In the marketing world, there’s so much industry lingo like branding and brand strategy, it can be hard to keep it all straight. A key component of branding is brand messaging. But, what does that mean and why does it matter?
If you want to know what brand messaging is, why it’s important, and how to create successful brand messaging for your business then you’re in the right place. Today on the blog, I’m covering all that and more.
What is Brand Messaging
Simply put, your brand messaging is the way your business communicates to your audience. Brand messaging takes place in many forms both online and offline. It includes things like your:
- Tagline
- Mission statement
- Website
- Sales pages
- Email campaigns
- Blogs
- Newsletters
- Social media posts
At the most basic level, it should include why your brand matters, what your brand believes in, and how your brand is different from your competitors.
Sounds pretty straightforward right?
Not quite.
It needs to be crafted to get your audience's attention and make them care. And not all your brand communications will look the same, the content you use for your website will be different than for emails and social media for example. You’ll need to tailor each based on the specific channel and the target audience.
Why Brand Messaging is Important
Now that you have a better understanding of what brand messaging is we’ll dive into why it’s so important.
Your brand’s messaging is at the core of your business. In fact, it shapes the way people perceive your business before they ever interact with you.
Good brand messaging will allow you to…
- Get customers and make sales
- Gain and keep repeat customers
- Earn a loyal following and establish trust with your audience
- Grow and scale your business
- Create a solid company culture
Considering how important your brand's message is, you want to make sure that it’s created thoughtfully and intentionally.
As a business owner, you know what your brand is all about, it’s your business after all. However, speaking about your business is different than speaking as your business.
Communicating effectively with your target audience requires more than just knowing your business. It requires analysis, strategy, and carefully thought-out written material. And more often than not, business owners find it difficult to talk about their own businesses in a way that appeals to their audience.
How to Create a Successful Brand Message
So now you know what brand messaging is and why it matters, you may be wondering how to create a successful brand message. Below are the components your brand messaging should have.
Convey the Value and Values of Your Brand
When thinking about your brand message you want to consider both the value and the values of your brand.
The value of your brand is why you’re useful. You need to clearly explain how you help your customers. How are you the solution to their problems?
The values of your brand are what you believe in. Or in other words, why you matter and what your mission is.
If your value and values are clear and compelling your brand will be more appealing to your audience.
Stand Out From Your Competitors
What are the reasons customers pick you over other similar businesses? It’s a key question you’ll want to answer in your brand messaging. Think about what your business does differently. This could be anything from the products and services you offer, to the way that you operate. Whatever it is frame it in your customers' best interest.
Other questions to consider are — what do you offer that other similar businesses don’t? Do you have a specialty?
The bottom line is, if you’re just the same as your competitors, then your ideal customers won’t be incentivized to go with you vs. someone else.
Relate to Your Audience
Another important component of your brand messaging is that it needs to speak to your target audience. If it doesn’t then the people you want as customers, won’t be interested.
Ask questions like:
- What do they care about?
- How do they benefit from your brand?
- What are their goals?
This will help you figure out how your brand aligns with your audience and allow you to craft messaging that speaks their language.
To dig deeper into your target audience (or audiences) you can also think about their customer personas. A customer persona is a semi-fictional character that represents your ideal customer, made up of traits that your ideal customers share. Think about things like:
- Their demographics
- Where they live
- Their income level
- Their age range or stage in life
- Their priorities and values
- How they spend their time
You don’t need to have just one type of persona, your brand may appeal to different audiences and in that case, you’ll need to think about different personas that your customers fall into.
Obviously, not all your customers fit neatly into a box, but identifying some of their personas will help you create brand messaging that appeals to them directly. If you have more than one audience think about composing different messages specific to each.
Ensure Your Brand Messaging Is Concise and Clear
Your brand’s message should be simple to understand. This means succinct and to the point. Don’t overcomplicate or add too much fluff, because then you’ll lose people.
Top brands like Apple and Nike have very simple and catchy taglines:
Think Different.
Just Do It.
They’re not…
Originally a computer company we now make over 100 types of stylish and cutting-edge products and software to enhance nearly every aspect of your life. These include phones, tablets, apps, accessories, and much more.
Or
We’re a global company that makes an endless range of fashionable practical athletic wear and sports equipment for men, women, and children.
People don’t like to spend more energy on anything than they need to, so if they have to spend time meticulously reading your website to get a basic understanding of what you do, then you’ll lose their interest. They’ll just go to someone else instead.
Create a Defined Voice and Personality
Designing a specific voice, point of view, and personality for your brand is another way to connect with your audience.
Would you rather buy from a cold and impersonal brand? Or would you rather buy from a brand that you relate to and connect with?
Studies have shown that consumer behavior is strongly influenced by emotions, rather than logic. In fact, we make purchasing decisions based on our emotions and then rationalize those decisions later (Psychology Today).
You can connect with your audience on an emotional level by creating a solid voice and personality that represents your brand and appeals to your ideal client.
Make Sure It’s Based in Reality
You want your brand messaging to not only get customers in the door but to make them return because it costs more to acquire new customers than keep existing customers. Existing customers are also more likely than new customers to buy new products or services you release (Invesp).
Part of getting your customers to come back is to build trust. You build trust with honest communication. Your brand messaging can be aspirational, yes, but you can’t make far-fetched claims that are too good to be true just to get people's interest. Losing their trust is far more damaging in the long run.
How a Copywriter Can Improve Your Brand Messaging
If you feel like your brand messaging needs to be better but you aren’t sure where to start, or you don’t have the time, then you’ll want to consider hiring a professional copywriter.
When you work with me, I’ll help you get clarity and define all the components of your brand messaging. I’ll write copy designed to speak to your target audience, helping you reach more customers and grow your business.
Not to mention, I do all the writing so you can focus on the work you love and running your business.
Ready to get started? Get in touch with me today.