Let’s dive straight in. The first step to communicating your brand messaging is to figure out the purpose of your message. Deciding what it is you are trying to say is an important part of your brands strategy.
The second step is figuring out who your audience is. For instance, does your company have different target audiences depending on the product/service they offer?
Next, you need to decide what the best way to deliver your message is. Is there a specific channel that better suits your needs than others? How do you settle on a tone for your message?
Finally, identify what other influences you should consider when articulating your brand messaging to others within your organization and beyond.
What is brand messaging?
Brand messaging refers to what a company wants its customers to understand about the brand. It’s the story that the brand is telling, usually by weaving together various elements of branding into one cohesive message. These elements can include everything from taglines and slogans, logos and a colour palette, and press releases. It even includes employee interactions with customers. Branding is a strategic method of differentiating your business from others in your market.
Finding the purpose of your brand messaging
One of the most important aspects of crafting brand messaging is figuring out how to communicate what you want to say to others. So, the first step is to figure out the purpose of your brand message. What are you trying to say and why?
This shaping process often includes identifying your brand’s key differences and unique selling points. Then leveraging stories, anecdotes, and even customer feedback to inform brand messages that resonate with people on an emotional level. You can then use this information to assemble messaging templates that production teams can then use when they’re creating brand communications.
This exercise will also help you decide who your brand’s target audience is or what industry it operates within. For instance, are you a brand that sells products geared towards seniors or one that sells products geared towards children? This leads us on to our next point:
Who is your brand’s target audience?
Your brand’s target audience is the group of people that you’re trying to reach with your brand messages. To figure out who this target audience is, you’ll need to consider the products or services that you have on offer as well as the brand’s overarching purpose or goal. It’s also a good idea to think about who your brand is trying to speak to and how you want them to feel when they hear your brand messages.
What channel should your brand use?
The third step in crafting a brand messaging framework is figuring out what channels best suit your brand’s needs. The channels that your brand messages are delivered on will be based on your brand’s overarching purpose, goal, and target audience.
Your channel selection can impact brand storytelling, engagement, brand awareness, or the customer experience of your brand. For example, if you’re a brand that has millennials as the targeted audience then Instagram may be more fruitful than Facebook even though both are available on mobile devices.
How to communicate your message?
Following on from the last point, to effectively communicate your brand’s message, you need to know who your target audience is and what channel they spend the most time using.
These two points can impact everything from how you engage with your customers to the tone of your messaging.
For example, if a company sells products geared towards teenagers then they will want to use a platform like Tik Tok. However, if their brand targets senior citizens then they would likely use Facebook.
It’s important to brand your business appropriately in order to have people engage with it. You can use different techniques like emotional branding, brand loyalty, brand consistency, creating stories. However, each brand is unique in this area so there is no one right way to do this. This is because you should focus on the tactics that are best suited to your target audiences.
No matter who your target audience is, the main aim for every brand should be to tell an immersive story to its customers. One of the best ways to do this is by crafting messages that feel like they were created specifically for that target audience. Every message should be unique and also evoke an emotion and be authentic. In fact, 86% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.
How do you settle on a tone for your message?
Tone is one of the most important aspects of branding. Not only does it help align your brand with an individual customer, but it also helps communicate who you are as a brand. The tone will also inform all brand messaging that the company produces.
To find yours, first, you must identify the personality of your brand by considering what legacy or heritage it has or wants to have, as well as any desired customer attributes. Remember, that consumers are more likely to buy into a brand if its personality is similar to their own. That’s what makes choosing a personality for your brand one of the most important decisions that you’ll make.
Your brand’s personality can help align your business with individual customers and also help communicate who they are as a brand. The personality will also inform all brand messaging that the company produces which in turn affects the tone.
In total there are three main types of brand personalities, which include the ‘corporate personality’, the ‘fun personality’ and the ‘brand person’.
The Corporate Brand Personality
The ‘corporate brand’ personality is suited to companies that want to present themselves in a formal way by appearing more trustworthy, reliable, official, or “grown up”. The brand messages focused on this type of brand will usually be designed to be more informative and professional than that of a company with a fun brand personality. This type of brand messages would speak to demographics such as corporate professionals and senior citizens..
The Fun Brand Personality
The ‘fun brand’ personality is best suited for brands that want to associate themselves with enjoyment and excitement while avoiding things like seriousness. It’s also better for higher risk associated products because it communicates dynamism and less-serious attributes. This brand personality will usually be more informal in their brand messaging. The brand message for the fun brand personality would speak to demographics such as young professionals and teenagers.
The Brand Person Personality
This is best suited for brands that want to associate themselves with the attributes of creativity and individuality. Brand messages for this brand will more often than not be designed and tailored more for individual customers. The brand will portray itself closer in line with a particular target customer’s lifestyle and personal interests. E.g. a brand that targets beauticians could use similar messaging as its counterparts but with a twist; more of the brand messaging will be geared towards the professional woman, their lifestyle, and their interests.
Conclusion
Your brand message can be communicated by different channels or through a company’s social media pages to build trust with potential customers who are interested in their product or service. Your brand messaging is one of the most important facets of your business. That’s why it’s important that you spend time on it.
If you need help crafting your brand messages or want guidance implementing them into your marketing plan, reach out today for more information.