You’ve seen it – the web pages or social media accounts that have so many different styles and variations with content, that they make you think twice about the consistency of their product or service.

I was browsing a few company Facebook accounts recently, and noticed something that bothered me. These companies had 4 different styles for the same banner, and they were all sized differently. Now, I don’t want to bash anyone, but I realized that for a design company, this is an issue.

(Here’s a free Facebook sizing tool to make sure you’re images are going to display your content correctly in your company profile photo and banner. )

Trial and error is inevitable – you try it and if it doesn’t succeed, try again. Just make sure that your mistakes aren’t still visible 2 years later on your Facebook banner – it sends the wrong message. Consistent clean sweeps are good. Condense your online material.

Consistent:

I remember this one time I found a new hole in the wall restaurant on some side street and decided to give it a shot. The food was absolutely incredible. I wanted to share my experience with my friends,  so talked it up, and then brought them to partake in what I thought was Thai heaven for my city.

Unfortunately, the restaurant failed to be consistent and our experience was less than pleasant. The same goes for business and how you deliver – be consistent in your work, and be consistent in your content online. Keep your style changes to a minimum, and make sure you aren’t ripping off images from popular search engines. We all know when you use them – but hey, it’s good accountability, and an opportunity for you to expand your resources to other avenues.

Scheduling:

Fortunately, I had the experience of being able to attend an event  a few years back; but I was a year late to it. I signed up for a 5K charity run in an adjacent city to where I live. When I got to the location, I didn’t see booths with t-shirts or the starting gate – it was me and a few birds standing on the pavement. Apparently the person in charge of the calendar on the website forgot to update their calendar and website to match their current events.

If you are a company that has a calendar listed on your website, and use it to update your clients about important dates, make sure that your content isn’t from a year ago. It turns our stomachs, and makes us think that if we send you an email, you will respond to it a year later. Or in my case, i’ll be a year late.

Consider:

Taking the time to view your own website, social media accounts, and other areas where you are visible to the public, is one of the most important things you can do. It takes maybe a half an hour to look over where you are investing your time and money. In some cases, there are departments dedicated to monitor these areas; but if you aren’t one of those companies, find an opportunity on your lunch break or when you get home in the evening to evaluate what you look like in the public eye. You could also look at an opportunity to partner with your local university and offer internship experience in exchange for course credit. This would leave you to continue your important role in the company, while allowing the pubic to not get confused or change their minds about you.

So consider that there is always room for improvement, and that an opportunity to clean up is a good thing; and don’t worry, you will be glad you did! Go grab your broom.