Prioritizing audience trust and connection is more important than ever before.
Over the last few years, there have been major changes in the way consumers interact with brands.
For example:
The rise of social media with nearly 89% of Americans on at least one platform
Access to reviews in seconds (the good, the bad, and the shockingly untrue)
The ability to find your competition with a quick search to see how you compare
These changes have made it essential to strategically plan your branding if you want long-term success.
Branding is all about how you are perceived by your customers and conduct yourself as a business. Perhaps surprising to some, it’s about more than keeping the same color palette and having a trademarked logo or catchy phrase.
If your audience can’t connect with you, you’re in for a very long uphill battle.
Seemingly small actions - like copying and pasting the same reply to everyone on your reviews - can quickly lead to a loss of interest (and trust) in your business.
The easiest way to build trust, connection - and yes, even sales- is to humanize your brand.
Here are our top creative tips for humanizing your brand.
Develop your voice and stick to it
As business owners or marketers, we talk about branding and voice a lot. But many of us forget to actually put it in action all of the time.
For example:
Copy and pasting someone else’s replies or content
Using a template you haven’t customized at all
Trying too hard to sound professional; it comes off stuffy and impersonal
No original content, perspectives, or highlights of your personal story (as the owner or your business)
It’s easy to get caught up in checking items off your list: “about us” section, Instagram posts, website blogs, responding to reviews and comments. The list goes on and on.
You have a lot to do, but taking some time to make sure everything you release into the world (and especially onto the internet) is thoroughly and entirely you will make all the difference in the long run.
Are you light-hearted and informative?
Professional but use some industry-specific humor?
Socially conscious with a bold no BS approach?
Whatever your tone, it should be at the center of everything you do (intro emails, social media ads, “how-to” videos on TikTok, website copy, package labeling and design, etc.) for a few reasons:
Consistency – your customers know what they’re getting and who they’re working with – this naturally increases feelings of connection, trust, and reliability
Expression – using cookie-cutter language and lack of emotion or vulnerability is not going to win you any brownie points – consumers want to know the person and values behind the brand
Attract the right customers – a clear, strong voice will appeal to the people you actually want to work with
Create content (and ads) like you’re talking to a friend
Share stories not sales-pitches
We get it. You’re excited about your product. You want to tell everyone that will listen all about it. You have 50 reasons why they should buy right now.
But the world has changed.
Old school sales techniques no longer apply – at least not entirely. It’s not enough to put people on guilt trips or try to trick them into buying your product (I know you wouldn’t do that anyway), show off the great new feature your product has, or build urgency.
Sure, these tactics can be part of a successful plan, but consumers are more aware and have more access than ever.
They don’t need another sales pitch. In fact, they may skip right over it or lose interest immediately. We all have that friend that posted, “I can’t wait to tell you guys about this super exciting deal” one too many times and the mute button was hit in record time.
Remember this is true for your customers too. Brands are fighting for their attention nearly every minute: billboards, Spotify ads, podcast ads, influencers’ Insta stories, mobile phone game ads, their child’s relentless pitch on why they need a PS5. Everyone is yelling, “buy this now!”
And the truth is we’re tired. Surviving 2 years of a global pandemic has given people the space and time to be more reflective of their choices and desires. They can get ready in 5 minutes. They don’t need 20 outfits. Turns out they don’t actually like rosé – at least not alone at home alongside the newest DoorDash delivery.
No matter your target audience, there’s a high chance your customers are evaluating what they actually need and want right now.
Share stories about your customers using your product with accompanying pictures or videos to inspire your audience to want to try your product, visit your location, or at the very least learn more.
Instead of bombarding them with a list of features, demands to buy now, and overly-used sales scripts, get creative with showing your product off through stories.
Easy prompts:
How using your product changed their life
Solved their problem
Became their new go-to
More Ideas for You to Consider
Use social media influencers to spread awareness of your brand and product with an audience that already trusts them
Take your audience behind the scenes with a video of how your product is made, how you came up with the name of your business, or interview members of your team
Sign social media posts with your name or someone from the marketing team – this reinforces real humans are behind the brand and care about it
Ask questions and engage with your followers, people that comment on paid ads, even other brands (don’t copy and paste an answer that doesn’t make sense- no one likes this)
Respond to reviews with empathy, personalization, and a way to get in contact to resolve the issue
Work with a brand strategy team to make sure you’re effective as possible
This is a lot. Wishing you had a friend to bounce ideas off of?
JonesHaus is a full-service branding, graphic design, and digital marketing agency that helps businesses define their voice, maintain authenticity and effectively strategize campaigns to build genuine trust and brand loyalty with customers.
But while you’re waiting, check out our Social Media Roadmap. A comprehensive 21-page digital download designed to give you all the information you need. You’ll learn how to develop a successful social media strategy, avoid common mistakes, and evaluate your success. No more guessing games and reading 15 articles that contradict each other. Friend to friend, you can thank us later.