Everything You Need to Know About Virtual Summit Branding with Kory Woodard

guest expert summit basics Sep 03, 2019

As much as I wish your virtual summit branding didn’t matter, it truly does. Learn to impress your new audience from the beginning with an easy branding process!

There is an assumption that branding is a complex process to follow, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Today I've brought in Kory Woodard to break down:

whether a summit should be branded separately from your business
the process for branding your summit (which is easier than you'd expect)
whether or not you should hire a designer to help
some amazing tips on creating your summit's graphics

I'll let Kory take it from here.

Virtual Summit Branding

Should a summit be branded separately from your business? It depends!

In most cases, it feels natural to have them branded similarly. It doesn't have to be exactly the same remake of your existing logo or the exact same colors, but it should relate most of the time.

Look at it like a baby. Your brand had a baby. It's going to resemble its parent, even if it's not perfectly identical.

If people can't connect that your summit is hosted by your brand, then what's the point? Having that added brand recognition is going to make people want to sign up because they recognize that it's from you.

And finally, consider larger events - even in-person events that go on in your city like music festivals. The people who are putting that on are using their branding for that. It makes sense that we'd use our branding for our summits unless the goal of your summit is not related to your current business.

What to Consider With Summit Branding

There are several pieces to consider when you're thinking about summit branding:

color scheme
fonts
how it relates back to your original brand
visual elements that go into branding and your summit

Don't get so caught up in it that you spend a ton of time on it. Design is one of those things where you can easily get stuck in Photoshop or Canva, and then you put off everything else because you're so focused on the design.

Does your summit need a logo?

Having a logo will make it easier to create your graphics, make your summit stand out, and allow your speakers to show off that they were a part of the summit.

I love having two options

The graphic version of the logo
The text version of a logo

You don't need to, but it's nice to be able to change it up on different types of graphics and different areas of your website.

Also, if you know enough about design to build out the brand beyond a logo, play around with fun icons. Having those extra elements will give the overall brand of the summit more life.

Social Media Graphics

I think graphics, in general, are something that people get caught up with.

One mistake I see is using the most popular Canva templates that are available. Something important to consider is: What's going to stand out among the rest of the content that is showing up on stories? On your audience's Instagram feed?

Something else to keep in mind with social media graphics is the size of your text. I see people make this mistake literally every single day. Their text is either too small or it's way too big or they used a script font and they put it in all caps (which..don't).

So if you're designing a new graphic, look at it on your phone before you use it and make sure you can read the text EASILY.

Overall, don't skip out on the attention your social media graphics deserve. You're not only trying to catch someone's attention, but you're trying to get them to click and convert.

Kory's Big Takeaway

Don't let your summit branding paralyze you. Get in there, start playing around, ask for help when you need it. But overall, keep it simple.

Your audience is coming to your summit to watch the presentations and learn things from the speakers and from you, not to ogle at how beautiful or how terrible your design is.

About Kory

I’m Kory, the color and design-loving gal behind the computer. I’m passionate about helping women (just like you) confidently share their voice + expertise online and look like a pro while doing it. I sell WordPress themes and design templates crafted specifically for creative business owners and lifestyle bloggers. I want to help you show off your incredible content in a way that will help you hit your goals - both online and offline.

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