Sweatin’ to the Oldies: Is Your Branding Current

e’re based in the South (most of the team anyway), and the summers are just hot and humid here. All the time, and without reprieve. Frankly, it’s the only stretch of the year I don’t check the weather forecast every morning, because I know what’s coming. Even a pop-up thunderstorm won’t last long enough to alter plans, so why bother.

What if we applied that same way of thinking to our company branding efforts? “No need to bother. Nothing needs to change. Things seem to be working fine.” If we don’t care, others certainly aren’t going to cheerlead our company’s efforts to be an industry leader. We very much want them to bother, so maybe it’s time to shake things up like a cool front in the summer.

Here are four quick ideas to freshen your brand messages and visual cues:

1. Add new content to your website such as a blog series, company news announcements, or photography. Consider revising your service offerings descriptions if they have gotten stale.
2. Re-evaluate your audience, particularly if the audience you started with has aged (with you) 10, 15, 20 years. Make sure to adjust the alignment between what your customers need now and what your company offers.
3. Spruce up your social media with new images, engaging posts and new connections; or launch a social presence if you don’t have one. I wrote about the basics and not spreading yourself too thin on social media when starting out.
4. Take note of what’s being said about you. How has your company’s reputation shifted over the years when you weren’t looking? It may be time to take the reins on managing perceptions in the marketplace.

None of these need to be drastic changes, nor should they. However, keeping your branding current and fresh-looking is as much a part of business operations as keeping your company’s financials in line, employees engaged, and technology up to date.

Summer is fun because it’s a break from routine. Apply that same philosophy to this exercise and put a quick brand review on your docket for the next 1-2 months. Give people a reason to bother checking in on you.

Call us if you’re interesting in talking further about some of these ideas. Stay cool out there!