Key to Your Brand: A Style Guide
Style guides help companies to communicate more consistently, experts sayBy Deborah Jeanne SergeantAlexandra Fitzpatrick is marketing and communications manager at Operation Oswego County. “Having an in-house style guide provides consistency, branding and professionalism,” she says.Does your company have a style guide? A style guide is a set of companywide policies about language and visuals for official company communications both internal and external. Style guides are commonplace among periodicals to maintain consistent means of expression. But they’re not only for media. Every company needs one.It may seem fusty to care about wording in an era of social media rife with slang and slack on grammar. Many text messages lack punctuation and are peppered with emojis and GIFs. However, a company style guide can help your company’s wording appear professional and clear — and determine if and when those emojis and GIFs are appropriate.“Having an in-house style guide provides consistency, branding and professionalism,” said Alexandra Fitzpatrick, marketing and communications manager at Operation Oswego County. “It allows your company to present a cohesive and professional image, while strengthening its brand identity.”Companies connect with the public is a variety of ways, including social media, TV and radio spots, print advertising, press releases and more. (more…)