When it comes to branding, consistency is a term that's banded around A LOT. It's easy to think that 'consistency' speaks only to the frequency with which you post on social media / email your audience / publish a blog post.
It's easy to feel that when you're not posting consistently then you're somehow failing...which naturally leads you to beat yourself up (which feels crap if you're anything like me!)...and that in turn makes it harder to get back on the band wagon. It's a vicious circle.
So much of this is about expectation and what you feel you're 'supposed' to be doing vs what you're actually doing and I see so many female founders struggling to find the balance.
I used to feel terribly guilty if I wasn't posting on Instagram.
You know how it goes...one week off leads to two...which leads to a month...and before you know it you've been AWOL for way longer than you'd originally planned.
But let me tell you that it's not all about HOW MUCH or HOW OFTEN you post. Much more important when it comes to brand consistency, is WHAT you are posting.
So that even if you take 6 weeks off of posting to your social feeds (which is fine), when it IS time to show up again, you can do so with consistency.
When this finally sank in, I was able to release myself fully from my Instagram guilt.
How to create consistency in your marketing / social media
You don't want to post constantly...you want to post with consistency.
More than just the frequency of how much you post, true consistency comes from getting clear on your VISUAL BRAND and your MESSAGE. When you gain clarity over these two things, the speed at which you're adding squares on your Instagram grid becomes far less important.
Let's explore each of these in turn:
1.) Visual brand consistency
By this I mean creating visual consistency in HOW YOUR BRAND LOOKS. Even if you don't have a logo and brand assets in place, there is so much you can do to create consistency in your visual style through brand styling.
Brand styling is the term used to describe how we use colour, fonts, logos, patterns, texture, graphics and photography to intentionally 'dress' our brand so that it speaks directly to our target audience.
So even if you don't have a logo or the budget to hire a brand designer right now, you can absolutely start to create consistency with the other elements in the brand styling toolkit by creating content and planning a feed with the look and feel that you envisage for your brand, and that is designed to connect with your ideal audience.
2.) Consistency of message
By this I mean that you are consistent with your messaging and tone of voice - in other words WHAT you say and HOW you are saying it.
Part of this will be about unlocking your own brand essence and story, and part of this will be about understanding your customer deeply. Not just on the surface, but deeply.
Only when you understand your brand and your customer can you combine those two elements to craft an offer that will resonate thoroughly with your ideal client.
Next steps: Developing your verbal and visual brand for Instagram
If you're thinking 'I've got my branding but no idea how to apply it', or 'I don't know where to begin with Instagram' then I'd love to welcome you to join me this year.
I'm running a series of workshops that will help you nail your message and visual style plus provide you with all the templates you need to get started Instagram. Sound good? Sign up to my newsletter for more information.
About Lucy:
I'm a brand designer, photographer and Wix website designer based in the UK. I help female business owners and career changers build their brand and online presence through photography and web, brand & human design, so that they can turn their passions into the business they dream of.
Sign up to my email list to join my inner circle and for help on creating impact in your brand.