Do You Need to Pull the “Weeds” in Your Branding?
I was pulling weeds at my parents’ house and at first glance, I didn’t see very many (which is why I decided to undertake this task) but the more I started pulling, the more weeds I started to see. All of a sudden, they were everywhere!
But once I started pulling the weeds, it was so rewarding. And the more I pulled, the better the garden looked overall.
It’s kind of like your branding—at first glance, you don’t see any problems. The “weeds” seem to blend in with the “plants.” But once you take a good look at the big picture, weeds, or should I say, problems, start to jump out at you.
But just like weeding, once you start to take care of those small branding inconsistencies and gaps, things start to look a whole lot better. And it’s such a great feeling!
Here are a few tips for keeping the “weeds” out of your branding:
- Conduct a quarterly branding audit: Print hard copies of your branding materials and spread them out on a large table. Seeing everything at a glance helps to spot problems and missing elements. TIP: Download my Nonprofit Branding Checklist to get started.
- Create brand guidelines: Your organization’s brand guidelines provide an overview of logo, typography, color, imagery, and layout usage, making it easy for all team members (as well as outside vendors) to stay on-brand when developing marketing or promotional materials.
- Know your audience: Knowing exactly who you are speaking to will keep your brand messaging and visuals clear and focused. TIP: Develop audience personas for the segments you are speaking to.
- Think before adding to your marketing mix: Adding new marketing materials or channels that are not effective can make your branding appear scattered and inconsistent. Weed out marketing deliverables or channels that are not contributing to your organization’s growth.
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