There are so many different aspects you want to take into consideration when developing your authentic brand identity. In this multi-part series, we are going into the eight key characteristics that your brand should have to connect with your target market.
Our previous post discussed simplicity and uniqueness in branding.
In this post, we’re going to be talking about emotional branding and creating authenticity. We know that consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service if they have an emotional connection to a business. In a society where you can buy not only dozens of types of pasta (for example), there are also dozens of pasta brands to pick from. How does a business stand out?
We know that quality and price are big factors, but we also know from the Pepsi Challenge that quality or even personal preference isn’t everything! Just like in our personal lives, creating a strong relationship will create a strong brand.
Emotions & Branding
How does your brand make people feel? Excited? Important? Confident? Your brand is designed to make people feel a certain way from the first time they see you.
People make decisions based on emotion and regardless of what your industry is — even if you think what you do is devoid of emotion. If you can tap into the emotional need of your client you will do far better than your competitors.
Humans are still programmed for survival, that’s why (and it seems a bit obvious) sex sells. The primal human need is to reproduce and keep your herd (do humans come in herds…?) thriving. This depends on you finding a mate. This is why advertisers frequently tap into what we are lacking and how their product or service can make us better, stronger or prettier.
There are a lot of emotions you can use, not just sexual desire. You can pick a brand position that will resonate with your target audience and feel more authentic to you. For example, many advertisers focus on stress relief, peace of mind or security.
Other marketing strategies include saving your money or making you more money, which ties into you having a better quality of life. This can play off of emotions or fear surrounding scarcity, or your ambition to be rich!
At Paper Lime Creative we focus on confidence. We want to create brands that business owners feel proud putting out into the world. We have a fun brand development strategy that allows our clients to collaborate with us. When you are part of your brand development process, you are more committed and have more confidence in it.
How to Get More Emotion in Your Branding
Language and visuals are key when communicating emotions! Your brand messaging shouldn’t be technical at all. It should focus on your customers’ problems that they have when they come to you, the transformation you help them through and the fabulous results!
Getting to the real reason people are coming to you can help inform your decisions. Are customers buying your beauty products because they’re vain? Or insecure? Or want to feel fabulous?
Your visuals should match the end results you want your customers to achieve. The best marketing practice is to show the result, not the problem. Avoid screaming people, crying photos or people who dislike something about themselves. You will always lose out to your competitors who show happy, healthy, active results.
Authenticity & Branding
There may be a lot of businesses in your industry but none of them are exactly like you. People want to know what makes you different. Let’s show them!
I met with a client once and she said she didn’t want to come across as “douche-y”. I love that she used the word “douche-y”. It was because she was open, honest and uncensored with me that she definitely did not come off as a douche.
I’m also totally down with seeing how many times I can use the word douche in my blog because that’s just who I am. I have a bit of a potty mouth. And I’m absolutely sure that that is a turn-off to some potential clients.
The great thing about being an authentic brand though (even with your potty mouth) is that the people that do connect with you will adore you. Stop hiding your weirdness, tell the world what you’re passionate about, even if it seems like it doesn’t fit with your business.
I’ve had conversations with friends about business owners who make their personal beliefs or religion a big focus in their business. I personally don’t like this approach, but if you are a religious business owner, you may very well be happier working with people that share your faith, or are at least tolerant or accepting of the fact that it is a big part of your business and life.
Conversely, BarkBox is one of my favourite brands because their social media is super raunchy. It’s all couched in puns, but it makes me laugh every single time. I’m sure they have lost clients from it, or even received complaint letters.
That being said they also have a huge and, more importantly, incredibly engaged social media following. Some people follow BarkBox just for their hilarious content marketing.
Yes, being authentic will lose you clients but I promise you they wouldn’t have been the right fit anyway. Use your brand to pull in the clients you love working with and use it to deter the clients that you don’t like to work with. This is an incredibly powerful realization and so freeing in your business.
How to Create an Authentic Brand
Think about what you have in common with your favourite customers. Is it because they always bring their dogs with them to your shop? Or because you can shoot the shit with them like they’re old friends? Or maybe they always have a great beer or restaurant recommendation for you.
Your interests and hobbies are a great place to start to add authenticity. Talk about them in pieces of your marketing to connect with people with similar interests.
More and more people what to know the person behind the business. Share behind the scenes on your social media and website. Let people know the challenges you face in your industry, or common objections you hear. You can frame these as educational moments while getting the opportunity to be real with your potential customers.
Most importantly, don’t lie and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right. Your clients will immediately pick up on the smarminess of the situation.
Not Sure Where to Start?
It can be difficult to be objective with your own business. If you’re well-established, it can be even harder to know where to start building an authentic brand that is emotional. Paper Lime Creative offers a guided Brand Audit where we do the digging into your brand and help fill any gaps that might exist.