The art of marketing typography

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Marketers and small-business owners need to recognize the fact that advertising success is all contained within the details. Companies are granted only a tiny window to make an impression with a customer, engage them, convert them and retain them for long periods of time. For this reason and many more, every single element of marketing collateral needs to be created and published with purpose. Consumers are highly skilled at identifying laziness and flippant communications, and advertisers can avoid the prospect of a negative brand image by honing in on the details.

One of the more important matters to consider for blogs, certain social media campaigns, direct mail and email marketing is the font used. Typography can mean the difference between success and failure in each campaign, as well as across all marketing efforts that make up a branding initiative. So, let’s talk about some of the considerations involved in typography choice and execution, as well as how businesses can use specific fonts to best formulate their brand images.

First, we will need to discuss the elements and critical nature of typography.

Diving deep

Outbrain points out that typography is more than just font – it includes typefaces, kerning (all white space in the text), line lengths, leading (space between lines) and tracking (space between characters). All of these elements will play a role in shaping a given reader’s perception of a brand. The more precise a company gets with these elements, the more control it will have over the customer’s opinions and reactions.

In terms of criticality in marketing, Outbrain states that typography will tend to be the true draw that ultimately leads the audience to reading the text, rather than the colors on the page or surrounding imagery. All of those aspects are undoubtedly important, but marketers need to ensure that the audience is actually consuming the information contained within the text rather than just glancing at random images.

So, with all of this in mind, let’s look at how you can best use typography to create and sustain a desirable brand image.

Straightforward choices

Hubspot suggests the following initial considerations when choosing a font:

  •  No matter what design of font, it must be legible and easy to read when used in a marketing campaign.
  • Make sure that both the body and display typefaces for the font – essentially how it looks when used as a border compared to bulk text – are both desirable.
  • Pick a couple different fonts that complement each other well, as this will provide contrast, which Hubspot notes can be highly aesthetically pleasing.
  • Make sure the fonts chosen will look consistent across all platforms and channels, especially between desktop and mobile devices.

Hubspot also urges marketers to look at several websites, including welovetypography.com, for more helpful information on choosing the right fonts.

Brand-centricity

Now, small-business owners might not be able to pay for a custom-designed font, but this is not necessary. Most word processors and other platforms used for the textual components of marketing have a wide variety. Your font needs to reflect your industry and specific brand image, so consider taking the following steps to ensure the chosen approach to typography strikes the right chords:

  • Use fonts that convey the formality of your business. For example, Garamond might be a great choice for legal services firms, while Bebas could work for a gaming company.
  • Survey all employees on whether they feel the font reflects the brand.
  • Use incentives such as discounts to get feedback from customers when trying out the fonts in campaigns.

As always, when in doubt, consider working with a marketing service provider to guide you through these decisions and processes.

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