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How to get people excited about a brand
Let's face it, sometimes brands can fall flat when it comes to engaging with them. This tends to happen when the human element, the "story" isn't included in the design.
When I approach social media or brand design, I focus on the story the brand tells, creating a holistic experience. It's never just one ad, or great copy. It's choosing to emphasize user experience, using data and analytics to inform design decisions that create a sense of reliability and honesty.
Why does this matter?
Before creating a solid foundation, CBT Nuggets had less than 1000 Instagram followers, and close to no presence on any other social media. People just didn't know who that was, and therefore had no trust in the company. When there is no trust, there is not engagement, or leads, or free trials, or subscriptions. Lack of trust = lack of revenue.
So, how did I change their minds?
Working closely with a social media agency, I used three main things to create an environment of trust. This trust was drive leads and cements a strong brand story.
1. Brand Standards
Creating visual familiarity while keeping the designs exciting and new is a vital part of creating a cohesive and trustworthy story. I used brand guidelines to direct this effort by allowing the standards to provide a roadmap of color, typography, photography, and graphical elements that all speak to the same goals.
Here are some examples of how I used color, type, and graphics to communicate familiarity and brand story on Instagram.
2. Knowing your audience
Why would someone choose to trust you if you don't care about them? Knowing who you're speaking to, how the platform you are using to communicate with them works, and how to use copy and visuals to properly convey information is so important, that without it there is no brand story.
Here is an example of the different types of design I used for different platforms. They still all feel like the same brand, but I designed them to communicate in different ways in order to make use of their distinct platforms and audiences.
3. Consistency, consistency, consistency!
Oh, your brand story is that you're honest is it? Reliable? Trustworthy? Deserving of the hard earned dollar bills of those wanting what you offer? Then prove it. Stick to a plan. Deliver on your promises. Do it again and again. I use consistency in every aspect of design. How I maintain this is by leveraging design reviews and accountability checks. I keep a willingness to change on a dime based on trends while still maintaining that basic honesty and transparency required for a brand story to stay sustainable.
So how does brand story actually make a difference? (Translation: how does this make more money?)
By changing the design mindset to a viewpoint of brand story, I caused significant growth on Instagram as well as other social platforms for CBT Nuggets when I came on board. This change caused our follower count to spike from 1,000 to 10,000 on Instagram in the first year I started designing for marketing, followed by an additional 6000 followers in the six months after the initial year.
Using these same techniques, I have also created been major growth on YouTube, Twitter, and other social media, all of which has led to an increase in more product trials and subscriptions for the company (hint: this means much higher revenue each year).
Here are some ways I've used design and consistency across multiple areas of design, including advertising, internal design, product, and social media.
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