Building a Brand People Will Love From Day One
Written by Courtney Raguso, Social Media Content Creator
You can’t expect people to love your brand if you don’t put love into it yourself. When it comes to connecting with your customers and creating a brand they will love and appreciate, you have to be true to yourself and channel your “why”. What is your brand’s mission? If your brand doesn’t hold any purpose behind making money, it won’t last. People care about the bigger picture. These days, you’ll find so many products that are similar, but what’s their real differentiator? Their brand. It’s about having interactions, telling stories and instilling emotion into your campaigns. It’s not about having the fancy logo or glossy campaigns, but about the passion you have for uniquely giving back to your community. That’s what building a brand around your product is all about. It’s about standing for something, practicing what you preach, and being authentic. There is so much that goes into building a brand people will love. Let’s talk about what you can do to make that happen.
Before you get to the drawing board, you want to really examine your “why”. What are your intentions? Why should people care? What difference in the world are you trying to make? These are all the “why” questions you should be asking yourself because without understanding your brand’s purpose, no one else will. Leading brands are able to form deep emotional connections because they stand for something that people care about. How do they form those emotional connections? By tapping into a need that’s deep and true to your customers. You have to understand their motives and what’s behind all their decision-making. Having a good understanding of how your product aligns and fits into their lives will help with that, but having your brand line up with a customer’s values will help even more. Studies have shown that young consumers, who make up the majority of the consumer base, care more about this than older generations. In fact, 83% want companies to align with their values and 76% want CEOs to speak out on issues they care about. On the contrary, 65% of millennials say they have boycotted a brand that took the opposing stance on an issue, and 62% favor products that show off their political and social beliefs. This just goes to show why what you say and stand for really matters. You don’t want to ever come across as tone-deaf, and you can avoid that by staying on top of the news and trends to stay in the know and maintain your relevance. Opportunities will arise and when they do, you can use them to build your brand reputation and really show the community how your brand can play a part.
Of course, you have to have a product that works well and brings people value, but you have to think beyond that. A brand is about embedding a fundamental purpose in your culture from the very beginning. Maybe your brand cares about putting the environment first and works to fight climate change. Maybe the goal is to raise awareness around a human rights issue, and you take a political stance. Take Sephora as an example. To help fight racial injustice, they decided to join the 15 Percent Pledge and dedicated 15% of their shelf space to black-owned businesses. Ben & Jerry’s is another example of how a brand can incorporate their values in a campaign. The release of the ice cream flavor “Save Our Swirled” was a reaction to former President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement to take a stand on climate change, and their campaign didn’t stop there. They also included an emissions-free road tour to spread the message and established a partnership with a community–based organization to help distribute their petition. This contributed to more than 10% of the 3 million total signatures received. These brands clearly practice what they preach and take action in what they say and believe as a brand. Whatever you care about, you should weave it into your company’s DNA because that’s something you will always be able to resort to when making tough decisions.
Every brand has a story, and the internet is at your disposal to share it. When you connect your product to your brand story and purpose, that’s when bonds are created with customers. Plus, you can strengthen that bond even more if you involve and engage your customers. This is how communities are built, and it’s something you will need to nurture and maintain with honesty, transparency, and humility in order to keep building your brand. Making the consumer part of the story by engaging with them online and involving them in your campaigns is how you will get your brand to fit into your customers lives, which is what keeps your brand relevant to society. There are thousands of businesses out there, and a lot of them offer similar products and services; but what makes a business successful is their branding. You’re not just selling a product, but a lifestyle, an idea, a goal and purpose. You’re trying to convince your audience how supporting you will benefit them and make them feel like they can be a part of the story and help make that difference. By either starting or joining a conversation around something you care about, you can then start getting more exposure online and build your reputation.
At MSM DesignZ, we put in the time and energy needed for success, so you can ensure you are using every dollar for maximum return. With over 20 years in the business, we have watched marketing evolve from traditional to digital. Whether you need a website refresh, more attractive email, or a quality online presence, we can do it all. When we take on a client, we put in 110% and treat every brand as if it’s our own. We will always continue to place our clients’ needs at the heart of our operations. From web development to social media management, we’ll work directly with you to build a personalized strategy to not only retain but also gain business. We are assisting in all areas for our clients. Visit our contact page at https://www.msmdesignz.com/contact/, and we’ll work with you to devise a custom plan that will keep your brand alive and well. We look forward to working with you!
Sources:
https://99u.adobe.com/articles/67642/obsessed-building-a-brand-people-love-from-day-one
https://medium.com/the-happy-startup-school/how-to-create-a-brand-people-%EF%B8%8F-319147b1908a
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/bgr-data-social-movements/