The most common branding mistakes (and how to fix them)
Branding isn’t just about looking good—it’s about building a memorable, cohesive presence that builds trust and attracts the right audience, but too many businesses fall into these really common branding traps that hold them back from this.
Are you making any of these mistakes? Read on to find out.
1. You Aren’t Being Consistent Across All Platforms
Your brand should feel the same no matter where someone finds you—whether it's Instagram, your website, or a newsletter.
In fact, 68% of businesses in 2021 said that brand consistency contributed to a revenue growth of 10% or more. This just proves the true power of memorable, strategic branding.
So, what can you do? 👀
Make sure your brand’s visual identity is consistent across platforms - This includes your logo, colours, fonts and icons.
Keep your messaging and tone of voice aligned everywhere—don’t switch up your tagline or CTAs randomly. The same tagline you have in your bio should be the same as your website header, and so on.
Remember, when your brand is consistent, it becomes memorable and trustworthy.
2. You’re Only Focusing on Visuals
Too many business owners think branding is just a logo, colour palette, or fonts.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
Branding is so much more than visuals—it’s about strategy, messaging, and positioning.
Without a clear message or purpose, even the most beautiful branding is just decoration.
So, what can you do? 👀
Incorporate strategy into your branding—define your mission, values, and audience. These are the foundation of your brand personality.
Conduct a brand audit to identify gaps and inconsistencies - Things might make sense in your head, but by conducting an audit and putting things on paper, you might realise you have some areas to take another look at.
Craft messaging that really connects with your audience, not just something random - spend time researching your target audience, their pain points, their values, and craft your messaging around that.
3. You Don’t Have a Clear Target Audience
You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s still a mistake many businesses make: trying to appeal to everyone. If you’re speaking to everyone, you’re speaking to no one.
Without a clear target audience, your messaging and branding will feel so generic—it won’t speak to the people who need you most.
By choosing a specific group of people to target and tailor your messaging towards, you can focus on their values, behaviours and pain points. This allows you to truly empathise with them and understand what they need from your brand.
So, what can you do? 👀
Define your ideal customer—figure out who they are, what they need, and what problems you solve for them. Don’t guess—get clear!
Tailor your messaging to speak directly to your audience’s pain points and desires. It’s not about you; it’s about them.
Align your visuals and tone with the people you want to attract. Your brand should resonate with them, not just look nice.
When you know exactly who you’re talking to, your branding becomes more relatable, and memorable - and that’s exactly how you start building a brand that people actually connect with.
Final Thoughts
Once I fixed these problems in my own branding, I was finally able to attract my target audience—and I want to help you do the same!
Think you might be making these branding mistakes? Let’s chat! Send me an email, and let’s work on making your brand stronger, clearer, and more effective.
Get in touch
Email: hello@jordandesigns.co.uk