You're striving for brand cohesion. How can you ensure consistency in storytelling across marketing channels?

Your content strategy should include your: - big idea / main message - brand story Then you use this information to adapt your messaging and story across different platforms. Every story post should consult your content strategy and your big idea. You don't need to reinvent the wheel - you need to communicate the same big idea across the different platforms. For example: You're an SEO agency founder. Your big idea is: We'll get you 20% more organic traffic in 3 months using SEO + content creation. All your storytelling content should include case studies and testimonials proving and communicating your big idea.

My favorite way to help teams of any size develop core messaging is to create a detailed brand voice reference guide. This guide should include details like a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP), extensive style guidelines, key stories that resonate with your audience, and core points of view on top industry conversations. By clearly outlining these elements, you'll establish a foundation for all content that has text as its source (landing page copy, newsletters, video scripts, social copy, etc.) The brand voice guide acts as a roadmap, ensuring every piece of communication online aligns with your brand's identity. A voice guide is also a massively valuable training/tool for anyone who represents your company brand online.

I once worked with a fellow content creator who hit a wall after months of nonstop work. They were passionate about their niche but found themselves dreading the very projects they once loved. After recognizing the signs of burnout, they decided to take a step back, set firmer boundaries, and diversify their tasks. They started incorporating small, creative side projects and regular breaks into their routine. Within a few weeks, their energy returned, and they were back to producing high-quality content. This experience taught them the importance of balance and self-care in sustaining long-term success.

Ensure your brand's core message, encompassing its values and unique selling proposition, is consistently communicated across all marketing channels to establish a recognizable and trustworthy identity.

Audit, audit, audit! If you want consistent messaging/branding across all channels, it's important to frequently stay on top of them. Every quarter, dedicate time to reviewing all newly published marketing-communications materials (which hopefully reflect all your latest and greatest messaging and branding) - and compare/contrast them with older materials that remain customer-facing. Do the older materials still hold value? If so, what slight tweaks should be made to ensure alignment with your current messaging and branding? Ultimately, regular audits of your marketing materials are critical for maintaining a cohesive brand image, ensuring that both new and existing content consistently reflect your latest messaging and branding efforts.

People may or may not read your copy but they will definitely see your visuals. Visuals attract, copy retains. When you choose visuals, always ensure that it resonates with the brand identity and it's core values. As much you want to change the colors and logos, stick with it. Don't jump on it like you jump on every trend, so keep the core same but experiment with the ones that suit your audience first. Adjust your copy accordingly and then have fun.

Instantly recognisable visuals that resonate with a brand’s target audience are a hugely impactful way to ignite a cohesive campaign across channels. They should weave seamlessly with the campaign story literally bringing it to life while authentically aligning with the brand message’s linguistic tone.

A consistent visual identity is essential for reinforcing your brand story. Visual elements such as logos, colour palettes, and typography should remain uniform across all marketing channels. This creates a strong visual association with your brand, making it instantly recognizable to your audience. A cohesive visual experience enhances brand recall and strengthens the overall impact of your storytelling efforts.

Creating visual consistency for your brand can be achieved using graphic elements like icons, symbols and special effects. The point is to use them consistently. For example if your logo has a symbol, use that symbol as a watermark or as part of your graphic design. Become synonymous with a certain style of graphic design, for example always use pencil line drawings or black and white photography. Using creative suppliers (like me) that understand your brand, you can build a collection of elements that will help you develop a cohesive looking brand.

Always follow your company CI style guide. This attracts brands awareness and makes it easier for followers to recognize your brand

Creating consistency across multiple channels stems from your content strategy. Creating content for one channel in isolation may leave the audience feeling disjointed and mixed messaging. Make sure your content is broadly planned and refined for the platform it is intended but that holistically your audience sees similar themes throughout.

Each marketing channel has its own language and norms. Adapting your storytelling to fit the context of each platform is essential for maintaining brand cohesion. This doesn't mean changing your core message, but rather tailoring its delivery to suit the medium. For example, Instagram stories may be more visual and casual, while LinkedIn posts might be more professional and detailed. Understanding the nuances of each channel ensures your brand's story is effectively communicated wherever your audience engages with you.

While maintaining brand consistency is crucial, understanding the nuances of each marketing channel is equally important. Adapt your storytelling to resonate with the platform's audience without compromising the core message. For instance, use visuals and concise language on Instagram, while opting for a more detailed and professional tone on LinkedIn. This adaptability ensures your brand's story is effectively communicated across different platforms.

Each media vehicle has its own nuance and you cannot expect one type of content to work on another. A moment marketing social media post can go horribly wrong on print, what may work on Instagram can be met with hate on X. So it's not just about the medium, but about the media vehicle as well.

Cada canal de marketing tiene su propio estilo y normas, por lo que adaptar tu storytelling al contexto de cada uno es clave. Por ejemplo, en Instagram, las historias pueden ser más visuales y casuales, usando imágenes llamativas y un tono desenfadado. En cambio, en LinkedIn, es mejor optar por un enfoque profesional y detallado, con contenido más analítico y formal. Aunque el mensaje principal de tu marca debe permanecer consistente, la forma en que lo presentas puede variar para encajar con las expectativas de cada plataforma. Entender estas diferencias garantiza que la historia de tu marca se comunique de manera efectiva y resuene con tu audiencia en cada medio.

A content calendar is a roadmap for consistent storytelling. By planning content in advance, you ensure a steady flow of aligned messaging across all channels. This prevents rushed content and maintains a cohesive brand narrative. A well-structured calendar helps optimize content distribution, maximizing your brand's impact and engagement.

Content Calendar: Your Storytelling Roadmap A content calendar is your strategic blueprint for consistent storytelling. By planning content in advance, you ensure a steady flow of relevant and engaging material across all platforms. This tool helps maintain alignment with your brand message, avoids content gaps, and optimizes your time and resources. A well-structured content calendar is essential for building a strong brand presence and achieving your marketing goals.

A cohesive team is essential for consistent storytelling. Ensure everyone shares a unified understanding of the brand's core message, tone, and visual identity. Regular training sessions and clear communication guidelines foster a shared vision. This alignment prevents inconsistencies and mixed messages, strengthening the brand's overall impact. A united team reinforces the brand story across all channels, creating a powerful and memorable impression on the audience.

What I would add to this list is team culture and experiential branding (what’s it’s like to be in the presence of your organization). Brand identity and organizational values are more than just words on paper. You can have the most beautifully designed brand, the most meticulously crafted messaging, and a top-notch communications strategy… but none of it will matter if your employees are unhappy or if customers sense bad energy while interacting with you. Branding isn’t just a suite of visual and written assets. It shouldn’t be used as a psychological tool to influence people’s perception of you. Genuine, good branding is all about how you put your spoken values into action. Ultimately, it’s all about humans.

The strategy I follow is creating a single line "brand message" before beginning with any client. Write your brand message on a sticky note and paste it on your desk. This approach will help you remember the messaging you want to communicate through all your copies!