Why branding for your knowledge hub matters

Welcome to the Happeo ABCs of Knowledge Management, where we break down the essential elements of a thriving digital workplace, from A to Z. If you missed the first instalment, start with our guide to content audits. You’ll also find a running list of the series at the bottom of this article. 

This article is brought to you by the letter “B” and unpacks the importance of branding for a knowledge hub. There are likely many who (stemming from their own experiences with knowledge hubs) feel as though the words “branding” and “knowledge hub” don’t belong in the same sentence. And fair enough–too often knowledge hubs are unappealing, disengaging, and, put simply, boring. 

Another perspective may be that a knowledge hub doesn’t need to be branded. It’s there for a practical purpose: to house information. It’s internal, not meant for customers or prospects or for brand awareness, so why bother? And that’s where I dissent. Branding may not be necessary, but having an unbranded knowledge hub is a missed opportunity. 

While knowledge hubs are internal, that doesn’t mean they are not built for customers, prospects, or brand awareness. For managers, coworkers are customers, and the knowledge hubs is where that service is delivered. They are our audience; and the better our hub performs –both in engagement and with accuracy —the better every employee can serve external customers and respond to prospects. When brand awareness flourishes from the inside out, it becomes  a game-changer for all-over business success

So let’s talk about branding—why it matters, business benefits of a strong internal brand, and how to get started. 

Strategic value of a branded knowledge hub

In a nutshell, no one can know who you are as a company unless you do—and that includes everyone working at the organization. A branded knowledge hubhelps instill brand loyalty for employees from day one. It fosters a sense of belonging, reinforces culture and values, and builds employee trust. 

Fostering a sense of community and belonging

For some leaders, a sense of community and shared identify among employees is viewed as a nice-to-have, not a critical aspect to a successful business. But those leaders are unequivocally wrong. Creating a shared space —like a knowledge hub—where employees can “gather”, especially in a remote-forward world, is better for business, and it starts before an employee even joins. Top candidates are 3x more likely to apply to organizations with a strong employee brand and 69% of candidates would reject a job offer from a company with a negative employer brand, even if they were unemployed. Beyond recruitment, a strong internal brand can also reduce turnover, increase referrals, and increase shareholder returns.

Reinforce company culture and values

A company brand is for everyone–external and internal. Your organization’s culture and values are what your employees live and breathe daily, and they exist whether you intend it or not. The question is whether you want to guide and nurture that culture intentionally.When employees have genuine buy-in to the brand, they are a force multiplier for it. A knowledge hubis a great place to start, since it is likely one of the first places employees go when they begin their day
Consistent visual branding and a tone of voice across your knowledge hub reinforce your core company culture in a way that goes beyond a poster on the wall or a line in the employee handbook.

Happeo customer, Novamex (creators of Jarrito’s, and other beverages) put company culture at the top of their priority list,By using their knowledge hub to reinforce that culture, they’ve created a strong, engaged internal culture. 

Branding in a knowledge hub also goes deeper than colors and logos. The tone of voice content creators use is equally powerful. Does your company value transparency and open communication? Your knowledge hub content should be written in a direct, clear, and accessible style. Is your culture more playful and casual? Your internal announcements and team pages can use a more conversational and even humorous tone. This consistency builds a sense of authenticity and shows employees that the company's stated values are reflected in its day-to-day communication, turning abstract values visible in everyday actions and communications.

Build internal trust and credibility

If you’ve ever started at a company and had no clue where to go for answers and information, you know how important a well-designed, well-organized knowledge hub can be. Ask Nancy–she knows. It’s important to design a knowledge hub where people actually want to go, where they want to share, learn, search, and more. And having one accessible for your employees is a sign that your organization is organized, forward-thinking, and invests in its employees, rather than offering a "slapped together" site that looks (and likely is) outdated. A branded, sleek, modern knowledge hub is necessary in order to optimize adoption rates. Someone starting on their first day can not only be impressed by your digital HQ visually, but be motivated by the reassurance that they joined a company that supports its people.

Knowledge hub branded = better for business

Benefits of higher intranet adoption

When your company’s knowledge hub has high adoption rates, it boosts overall employee engagement by 72%. And this may come as a surprise, but people don’t stop being human when they go to work. As consumers, we want to have a visually appealing website or app; the fact that a knowledge hub is an internal application makes no difference. A high-quality knowledge hub design will lead to a higher daily and monthly adoption rate. And when employees are engaged, everyone is more successful. Engaged employees are more productive and lead to 23% more profit.

Improving Findability and User Experience (UX)

Applying branding to your knowledge hub goes beyond brand colors and great visuals. It extends to the structure, navigation, and flow, affecting the entire user experience. A well-branded knowledge hub should have a logical flow and intuitive user journey, with consistent icons, headings, and layouts to make information easier to find. Layer this with a strong search function, and you’ll provide your employees with the tools to get the information they need and get on their way. A modern, branded knowledge hub drastically cuts down the full day each week employees spend searching for information. 

One of the most common problems within business operations is that of scattered information across different platforms, creating frustration and software fatigue. A knowledge hub should reduce the number of applications where knowledge and information are stored, and therefore reduce that frustration and fatigue. The problem is–people need to actually want to use your knowledge hub. They want to know it’s useful, beautiful, and accurate. Branding is a large step between the gap of having an knowledge hub and having an knowledge hub people want to use.

Branding your knowledge hub: features to look for

How do you know if your knowledge hub is truly modern? There are some branding features we recommend you look for when searching for a new knowledge hub. 

Auto-branding

Having a knowledge hub that is branded is clearly beneficial. But that sometimes comes at a cost. Manually branding knowledge hub pages can be a time-consuming and often complex process, requiring a keen eye for design and a lot of back-and-forth to ensure consistency. 

Happeo solves this problem by transforming the branding process. With Happeo's innovative platform, you can simply input your website URL or select your brand colors, and the platform automatically applies your branding to every page. This not only saves an immense amount of time but also ensures perfect brand consistency.

Governance

Consistency is key for a strong brand presence, and Happeo’s governance tools make it easy to maintain. With structured permissions and clear guidelines, you can ensure that every Page, Channel, and update aligns with your brand standards. This keeps the knowledge hub not only organized, but also reliably on-brand no matter who creates the content. 

Writing Assistance

Your brand isn’t just a visual — it’s also how you sound. Happeo’s writing assistance helps employees share information in a way that ensures that important content is well-communicated, every time. By suggesting edits for tone, formatting, grammar, and clarity, it empowers everyone to create content that feels professional, consistent, and unmistakably yours.