logo that you ultimately go with for your brand will say a lot about what your brand stands for; there are good reasons why logo design is key to our own Internet marketing consulting services. It’s one of the first visual elements of your brand that a given member of your target audience will see, and they will keep on seeing it. It’s a very long way from an afterthought.
Don’t treat your brand logo as an afterthought. Such things as your logo’s colours, typography and spacing aren’t minor details that you are free to vary whenever you like. They need to be as consistent as the McDonald’s Golden Arches and the Nike Swoosh, in how they are communicated across your brand’s various channels over time.
5. Making spelling and grammatical errors
Of course, a misspelling or grammatical mistake is a mistake that goes beyond branding; it’s just sloppy. But it’s also unquestionably something that can erode your brand reputation, especially if it’s something your organisation is in a habit of doing across its marketing.
Yes, mistakes can happen, but you won’t want your brand to be associated with carelessness. So, be sure to proofread, proofread and proofread again, to avoid those glaring mistakes seeing the light of day on your website, blog, or other marketing materials.
Branding is something to be taken seriously!
Hopefully, the above will have made clear to you that branding isn’t an ‘extra’ or ‘nice to have’; it’s fundamental to every aspect of how your organisation presents itself to its target audiences. So, you need to be working doubly hard to ensure you don’t commit mistakes like those we have cited.
For a more in-depth discussion about what we can do for your own firm’s branding approach, please don’t hesitate to contact PENNInk Productions about our Internet marketing consulting services.