We all would like to be a viral sensation. However, a social media post or an advertisement that makes people do a double take can have an unintended consequence: it can make your brand less recognizable, or even worse, less relatable.
A good marketing firm spends a lot of time developing a voice for your company or brand. The tone of words used in content, the colors in design and even the fonts used all convey a message. Below are some questions you (or your marketing firm) should ask to develop your voice and the reason the answers are important.
Q: How formal is your company?
Does the image of a three-piece suit fit your company style or is casual Friday observed every day of the week? It could be somewhere in between. A very formal company is going to be much more conservative in presentation and word choice. You won’t see slang in social media posts. On the flip side, a casual company will be more likely to use pop culture references and humor.
Q: Who is your target audience?
You don’t market to recent graduates the same way you do to older adults. Decide who is most likely to benefit from your product or service and speak their language. Twenty-somethings are unlikely to relate to the pressures of having a mortgage and two kids and are more likely to have disposable income. Gen Xers are worried about being in the sandwich generation and want products and services that provide value. Your product could do both, but your message will be vastly different.
Q: What is your overall message?
The answer to this question should drive every decision you make, and marketing should be tailored to each audience based on this answer. You may work in an industry that is considered high-end but want to establish yourself as an affordable option. Your company may face regulatory restrictions that determine what you can say or how you can say it. In that case, your message may be about the trustworthiness of your team. Your message should include how you are different than your competitors. Once you hit that key point, you can tailor the exact verbiage to your audience using humor, statistics, compare and contrast or any number of other approaches.
Consistency Develops Trust
Once you have established your identity, you should stick with it! Are you going to stop at a McDonald’s with purple arches? Would you be likely to hire a professional service that suddenly changed from serious to sarcastic? If you want to be seen differently from your competitors, reduce negative stereotypes of your industry or introduce a catch phase, you need to promote the same image each time. Don’t give people a reason to question the seriousness or competency of your business.
This blog is courtesy of MMC Account Manager Melissa Holder