So you think you’ve nailed your brand’s identity and you’re ready to showcase it in the marketplace? Well, hold on there. Can you answer a crucial question that often gets overlooked by most business owners: What is my brand personality?
If you don’t know the answer to that, then this is a must-read before you proceed with any marketing or communication campaigns…
If you want to stand out in today’s marketplace, you have to convey your company’s “uniqueness” and capture people’s attention in a sea of competitors. More importantly, your brand has to exhibit the behaviours and interests of your ideal customers.
This involves a major shift in thinking. You must begin to see your brand as a living, breathing creation. You also need to be able to position your brand as a trusted friend. Because people don’t buy from brands they don’t trust.
How do you earn consumer trust? Through Brand Personality!
As humans, we are wired for emotional and social connection. And customers want to connect emotionally with a brand, and you can’t do that with a faceless, nameless, forgettable corporation.
Recent data shows that brands that are viewed as “human” are 2.1 times more likely to be loved by consumers, customers are 1.6x more likely to make a purchase from them and are 1.8x more likely to recommend a brand that is humanized through their communications.
So a brand must exhibit the same traits as a live human being if it wants to be perceived as human.
Which means expressing:
Unique Thoughts
Think of every company communication as a “thought”. Your brand may express those “thoughts” in different ways: newsletter or email marketing campaigns, press releases, product announcements or social media posts. Every time your brand expresses an idea, preference, or even clicks “like”, it’s showing the world its individuality, its personality.
Real Feelings
Can a brand evoke emotion? Yes! In fact, it’s essential if you want to really connect with your target audience. A quick way to evoke certain feelings in your customers is to position your brand as if you were one of them. That target customer will immediately feel closer to a brand if it acts, looks and speaks like them. That can be achieved through the tone of your company’s communications, the words you choose (your “voice”), your taglines and slogans, even the images you use in your website, social media and printed materials.
A Personal Philosophy
Like a person, your brand will have a distinct philosophy that should be expressed through all your marketing, communication and awareness campaigns. To avoid customer confusion, which can affect sales, your brand needs to take a position, have distinct values and personal truths that distinguish it from similar brands. You need to proudly convey why you’re different, what you believe in and why a customer should choose you over others.
– Imagine your brand foundation: built for growth and future success –
Unlock Access to Our E-book:
The Small Business Guide to Brand Strategy
This guide is full of information on how to create an overall brand strategy that will help you successfully market your business. It helps you craft an authentic brand story, then helps you uncover when, where and how to communicate it to your target audiences.
How do you uncover your brand’s personality?
- Review your company’s unique service proposition, which includes your company’s strengths, its mission, its unique values and goals.
- Create statements that describe your brand as if it were a person, such as: “My company is energetic, innovative, down-to-earth, fun, eco-friendly, family-oriented” etc. (For a glimpse into Original Ginger’s brand personality visit our Manifesto)
- Write a mock dating profile for your brand. Pretend that you’re trying to attract a perfect online match (your ideal customer) and write up a short blurb that clearly expresses WHO your brand is, what it values and maybe even a list of your brand’s favourite books, movies, hobbies.
- Create a vision board or inspirational file on your computer, filled with samples of writing styles you really like, other websites you love, images and colours that you feel align with your brand. Then use those as examples and find a way to put it all together in a way that’s unique to your brand.
Remember, it’s how you say it that matters…
Customers want to know right away how your company is different from others and why they should buy from you. Like a celebrity, your brand has to have the “IT” factor. And that “IT” comes from a clearly communicated brand personality.
The next step is to consider how you’ll express your business “traits” or individuality through your content, your marketing and all your communications.
Need help expressing your company’s individuality? Original Ginger can guide you through, from brand discovery to content creation and branding implementation. Contact us for a free brand consultation.
Source: Statistics for brands that are viewed as “human”.
