Rebranding is one of those things that looks great on paper but can quickly spiral out of control, especially in the current world of large digital footprints for even the smallest companies. Mistakes can quickly turn into social media gaffs, turn public opinion against you, and make your businesses inaccessible to searchers and current customers. Learn about the four most common rebranding mistakes, how they can harm your company, and what you can do to avoid them—even if that means not doing the rebrand in the first place.

1. Rebranding for the Wrong Reasons

The first question you’ve got to ask is why you’re rebranding. As we’ve talked about before, there are good reasons and bad reasons to perform a rebrand. While you can try to rebrand to escape a bad reputation, you’re throwing out all your reputation with it, including many of your clients, all of your SEO, and most links online that point to a URL with your current brand name. And it’s important to realize that with a much more informed customer base, people will be able to connect the dots between your old brand and new on both local and online communities.

2. Focusing Only on Visual Changes

As our boss Julia once said, Your Brand is More Than Just Your Logo. While the visual branding, especially your new logo and name, might get all the glitz and the glamor, it’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your brand. This is a prime opportunity to rework so many other things, such as your company’s mission and value to better align with the new you and current day. These core changes can extend far—including the new voice you’ll be using in content, on everything from your new website to social media. And they are vital if you want your rebrand to be more than just a coat of paint.

3. Not Planning Out Your Rebrand

If you’re planning on doing a full rebranding, there are a lot of moving parts. It can be tempting to move quickly, especially if the rebrand is tied to a new acquisition or ownership, but starting the rebrand before you’ve made a plan and gotten all the pieces into place can have major problems. Some questions to ask:

• Do we know everywhere our current brand exists? Especially online, it’s easy for your old brand to exist online, everywhere from online listings like Google Maps and Yelp to old URLs.
• Do we have all the credentials related to our brand? Especially in the case of a rebrand due to acquisition—make sure you’ve got all the keys to the website, social media, domain, etc. before you start the rebrand.
• Can we prepare and coordinate everything before launch? Do you have the new website in draft? Are the press release and social media in the same voice? Do all the links point to the right places (especially if you’re changing domains)?

Want to learn more about what you can miss when rebranding? Check out our blog, Why Rebranding Online is Harder Than You Think.

4. Failing to Communicate Your Rebrand

As social media and PR experts, the advice we give to clients (and do ourselves) usually boils down to this: communicate clearly and honestly about your brand—be that a rebrand or a crisis. When you’re looking at a rebrand, get the wheels turning early on the social media and PR side of things. Think about announcing your rebrand before pulling off the cover, especially to current clients (email marketing is great for this). After the launch, explain the reasoning behind the shift and make sure to honestly answer any questions people might have.

Rebranding is a tall order, but you don’t have to do it alone. Vision Advertising provides marketing consultations to guide you through a rebranding campaign and, as a full-service marketing agency, can help you manage your website, social media, search results, and more both during and after such a rebrand. Contact us today to start the discussion and find out how to best tackle your brand issues of both brand management and brand development.