Even when branding efforts are clear and meaningful, it can be easy for an inexperienced business owner to let them become unbearably dull. If your branding methods so far haven’t been reaping in the results you need, it’s essential that you put more resources into sticking your neck out and showing your brand’s human side. Try a few of these tactics, and you’ll be well on your way to crafting a more powerful brand.
Be Personable
In a lot of cases, businesses, including marketing firms, feel that they need to go on about their product, service, or niche the way that everyone else does. It’s understandable that you’re afraid of being out of the loop, but if you try to copy other brands, you’ll ultimately be hurting your own, rather than helping it. All the most successful brands in the world haven’t got there by running with the pack! Don’t hold back on showing the world your personality. Try to make your marketing materials sound like your business is run by humans, rather than robots that have been programmed to fit in with the industry’s nuances. Customers are attracted to businesses which have a potent degree of personality, which is why firms like Velvet PR exist. In such a crowded business arena, making your brand personable can really help you stand out from the competition.
Be Provocative
Everyone wants to be an industry influencer, and one of the quickest way to work towards this is making your branding efforts more provocative. Challenging industry norms, or jolting your target market out of their usual complacency, are great ways to create a buzz around your brand, and show the world that you’re thinking and innovating, rather than just going through the motions. One excellent example is the “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign by Patagonia, which launched in the run-up to Black Friday back in 2011. When you’re looking to strengthen your brand by being provocative, just make sure you’re not overstepping the mark. If you’re planning to shock people with extraordinary claims, make sure you can back them up with hard evidence. If you’re focussing materials on some kind of negativity in your industry, try to balance it out with something positive. If you’re a total downer, no one will want to read your content!
Tell Stories
Finally, try to weave your branding efforts into a compelling story. People have loved stories since the dawn of civilization, and you can leverage this fact to create a lasting impression with your target market, help people relate to you, and garner more attention from the media. Try to start your stories off with some kind of memorable anecdote or imagery, follow a firm structure, and make it personal to help people relate to it. You should also try to make it fairly emotive, and spice up the progress of the plot with feelings, intuitions, and drive. Finally, remember to keep an overarching message, and link the story back into your business’s mission or core values.
