Creating a brand goes beyond thinking about the product or service you’re going to sell. Sometimes, when marketing efforts fail, we wonder if maybe the product wasn’t right, or we weren’t in the right market. And yes, those two factors are also vital to successful brands, but there’s one even more important: the message.
The truth is we can have the prettiest packaging, a perfectly designed website, or a super esthetic Instagram feed, but if we can’t communicate our clients what our brand is all about, the possibilities to generate a conversion or connection fades.
It’s not worth it to pay some marketing agency to create content if we don’t do thorough work to clarify our message first. Pretty doesn’t always mean sales, but words do. For our clients to hear more than just noise, we have to put in the work to transmit the message we want to.
Doing so is not easy, so we’re giving you five tips so you can start today:
1. What problem do you solve? The answer to this question is the center of your communication. Try to write in a few sentences what your brand does, what makes it different, the problems it solves, why your clients should care about it, and the role it plays in their lives. This message should be as clear and short as possible. If you put a lot of text on your posts or website, people might get lost.
Once all of this is clear, you have the ingredients to create a consistent, effective communication strategy.
2. Who are your clients? In this stage, you should do all the research you can about your target audience. Is your product addressed to young working moms? Or is it for retired senior citizens who live in the countryside? Do they prefer fast and simple or personalized items? What is their income? Which brands do they follow? What are their habits? Try to think about your ideal customer and describe it as if it were someone you know: give it a name, some hobbies, a background story, etc. The more you get inside their mind, the easier it will be to talk to them.
Try completing this sentence: My brand helps (target audience) (your brand’s purpose) by (your solution).
3. What makes you different? This is your value proposition. It doesn’t matter if your product or service is not the first of its kind. What you have to find is what sets you apart from the rest. Does it have extra benefits? How are your approach and philosophy different? All these things are what makes your brand unique, and they should be the stars of your message so your customer can make a decision based on other than price.
Try to complete this sentence: “My brand is the one that __________”
4. What is your brand’s personality? People don’t follow brands, they follow stories, values, and beliefs. Your brand’s message should sell a lifestyle, even if not all of it is directly related to your product. Your tone, word choice, and the visual identity you develop give your clients a sense of your brand’s personality. Think about it this way: If your brand was a person, what would it look like? How would it talk? How would it act?
For example, Apple doesn’t sell technological products, but the possibility to create and express yourself. They’re way of doing that just happens to be through computers, phones, and other tools.
5. What is your brand’s purpose? Think about why you do what you do. Why did you start? Why does it matter that this brand exists? Remember this and try to include it in your narrative. People want to find other people who think like them, so they also look for brands that share their belief system.
To recap: A clear, effective message tells you the problem it solves, who it solves it for, the difference it makes, and sells a lifestyle with a clear purpose.
Remember, the human brain searches for clarity. Keep your message short, simple, and clear, then you can go and write it in a more engaging way to connect with your clients.
