Brand identity isn’t just a logo and colours, it’s everything from the tone in your copy and communication with clients, to the look and feel of your marketing materials, to your social media content.
When it comes to Social media, you are trying to create an impression that sets you apart, keeps you memorable, and that makes you the obvious choice for new and returning clients - this requires consistency in your posts.
Now consider (and be honest), in your social media have you:
- Been using different fonts depending on your mood?
- Changing up the colours because you saw something you liked in another post?
- Buying different templates on Etsy with different styles?
- Using a different filter on each post?
It’s great to be inspired by other businesses' feeds, and to take that inspiration and apply it to yours. But your overall look and feel shouldn’t change from day to day.
Here are the Elements of Consistent Brand Design in Social Media:
Fonts:
We recommend looking on Pinterest for font inspiration. Not only are there great posts on which fonts pair nicely, but you can peruse what fonts other people are pairing in their marketing and get a feel for what you like. Feminine and elegant? Traditional and strong? Modern and bold? What impression are you trying to make? Keep in mind, you’ll want to stick to one to three fonts, otherwise your feed will look clumsy and unconsidered.
We’ve done a post on a couple of fonts that pair well here to get you started.
Colours:
Colours can make such a huge impact! Below, we’ve included one of our templates and we’ve shown it with the original colours and then some that we played around with. The looks are both beautiful but set a totally different tone.
Once you’ve chosen your brand colours, stick to them! This especially applies to any writing you'll put onto the images in your posts such as "sold" or "new listings" posts. Keep a note in your phone with the hex codes (a universal six-digit colour code) with what colours you decide on and use them consistently. If you’re not sure what you like, look on Etsy for product templates and take note of what really resonates with you. Pinterest is again your friend here and has some great colour combo recommendations that will get you on the right track.
Keep your audience in mind and ask yourself what impression you’re trying to create.
A great way to think about this is to learn about the psychology of colour; different colours in marketing evoke different feelings from customers. Red usually denotes energy, strength, and passion. While pink (one of our faves) evokes a sense of calm, femininity, and sincerity. And blue is often seen as dependable, trustworthy and strong. What message do you want to send to your potential clients through your colour choices?
Filters:
This could be a whole blog post in and of itself, but the key here is again consistency. From buying presets on lightroom or Etsy, to using Instagram or even your phone to touch up photos; whatever you do, choose one filter look for your images and stick to it.
Tip: type in “Realtor Preset,” for example, and see some of the great filters that are available for relatively little money in Etsy.
Your Logo:
Knowing where to start with a logo can be so daunting! Our graphic designer Sam always asks clients to look around online at other logos before she begins the design process. This gives clients an opportunity to articulate what they like about other business’ logos and why.
If a custom logo isn’t in the budget, you can take a look at Etsy for premade logos. Pre-made logos are generally a lot more cost effective, and you can see what you’re going to get before you make the purchase.
You can check out our pre-made logos, and many more on Etsy, here
Overall Style:
Considering all of the above elements should give you a sense of what your brand design style is.
Again, you’ll want to consider; what sort of impression are you trying to create in the mind of your prospective and current clients? Warm and approachable, assertive, effective, patient, and competent? Do the elements you’ve collected convey this? For example, with our Harper Collection, we wanted to create a sophisticated and modern look that tells clients that we are the business they’ve been looking for.
Brand identity and brand design go hand in hand, and their effectiveness hinges on both choosing the right elements and using them consistently. The summer can be slow in real estate, and as it approaches, we think now would be a great time to start refining and strengthening your brand identity. Good luck and have fun!
XO
Create Digital