In 2016, not just marketing but our entire lives are based around being authentic, creating trust and value with people and making the most of everyone’s TIME; the scarcest resource for all of us. Gone are the 90’s days of lying, manipulating and convincing people to buy your product or use your service in a salesy manner.
We have full access to information, an enormous pool to choose from in every category of life and most importantly the ability to do things ourselves. This has changed the way businesses do business, and can be leveraged to your advantage by creating a virtual face and identity for your brand. Commit to your audience, establish something that makes you unique from the rest and develop a personality to your brand that people can resonate with.
This relates back to an article I wrote last month in which I outlined the importance of Video Marketing now and particularly in the future. Literally give your brand a face on your website. Whether this is via a short 30 second elevator type pitch in which you show your consumers you’re a real person, you have an identity and can relate with them or simply by changing up your plain old “About me” section of your website to something more interesting. Incorporating a video About Me section will also boost your SEO ranking and drive traffic to your website.
What is Brand Identity?
Just like the old adage, “ethics are what you do when nobody else is watching,” Branding works in a similar way. Jeff Bezos believes “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
A brand is the “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers,” according to the American Marketing Association. It’s the representation of your reputation.
Quick check-up: If you could describe your business or brand in 30 seconds what would you say?
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What is your brand’s philosophy?
When asked about their brand philosophy non-savvy business people will typically respond with information about their products or service, delivery systems, profitability models and how they make their money. This is what differentiates the good businesses from the bad. A brand philosophy should be based on your values, purpose, strengths, passions and attributes. Most importantly it outlines what your brand says and what emotions you want the consumers to feel when thinking, interacting or talking about your brand.
Give your Brand a Voice
This voice is about consistency, it is a human voice, the way you position yourself in your area of expertise, make yourself easily identifiable and an authoritative source in your field. This will also tie into your content strategy and it is essential the voice remains the same throughout.
How to create a brand philosophy
The business’s philosophy and principles must come from the top and trickle all the way down to the bottom, however big your business may be. In other words, the philosophy should mirror and resonate with the founder or CEO of the business in order for it to be effective and work.
An excellent example of this is in the case of Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO. Notorious for his micromanagement style and unique, obsessive and compulsive need to control every minute detail of the business from the App Store to the iPhone. Clearly, through the profound and unmatched success of Apple – Steve Jobs philosophy and mantra ring true to the business’ products.
A contrasting but similarly successful CEO Jason Fried of Basecamp (formerly known as 37 signals), Ruby on Rails and Prototype runs his business with an openness that has allowed him to experiment with four-day work weeks, paying for his employee’s hobbies and interests and a number of different methods which has resonated all the way through his companies.
Define your:
- Mission statement: A mission statement should succinctly summarize what you do or what your aims are. Google’s mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Alternatively, AirBnB’s mission statement is summed up in two words “Belong Anywhere.”
- Philosophy: A philosophy should flesh out the mission statement, which is pithy and almost slogan like into core ideas or values that the company and its members hold dear and adhere to in their business dealings.
- Code Of Ethics: A code of ethics or code of conduct expands even further on the philosophy and the mission statement to deal with specific types of situations and behaviors.
Questions to ask yourself
If your logo didn’t appear with your content, could your audience identify the content as coming from your brand?
Would someone viewing your content on different channels know it all came from the same brand?
Examples of success
Think about it for a while. Do you know any brands that have a motto that stick in your mind as soon as you hear the name? One excellent recent example is GoPro. When you hear the name straight away you think of a handheld camera that will work in all conditions and is a must have for adventurer’s.
This is because GoPro have done an extremely good job of defining their brand, who is their brand and why the brand is going to work for that person. Brands like this are easily recognizable, have clear mission statements and philosophies and most importantly have an authentic feel and loyal customer base that all businesses crave. Apple, RedBull, Nike you name it, they are all instantly recognizable and something else they share in common; they are all super successful!
Although often overlooked, your brand, philosophy and mission statement are some of the most valuable assets a business has. They must be carefully developed, improved upon and evolve as the world around you does. So give it a try, Think about evolving your About Me section into video form, give people a reason to listen to you and stay true to your values.
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