Strong visual branding can improve brand awareness and strengthen brand trust, according to the recent Lucid Press Brand Consistency report. While creating a recognisable logo design is an important aspect, a good visual branding strategy goes beyond that. From corporate presentations to social media videos, your branding should carry across every piece of visual content you produce – and it needs to remain consistent. According to the Lucid Press report, 20% of companies reported their revenue increased by 33% when they maintained brand consistency. So, how can your finance brand nail visual branding?
The fundamentals of visual branding
“ 20% of companies reported their revenue increased by 33% when they maintained brand consistency. ”
Creating a strong visual brand is about carefully considering every aspect of your content. From your logo to your typography, anything that’s a part of your visual content needs to be selected and maintained throughout your website and social platforms.
Your visual branding serves a few different purposes. It conveys your brand’s personality, creates a brand identity, and helps your audience learn about your finance brand even before they visit your website or social platforms. Getting it right is important and a key element to your finance brand’s overall success.
Here are three areas that are important for your finance brand to consider and get right:
- Logo – Your logo is what represents your brand and its values. It’s also what people recognise from the get-go. With 73% of consumers more likely to trust and buy from a brand they know, ensuring your logo is recognisable and memorable is important.
- Colour – According to a survey by Reboot Online, choosing a signature colour can increase a consumer’s recognition of your brand by up to 80%. Consider the emotional appeal certain colours create such as yellow is often associated with happiness and blue with dependability.
- Typography – A study conducted by the New York Times, found that typography can have a big impact on consumers’ level of trust and safety. Another study by MIT psychologist, Kevin Larson, also found typography and typesets can have a positive or negative impact on consumers. So, don’t let your typography be an afterthought.
The key to maintaining your visual branding
You know your finance brand has nailed strong visual branding when consumers recognise the content you produce with or without your logo. To achieve this, your finance brand needs to maintain consistency across all visual content. From videos to infographics, your content must be branded the exact same.
With 47% of companies reporting they produce off-brand content a few times a year and another 22% reporting they do it a few times a month, the key to maintaining consistency is creating a template and style guide. Creating a brand template and style guide and enforcing its use will ensure your brand never produces content that isn’t in line with your visual branding.
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has achieved strong branding and maintains it across all platforms. From the bright yellow utilised and the same typography, the visual content they produce is easily recognisable. The same goes for CitiBank in the Unites States and Starling in the UK. Both don’t stray from their visual branding strategy and it’s obvious from one look at their websites to their social platforms.
Benefits for finance brands
At the end of the day, first impressions matter and visual branding is a core component of this. In fact, it only takes 0.05 seconds for consumers to form an opinion about your brand. Take a considered approach to your finance brand’s visual branding strategy and ensure you maintain consistency across all platforms to build brand awareness and trust.
Your finance brand’s visual branding tells a story, make sure it’s the right one.
