Creating a strong brand message is a difficult task, but with the business world’s current saturation, making a standout message is near-impossible.
Sure, some would argue that being unique is not everything, that maintaining some core values trumps uniqueness insignificance. The problem with this attitude is that even the best brand message is useless if no one hears it.
What good is a decent message if it gets lost amidst myriad similar voices? With that in mind and without further ado, here are some of the best ways to create a standout brand message.
Know Who You’re Talking To
The best way to maximize the effectiveness of your message is to envision it in a real-life discourse with a single (imaginary) person.
The first thing you need to do is define your target audience. Try imagining a scenario where your entire audience is a single person whose attributes are always the average of the demographic. For instance, if the majority of your audience is 25-34 years old, that imaginary person is around 30 years of age.
Their level of knowledge is also incredibly important. It will allow you to choose the language that you’re using at the moment. For instance, if you were talking to a friend that is a sports expert, you won’t refrain from using sports terminology. Also, you won’t avoid reflecting on past events in sports history without worrying that they might not be familiar with them. On the other hand, if you were talking to someone who is not that knowledgeable about the subject matter, you would most likely use the explain-it-to-me-like-I-was-five approach.
Keep in mind that using the wrong terminology (based on their level of knowledge) can either confuse your audience or make you seem condescending. Even worse, in the case of the latter, they may even assume that you are not that familiar with the topic yourself. This will make them abandon you in search of someone of the higher authority.
So, before you open your mouth (figuratively speaking), make sure that you know who you’re talking to.
Decide On Your Selling Point
Another thing you need to understand is that you can’t have it all. What this means is that you have a chance to send a message – a single message. So, you need to choose what this one message will be.
The attention span of an average conversation participant is not that great. So, imagine a scenario where you’re talking to them for an indeterminate amount of time, and they can memorize just one sentence or one notion (even one word). What do you want this message to be?
You should always go for your unique proposition – what is it that you can offer superior to your competitors? In some industries, this is a better cost, but in fields like healthcare, quality of services is more important. For instance, you wouldn’t go to the cheapest dentist, would you?
A similar thing goes when it comes to administrative services. For instance, to continue with the example from the previous paragraph, when looking for dental management services, you should be far more concerned with efficiency than costs. Here, you need to offer an extra service or promise to do something better than your competitors.
To wrap things up, imagine a scenario where your audience can remember a single word that you say. What would this word be? Now, find a way to expand on this and make it into the core of your message.
Speak With Authority
Why would anyone listen to what you’re saying? What makes you qualified to talk on the subject matter? How did you come by this knowledge?
Truth be told, a personal brand is often one of the strongest assets that the majority of small enterprises possess. The thing is that by talking a bit about yourself, you might drive some positive attention towards your brand. Just keep in mind to stick to the issues that are relevant to your industry (which is the main reason why people are here, to begin with). Of course, talking about something other than work might humanize you additionally (thus making you more relatable). Just make sure not to push it (this is not why people are here).
The voice that you choose is just as important when it comes to sending a branded message. Speaking directly, using imperative, and avoiding words and phrases that show your uncertainty can be quite effective. So, try to radiate with confidence.
You can also demonstrate your authority on the subject matter through your blog. Try offering some real, useful advice. This is probably the simplest (and the best) way to demonstrate that you really know what you’re talking about.
In terms of brand message, you need to remember that WHO said it often matters just as much as WHAT they actually said.
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Analyze Everything
While building a brand message may sound like something that should be done intuitively (driven by your gut feeling), the truth is that you should always put your fate in numbers. So, develop your business analyst skills and try to put them to good use.
First of all, you need to be aware that the main reason new businesses fail is that they haven’t done proper market research before launching. Second, keep in mind that there is so much raw data out there. Harvesting it is not your only task. You also need to process it into actionable information.
Now, one trick that brands find particularly useful is to research their competitors. By identifying bottlenecks that they’re facing, areas in which they lack, as well as figuring out their strengths, you will find yourself at an advantage over them.
By doing a proper data analysis, you get to skip the trial and error phase and learn from someone else’s errors instead. It is a clear win-win scenario if there ever was one.
In Conclusion
So, to sum it up, in order to make a great and unique brand message, there are several parameters that have to be met. First, you need to know who you’re talking to (who the recipients of the message are). Second, you need to build your brand message around a single idea. Third, you need to speak from the position of authority. Finally, making your decisions data-based will drastically increase your chance of success.