Three simple ways to keep your brand consistent online / June 14, 2010
One of the most common design needs among those starting a new business is a logo which will eventually be used on business cards, letterheads and envelopes. Most people know a paper system helps to promote a cohesive image of their company in the brick-and-mortar world, so why don’t they continue this method in the digital world?
Here are 3 online areas where you can easily rev up your brand presence.
1. Email Signature
It’s estimated that around 210 billion emails were sent daily in 2008. Emails are well integrated into our daily activity and are a great place to start reinforcing your brand with an email signature. Not only will an email signature look professional, it will also be much appreciated by your clients when they need to access your contact information on the go or in a hurry.
Firstly, if you don’t have a signature, create one. You’ll want to include the basics such as:
Additionally, consider if there are online environments that you use in a professional context such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. If so, add them below the basics.
Next, make a few adjustments to help your signature reflect your brand design. Use one or two of your company’s brand colors as your font colors. Make sure they’re legible and be sure to avoid light colors such as yellow. If your company regularly uses a font in their branded materials, select a web font that’s similar to the company’s non-web font.
Lastly, a logo can be a nice addition but integrating them is rather tricky. Several email applications allow you to insert an image into your signature, but this image sometimes appears as an attachment only, which defeats the purpose. Another route is embedding the logo but you risk landing in a spam folder. Until there’s a better way to do this, we suggest that you not worry about adding your logo.
2. Avatar
An avatar is an online users representation of him or herself. You’ll find these used in instant messaging, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and many more places. Just as a company uses their logo for all print and online branding materials, so should you. Use a professional picture for all your personal social media accounts.
Gravatar, which is a globally recognized avatar, makes this easy by offering a free, streamlined avatar service. When you register and upload an image, it generates an avatar and will automatically retrieve your avatar to be included in your online posts or comments. There’s no need to attach your avatar every single time; Gravatar does it for you.
3. Favicon
Short for favorite icon, this little graphic is also known as a website icon, URL icon, shortcut icon and bookmark icon.
It’s likely you paid good money for your logo, so why not put it to good use? It takes little effort to add it into your website, and it will definitely make a difference with brand awareness and recognition. Most browsers are now using the tab feature and having a favicon helps those with mutiple tabs easily to identify your page.
Favicons can be found in these places but it varies slightly from browser to browser: next to the page name in the tab, in the address bar or to the left of the address bar.
Be sure to follow these three simples steps and you’ll have a digital presence in no time!
Posted by Jenn
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