As your brand continues to further understand and embrace the multitude of effective online channels, it is crucial to be consistent with your messaging and align your marketing efforts. There are still far too many organizations conveying inconsistent messaging in their online presence. This is an issue that necessitates attention.
Branding is often over-looked given the widespread digital marketing orthodoxy that delivering an abundance of online content will produce sales. Don’t get me wrong, I love content marketing. However, taking a broader view, the content produced by your brand needs to be consistent with the overall messaging of your brand. When I say “messaging” I mean a well-conceived strategy that is firmly established and clearly defined across your organization.
Have you taken the time to clearly define and establish your brand messaging? Maybe you’re unsure where to start? I suggest you take the time to thoroughly understand your brand properties. When you do, think of your brand properties as having three components: essence, voice, and promises.
Essence
Your brand essence is the distillation of its fundamental qualities and characteristics. Think of it as an articulation of your brand’s unique identity while also serving as a consistent reference point for all of your marketing efforts. When cultivating the essence of your brand, look within the core of your organization’s values and purpose (aside from the production of revenue).
Voice
Given your brand’s essence, if your brand had a voice, how might it speak? You must not only define your brand voice but also embody and execute it at every consumer touch point, from website copy to tweets to email campaigns. The right voice will show your personality, elicit an emotional response from your customers, differentiate you from competitors, and help to attract the right audience for your brand.
It’s important to note the difference between voice and tone. Think of voice as your brand’s consistent identity or the execution of its essence—IT DOESN’T CHANGE. Tone, however, changes based on the situation. Your brand’s tone will likely be different in a personalized “Happy Birthday” email to a loyal customer than it does in a detailed, informative eBook to a segment of your target audience. It is important to understand that all tones must stem from the same brand voice.
Promises
Brand promises are things your brand guarantees to its customers. When working through brand promises, keep these questions in mind:
- What value does it add to their lives?
- What need does it fulfill?
- What problem does it solve?
You do not need to set a limit on the number of promises your brand makes; whatever they are, though, just be sure your brand promises are authentic and consistently delivered on.
Takeaways
Before creating your next content calendar, strategizing your next social media campaign, or undergoing your next website redesign project, ensure the alignment of your brand messaging. In order to successfully shape your brand messaging, it is crucial to understand who you are as a brand, which in turn requires that you understand your brand properties.
To be clear, understanding and establishing your brand properties is just one tool used when shaping your organization’s message. Other tools include building buyer personas, completing a content audit, and defining your value proposition. To learn more about brand messaging and its role in integrated digital marketing (IDM) strategy, check out our IDM Blueprint: Define and Establish.
This article was originally published by SyneCore
Published: October 28, 2014
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