More than 59% of markets assert that email is their biggest source of return on investment (ROI). One of the basics of building your personal or company presence is creating a brand identity. This identity can be used every time you put forth your content and ensure each contact with a client or prospect acts as a brand recall opportunity.
Branding and brand recall is important in all types of communication and this extends to email communications as well. In an effort to incorporate branding in email communications, some companies opt to create corporate email signatures, some individuals create a click-through button to their social media accounts and other companies and individuals use promotional visuals.
Regardless of the method you choose, branding in email communication is important, period. Here are a few ways you can integrate it to benefit your brand.
Why do you need to follow brand guidelines?
Consistency is among the most important and arguably under stressed aspects of branding. When you are building your brand, establish a branding colour and save the code. Also, know the font you want. Always use the same colour and font and have a system to integrate visuals in a consistent way for all future references.
Though this might sound like a no brainer, 38% of brands fail to have proper email brand guidelines. To ensure you are not a part of the unprepared portion of email communicators, do your branding homework and make sure your email communication does not go in vain.
Along with the formatting basics, establish a brand voice and build on it. Furthermore, make sure your branding is consistent across all channels. In case someone clicks through to your social media or website link, they should be able to follow along with your message.
With all this in mind, your brand guidelines are sure to enhance your email communication efforts.
Should you add logos to emails?
According to research, $1 spent in email marketing yields $44 in return, so use each corner of your email wisely while branding in email communication. Each time you connect with a prospect or client, use it as an opportunity to strengthen brand recall.
We have established that email communication is an opportunity to build and establish brand recall, just like all other branding material you create. For example, if you are a company that has multiple employees reaching out prospects and clients with different things, you want your target audience to build a connection with your brand and not just the individuals reaching out. So, this is why you must include a company logo for branding in email communication.
Additionally, if you are an individual freelancer, you want your prospects and clients to connect with you, which could be in the form of a personal branding logo or your face. So, you should include a logo (abstract logo or initials or anything you want) or your photo as branding in email communication.
As a result, businesses and individuals seeking to establish brand recall need to include their logo in their email communications. Businesses choose to place their logo at the top of their message to establish what they are representing from the get-go. Alternatively, they can be placed in email signatures as well.
How should you create an email signature for your team?
Branding mandates you to create an email signature to make sure there is a clear place for further branding material should the potential client choose to further engage in your content.
Email signatures are a great way to create a connection between your prospective client and team members and it helps in improving trust with your target audience.
Branding is all about building connections and trust with your clients and prospects, email signatures are great for trust, connections, professionalism and are a great way to drive traffic to your website.
Now, the question is how should you integrate email signatures to enhance your branding efforts in email communication? Approach your email signature like a business card, this way the digital business card will be consistent among all team members.
Just like business cards, your team members will be contributing towards brand recall with each email communication. When you are creating an email signature for a team, the things like website and social media links will be the same for all team members, but things like email addresses will be personalized.
This way your clients and prospects have a brand and personal connection, in case they have a specific need or query. Keep this in mind and create an email signature for your team that will benefit your business.
When should you use branded visuals?
Branded visuals can be a good mix up with text content, but the beauty lies in finding the perfect balance. Add visuals in a way that it attracts the readers’ attention while enhancing your branding message.
For example, you could consider integrating your business social media content (Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter) with your branding in email communication. This way you enhance the message of your email and also integrate it with other branding efforts. Plus, it can be an opportunity to entice your clients or prospects to engage with your social media content, which could ultimately lead to a buying decision.
Alternatively, photos that establish a connection with your brand like your customers or employees (rather than the predictable products or services) are also great additions to keep your target audience engaged. This will add value to your brand and show that you value people at each spectrum of your brand.
It takes 5-7 impressions for brand recall, so use all your contact opportunities wisely.
Can you establish and stick to a certain tone?
Branding is all about consistency and this extends to all aspects of branding, including tone. While business etiquette is the bare minimum that you should maintain, notch up your branding in email communication by establishing and sticking to a particular tone.
When you are branding a business you are essentially creating an image, and this image includes a tone and voice. Chances are your brand is not catering to just one person, so your tone needs to be accomodating.
But chances are your brand is not catering every type of persona, so your tone needs to avoid being generic. Tone helps build connections and 64% of consumers shared that they trust brands with similar values.
While establishing a tone, understand your target audience and begin setting the tone accordingly. Once the tone is set, follow through with the tone and begin building strong connections with clients and prospects.
Branding in email communications is all about understanding your target audience and allowing them to find ways to establish connections with your brand. This could be in the form of formatting consistency, logos, email signatures, visuals or tone.
The goal is to make each email communication an effective brand contact and brand recall opportunity. Start branding wisely and winning your customers.