If a ‘brand’ is built on how others perceive it, then really thinking about what you say and how you say it as a business is going to help you shape that perception. Getting your brand messaging right will not only set the foundations for the rest of your branding, it will also guide consistency throughout the rest of your business.
Firstly, what is brand messaging?
Brand messaging is essentially the art of communicating your brand’s unique promise, value proposition, story, personality and overall essence – both verbally and visually – to your target audience. In other words, it’s how your business expresses itself in order to attract the right people.
Consistent and compelling brand messaging tells potential customers what they can expect from your business, helps to build recognition and creates lasting connections with your audience. It’s one of the most important factors in resonating with your ideal customers and persuading them why they should choose you over a competitor.
Without intentional brand messaging, your business is likely to be perceived based on what others are saying – good or bad. Worse still, you could be overlooked altogether – lost in a sea of lacklustre messaging.
“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.”
– DAVID BRIER, BRAND IDENTITY EXPERT AND AUTHOR OF BRAND INTERVENTION.
How to craft brand messaging your audience will love
The good news is that defining your brand messaging isn’t as daunting as it sounds. If you’re a sole trader or small business owner, the fact is that you are the beating heart of your business. You already know it inside out. You know your ‘why,’ ‘what’ and ‘how,’ and probably have daily contact with your customers. All you need now is a way of articulating that unique business essence through meaningful and magnetic brand messaging.
The prompts below will help you extract the info you need to get started on writing your brand messaging. These are taken from the exact questions I use with my clients at the discovery stage of any branding project.
1. What inspired you to start your business?
Why do you do this? What is your ‘why’?
2. What’s the purpose behind your business?
What work do you want (it) to be known for?
3. What does your business stand for?
What are the 5-6 most important values behind the work you do, how you operate and who you work with?
4. How and why did you choose your brand name?
Is there a story or particular meaning behind it?
5. Who is your ideal customer?
What does your target audience look like? What’s their age, gender, location, affluence, lifestyle, life stage, beliefs, personality traits, wants & needs, and so on?
6. What issue(s) do you solve for your customers?
How does your product/service benefit them? How does it solve their problem?
7. What experience would you like your audience to have with your brand?
How do you want to make your customers to feel during interactions with your business, products and services?
8. What do your existing customers love about your business?
What makes them choose you over the competition? What makes you/your business different and sets you apart?
9. What human traits would you most associate with your business?
If your brand was a personality type, how would you describe it and why?
10. What’s your overall brand vibe?
If you had to sum up the essence of your business in five individual words, what would they be?
What’s next?
Don’t worry if there are overlaps in some of your answers – this shows that your brand story is already nicely aligned. You might just need some help articulating your message in the most concise and compelling way. This is where your personas, brand voice and tonality also come into it. You can read more about brand voice and other creative branding elements here. And keep an eye on the blog for more on brand personality and customer personas over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or need my help with your brand messaging, email me: hannah@limelightcopy.co.uk
“Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Branding is about shaping that perception.”
– ASHLEY FRIEDLEIN, MARKETING EXPERT AND FOUNDER OF ECONSULTANCY AND GUILD.
