We are inundated daily with so much stimulation it makes it difficult to capture true attention from prospective clients.  Did you know our brains process images 60 thousand times faster than text?  With that in mind, what images if any, are you putting out there that are building your brand equity now?  What post did you click on because of an image and then began to learn more about a brand or product?  Imagery matters, your website matters, and I know you may not want to hear it but your social media matters too.  You don’t have to be on social 24/7/365 but it should look and feel cohesive and convey what you are trying to say. Your imagery is the first thing people see, then after that you can wow them with your service, your food, your creativity, your intelligence, etc., but before then they are already shaping their perception of you, your brand, or business long before you even have a chance to prove yourself. Look, I’ve been obsessed with photography and images in general my entire life.  Why, because they spoke to me, they transported me to a place, they made me feel.  When I was in college I was introduced to documentary photography and I instantly fell in love with it.  I was telling a story with images, I was evoking emotions from my viewers.  That is exactly what your images are doing now.  So they can either work for you or against you, both options affect your brand equity.  

Ever buy anything off Amazon only to be disappointed because it is not at all what the picture looked like or the quality was awful in person?  This is a perfect example of what not to do. However, Amazon is a different beast all together so it can afford to tick some people off.  A small business owner or brand can’t.  Here is what I think are some of the most important elements to building brand equity and we are starting with the visuals because that is where my expertise lies and I promised to keep my blogs short and sweet.  I may do another post about brand equity because I find it to be the building blocks of brand success but for now are actionable steps you can take asap to starting building your brand equity.

When I was growing up I was taught a singular way to shake hands with someone.  First, you always shake hands when you meet someone new and introduce yourself properly.  Second, it’s a very firm squeeze with the grip.  Third, it’s a 1 then 2 shake that is a simple up and down and that’s it.  You don’t want to rattle the person so their arm falls off ya know.  Fourth, if I shake hands with someone who gives me a dealfish, run the other way….fast because that person’s integrity is not intact.  Your brand imagery is your handshake nowadays so be sure it’s firm and to the point or people may run the other way.

I already said it, but AUTHENTICITY and COHESION.  Be you and be you everywhere.  All your digital touch-points should look and feel cohesive.  A customer or client should be able to hop from your website to one social media account to another and know it’s your brand.  How do you do this?  Consistent tone in all your text.  Is your brand more formal or more casual?  Do you use 1st person, 3rd person, or “we” when speaking about your brand?  Make sure you get this right and is the same across all platforms.  

Another element is brand colors.  Are you using your brand colors across all social platforms and your website?  If you aren’t you should correct that immediately.  Is your imagery consistent and up to date?  What you don’t want is a mix of photos you took yourself and some that a professional photographer took on your website. They most likely will not compliment each other.  (Social media is a different story and a whole different conversation.)  You gotta go all in on one or another.  I of course suggest finding a professional photographer that you like the style of and gets your vision and brand.  If that’s not in the budge then do your best with what you’ve got but I beg of you, please make sure they look like they belong together.  If your using a filter, then stick with it and carry that across your imagery.

Consistency with your fonts is also important.  This can be overwhelming for anyone.  Luckily most website platforms have font packages that are cohesive allowing you to pick what you are attracted to. This is an awesome starting point.  Other options are to find a font you like and feels right, then ask ChatGPT or another AI platform to find complimentary fonts.  You can also describe to AI what you are looking for in a font and see what it comes up with.  Using words like script, elegant, timeless, bold, stand-out, flowy or even assigning a decade can be helpful.   

What does authenticity and cohesion do for you and your brand?  It gives you brand awareness and recognition.  They will connect your dots when seeing your brand out in the wild.  Brand loyalty is the most important element to your brand equity because that is how you perpetuate on in business and I’m positive we all want that, at least I want that for you and of myself.  Not sure if your business is vitally cohesive?  Reach out to me, I’m happy to take a quick look for you and give you my feedback.