As a blogger or small business owner, your online presence is your way of connecting to customers, prospective and new, and standing out from the crowd. The hot topic at the moment is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which is where you research what people are searching for online to help make sure your site and online presence is meeting that requirement. Ranking at the top of Google really can be a great way to make or break a business. But say you are ranking well, but your website is average, you don’t stand out from the crowd, there’s still a chance that the customer will do an Ariana Grande style “Thank you, next” and move on to your competitor. It’s therefore vital that you stand out and portray yourself as something different.
One of the top things around the world that helps businesses stand out is their font choice or typography. Don’t believe me? Here’s a couple of examples:
Starbucks uses a capitalised font with a green colour and that font is now globally recognised.
In my opinion, one of the world’s most instantly recognisable fonts is the Coca Cola font. If you see anything in that style of writing you know instantly it belongs to the Coca Cola company.
And last, but definitely not least, the Golden Arches and the font used on McDonald’s signs is also globally recognised in an instant.
Now you may not have the million (or even billion) dollar or pound budget that these companies have, and you may not ever get to globally recognisable status, but the point here is that you can stand out by creating your own branding and styling, and actually with the use of free fonts providers you can access a massive amount of fonts that you can use to create that brand style. Fonts free or paid for really can make a difference. There might be loads of fonts available in your WordPress theme or your graphics editing and creating software, but don’t forget that there will be millions of people accessing these all the time. By looking further afield, and bringing in new fancy fonts there is more chance of your work standing out from the crowd. Fonts free or paid for really can make a difference.
By trying new fonts you can see what complements your business model and services or products that you offer. For example you don’t want a really delicate font that looks like handwriting if you are a tech firm. Equally, you probably don’t want something too fancy and which makes some letters difficult to read if you are writing about literacy or accessibility. Blocky and hard edged fonts probably won’t work for a mom blogger or writer about delicate topics like floristry and women’s issues – it’s not sexist, it’s just understanding your audience.
In particular by using free fonts, you can try producing mock ups with different fonts and ask customers, friends and family what they think and prefer. You can even trial things on social media and it won’t cost you anything.
Once you have chosen a font you like (or maybe two or three depending on the nature of your business and the kinds of materials you are producing) you can start pulling together that branding style and so whenever anyone sees a social media post, poster, flyer or anything else, they will know it’s yours!
Things to consider when choosing a font
- Make sure it complements your business goals and products/services.
- Make sure every letter of the alphabet (in upper and lower case) is fully readable.
- Make sure the font complements the imagery of your work and graphics.
- Be consistent across all your materials. even if you are using more than one font, (one for a header, one for body text) make sure that you are consistent. If you want your materials and information to be instantly recognisable as yours, you need to ensure that they are consistent.
- Don’t disregard a font because it is a paid for one, some fonts are available at a really low price and if you feel that is the right font for you, go with your gut (assuming you have followed the points above).
- Don’t disregard a font because it is free. Yes, free fonts are going to be used more than paid for ones, but the reality of it is, that in your niche and area, the likelihood of someone choosing the exact same fonts and styling as you is slim (unless it’s a deliberate act of copying).
Whatever you decide to do to use fonts to brand your business, let us know in the comments below. Where did you find your best free fonts or business resources?