Like other successful brands, you’ve probably established guidelines for the type of content you include in your programming, but have you incorporated the same standards into your digital properties? If you’re unfamiliar with style guides, they are documents that record the decisions you’ve made regarding the creative process, format, and other aspects common to all content that you publish in association with your brand. This can include blog entries from your on-air talent, online contests, social media posts, audio scripts, and even email newsletters. Keep reading to learn how your online content can benefit from adhering to a style guide tailored specifically to your brand.
You’ve worked hard to set yourself apart from the competition, and a style guide is the perfect place to record the recipe that makes you unique. Use the document to define the characteristics that are central to your brand, such as the topics you feature and the personality that is reflected in your copy. For example, is your brand’s voice humorous, or do you aim to paint yourself as a serious and trustworthy news source? Or perhaps your voice reflects the wholesome family values that your brand shares with its audience. Establishing how you’d like your brand to be perceived is the first step to ensuring that those characteristics shine through in everything you share online or over the air.
Just as your station features multiple on-air personalities, you probably have a team of people publishing content to your website and social media. It can be challenging to keep quality, voice, and tone consistent when there are multiple contributors. A style guide is a great way to ensure that your on-air talent, interns, and any other content creators are all on the same page about the characteristics that should be present in everything that is posted to your digital properties. Whenever a new piece of content is being drafted, encourage the author to consult the style guide. It’s also wise to have another member of your staff review the piece before it’s published not only to confirm that the content is consistent with your brand, but to also catch any typos, grammar, or punctuation errors that may have been overlooked.
These are just two of the many ways that establishing guidelines for your digital content can improve your brand and help you achieve better digital results. Are you ready to create your own digital style guide?